16 November 2011
Whale graveyard unearthed
Report and vocabulary
transcript
The fossilised bones of whales unearthed in the Atacama Desert in Chile.
Palaeontologists have dug up a massive grave containing the seven-million-year-old creatures.
Fossils from fifteen animals have so far been excavated, some of them complete skeletons. The hoard also includes the remains of sharks, dolphins and seals.
The discovery is believed to have global importance and is crucial for research.
チリのアタカマ砂漠で発掘されたクジラの化石の骨
古生物学者が７百万年前のその動物を含む巨大な墓場を掘り起こした。
１５の動物からの化石がこれまで発掘され、そのうち幾つかが全身骨格で発掘された。 採掘した中にはまたサメ、イルカ及びアザラシの化石もあった。
この発見は世界的に重要で、研究には極めて重要なものだという。
fossilised
the remains of animals or plants that have become hard and turned into rock
palaeontologists
people who study fossils
excavated
to have dug up something that has been buried for a very long time
hoard
a collection of food, money, or in this case valuable and rare fossils
crucial
something that is extremely important because it will affect other things
Exercise
Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from a BBC news report.
Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.
fossilised/palaeontologists/excavated/hoard/crucial
1.
A team of archaeologists has started one of the largest investigations ever mounted on the WWI battlefields. They have been given permission to _________ a large section of trenches and tunnels close to the huge Lochnagar Crater.
2.
Being so slight and spindly, it is not really surprising that ancient harvestmen have a relatively poor record. Only around 33 _____________ species have been discovered so far, and for some of those the quality of preservation is not brilliant.
3.
A metal detector enthusiast has found a major ___________ of Viking silver in a field on the Cumbria-Lancashire border.
4.
For 150 years, a species called Archaeopteryx has been regarded as the first true bird, representing a major evolutionary step away from dinosaurs. But the new fossil suggests this creature was just another feathery dinosaur and not the significant link that __________________ had believed.
5.
The prime minister believes stability and an end to the debt crisis is ___________ for any chance of a recovery in the UK economy.