南極洲神奇的“足球”化

石姜明

在南極洲海岸外的西摩島，科學家們發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個6，800萬年前的看起來像一個被壓癟的足球一樣的神秘化石蛋。據(jù)科學家們稱，它是有史以來最大的軟殼蛋。

1. paleontologist /plntldst/ n. 古生物學者

2. flatten /fltn/ v. （使）變平

3. reptile /reptal/ ?n. 爬行動物

Scientists recently reported an unusual finding： the discovery of the secondlargest egg known to exist. The egg， a 68 millionyearold fossil， was found on Seymour Island， off the coast of Antarctica.

The fossil is said to be about the size of a football—without the air inside. It measures around 29 centimeters by 20 centimeters.

Despite the fact that birds and many dinosaurs produced hardshelled eggs， the Antarctic egg has a soft shell.

“This new egg is the very first fossil egg from Antarctica， and the largest softshelled egg ever discovered，” said Lucas Legendre. He is a paleontologist at the University of Texas at Austin. He was the lead writer of the report published in the journal Nature.

Legendre compared the egg to a football that had lost its air. “One side is flattened， suggesting that is where it came in contact with the sea floor. Its eggshell is very thin， and poorly mineralized， like in the eggs of snakes，” he said.

At the time the egg was made， the only creatures in Antarctica that were large enough to lay it were seagoing reptiles. The discovery of the fossil makes researchers question the idea that these animals only gave birth to live young.

The bones of the mother were not found， so scientists were not able to say which animal laid it. Among the likely creatures to have laid it are species of mosasaurs and plesiosaurs. The former could reach lengths of 15 meters， while the latter could reach lengths of 10 meters， Legendre said.

Mosasaurs and plesiosaurs died off at the same time as the dinosaurs. They disappeared after a small， rocky object， reportedly struck Earth some 66 million years ago.

Scientists from the University of Chile and Chiles Museum of Natural History found the unusual fossil in 2011. “When we arrived at camp， we asked the geologists that accompanied us if they had ever seen anything like it，” said University of Chile paleontology researcher Rodrigo Otero. “Their expression of puzzlement said it all.”

1. Whats the feature of the egg compared with other eggs？

A. Its shell is hard.

B. Its shell is soft.

C. Its the largest ever found.

D. It looks like a round football.

2. What do we know about the egg from its flattened side？

A. Its once filled with air.

B. It can reach lengths of 15 meters.

C. It once lay on the sea floor.

D. It disappeared because of dinosaurs.

3. Why is it difficult for scientists to say which animal laid the egg？

A. They havent found the bones of its mother.

B. They couldnt agree with each other.

C. Its eggshell is different from the others.

D. The egg looks like those of snakes.

4. What can be inferred from what Rodrigo Otero said in the last paragraph？

A. The egg has been in the museum for 20 years.

B. Scientists discovered the origin of the egg.

C. A rocky object brought the egg to earth.

D. The egg also puzzled scientists.

Sentence for writing

Despite the fact that birds and many dinosaurs produced hardshelled eggs， the Antarctic egg has a soft shell.

【信息提取】despite the fact that... 意為“盡管……”。

【句式仿寫】盡管我喜歡這頂帽子的顏色，但我不喜歡它的形狀。