在线广播

北美最古老人类脚印

时间:2021-10-11 11:09:00 来源:可可英语编辑:Magi 可可英语APP下载 | 可可官方微信:ikekenet

字号：大 | 中 | 小

Footprints discovered in New Mexico suggest that early humans were in North America around 23,000 years ago, researchers reported recently.
研究人员最近报告说，在新墨西哥州发现的足迹表明，早期人类大约在2.3万年前生活在北美。

The fossilized footprints were found in a dry lake in White Sands National Park in 2009.
这些足迹化石是2009年在白沙国家公园的一个干涸的湖泊中被发现的。

Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey recently studied seeds stuck in the footprints to estimate their age.
美国地质调查局的科学家最近研究了留在足迹中的种子，以估计这些足迹产生的年代。

The findings may help scientists answer a basic question: When did people first arrive in the Americas, after spreading out from Africa and Asia?
这些发现可能会帮助科学家回答一个基本问题：人类从非洲和亚洲扩散后，是什么时候第一次抵达美洲的？

Most scientists believe the migration path included land, now underwater, that linked Asia with what is now the state of Alaska.
大多数科学家认为，迁徙路线包括陆地，现在是在水下，它把亚洲与现在的阿拉斯加州连接起来了。

Past research has suggested that humans arrived in the Americas from 13,000 to 26,000 years ago.
过去的研究表明，人类在1.3万年到2.6万年前抵达美洲。

Such findings were based on different kinds of evidence—including stone tools, fossil bones and genetic studies.
这些发现基于不同种类的证据——包括石器、骨骼化石和基因研究。

The recent study gives a more solid baseline for when humans were in North America.
最近的研究为人类在北美生活的时间提供了一个更可靠的基线。

Fossil footprints are more direct, clearer evidence than "cultural artifacts, modified bones, or other more conventional fossils," the researchers wrote in the publication Science.
研究人员在《科学》杂志上写道，足迹化石是比“文化手工制品、改良过的骨骼或其他更传统的化石”更直接、更清晰的证据。

Based on the size of the footprints, researchers believe that some were made by children who lived during the last ice age.
根据足迹的大小，研究人员认为，有些足迹是生活在上一个冰河时代的儿童留下的。

David Bustos, the park's resource program manager, saw the first footprints in ancient wetlands in 2009.
该公园的资源项目经理戴维·布斯托斯于2009年在古代湿地发现了第一批足迹。

"We knew they were old, but we had no way to date the prints before we discovered some with seeds on top," he said.
他说：“我们知道这些足迹很古老，但在我们发现一些上面有种子的足迹之前，我们无法确定它们的年代。”

Bustos said the researchers had to work quickly and carefully to secure pieces of the footprints for study.
布斯托斯说，研究人员必须迅速而谨慎地工作，以确保足迹碎片可供研究。

The footprints were made of extremely fine earth material and could easily be damaged.
足迹是由极其精细的泥土材料制成的，很容易损坏。

"The only way we can save them is to record them—to take a lot of photos and make 3D models," he said.
他说：“我们保存它们的唯一方法就是记录它们——拍很多照片，制作3D模型。”

Earlier digs in White Sands National Park have uncovered fossilized tracks left by a saber-toothed cat, dire wolf, Columbian mammoth and other ice age animals.
在白沙国家公园的早些挖掘中发现了剑齿猫、恐狼、哥伦比亚猛犸象和其他冰河时代动物留下的足迹化石。

扫描二维码进行跟读打分训练

重点词组

1. link A with B 把A和B连接起来

The Channel Tunnel links Britain with the rest of Europe.

英吉利海峡隧道把英国和欧洲其他国家连接起来了[mTcO4+u[ZSQ8egLa]F。

2. ice age 冰河时代

The discovery will help scientists unravel the mystery of the Ice Age.

这一发现将有助于科学家揭开冰川时代的奥秘Ep5cQOj6Wl|NIPZcTSH。

关注微信公众号【可可双语精读】，获取更多详细优质讲解内容yfgFtw8EoNv#_z=I。

上一页 [1] [2] 下一页 查看《VOA慢速-科技报道》更多内容>>

重点单词		查看全部解释
secure	[si'kjuə]	想一想再看 adj. 安全的，牢靠的，稳妥的 vt. 固定	联想记忆 X 单词secure 联想记忆： sc分开+cure→不关心，不担忧→安全的
survey	[sə:'vei]	想一想再看 v. 调查，检查，测量，勘定，纵览，环视 n.
extremely	[iks'tri:mli]	想一想再看 adv. 极其，非常	联想记忆 X 单词extremely 联想记忆： extreme极端的+ly表副词，通常放在形容词后→过分地
uncovered	[,ʌn'kʌvəd]	想一想再看 adj. 无覆盖物的；未保险的；无盖的 v. 脱帽致敬；
tracks		想一想再看 n. 轨道（track的复数）；磁道；轮胎
channel	['tʃænl]	想一想再看 n. 通道，频道，（消息）渠道，海峡，方法 v	联想记忆 X 单词channel 联想记忆： chann管道+el表名词，“人或物”→航道
unravel	[ʌn'rævl]	想一想再看 v. 阐明，解释，解开	联想记忆 X 单词unravel 联想记忆： un不，ravel（v 纠缠）：解开
tunnel	['tʌnl]	想一想再看 n. 隧道，地道 v. 挖隧道，挖地道	联想记忆 X 单词tunnel 联想记忆： tunn管道+el表名词，“人或物”→隧道
mystery	['mistəri]	想一想再看 n. 神秘，秘密，奥秘，神秘的人或事物
migration	[mai'greiʃən]	想一想再看 n. 移民，移往，移动