英语听力：探索发现 2012-12-21 冰河新新州 Ice Age Oasis—4
时间：2018-12-03 作者：英语课 分类：探索与发现2012年
英语课
At first sight, manatees 1 might look like seals or dolphins. But in fact, some of their closest relatives live on land. These toenails are the giveaway, remarkably 2 similar to those of elephants.
13,000 years ago, two other members of the elephant family roamed this land. The manatees that swim in Florida's springs today are living relatives of ice age mammoths and mastodons.
Some of the bones found in these springs are easy to identify, but scattering 3 among them are some more obscure remains 4. What kind of animal could this belong to? These rosettes are bony scales or scutes, similar to those that cover some reptiles 6 today. But this is only one piece of the jigsaw 7. Imagine what the creature would have looked like when all these pieces were fitted together.
The scutes, around 2,000 of them, once formed the shell of a huge animal called the glyptodont. With its heavy weight exterior 8, the glyptodont looks like a reptile 5, like the alligator 9, which has been around for millions of years, long before the last ice age.
1 manatees
n.海牛（水生哺乳动物，体宽扁，尾圆，有鳃状肢）( manatee的名词复数 )
- The manatees tamed quickly. 海牛很快地被驯服。 来自互联网
- Gentle and slow moving, manatees are said to be the mythical mermaids of sailors' imaginations. 海牛游动温和而缓慢，被认为是海员遐想中富有神秘色彩的美人鱼。 来自互联网
2 remarkably
ad.不同寻常地，相当地
- I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
- He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。
3 scattering
n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散
- The child felle into a rage and began scattering its toys about. 这孩子突发狂怒，把玩具扔得满地都是。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The farmers are scattering seed. 农夫们在播种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 remains
n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹
- He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
- The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
5 reptile
n.爬行动物；两栖动物
- The frog is not a true reptile.青蛙并非真正的爬行动物。
- So you should not be surprised to see someone keep a reptile as a pet.所以，你不必惊奇有人养了一只爬行动物作为宠物。
6 reptiles
n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 )
- Snakes and crocodiles are both reptiles. 蛇和鳄鱼都是爬行动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Birds, reptiles and insects come from eggs. 鸟类、爬虫及昆虫是卵生的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
7 jigsaw
n.缕花锯，竖锯，拼图游戏；vt.用竖锯锯，使互相交错搭接
- A jigsaw puzzle can keep me absorbed for hours.一副拼图就能让我沉醉几个小时。
- Tom likes to work on jigsaw puzzles,too.汤姆也喜欢玩拼图游戏。