文字稿

一副近乎完整的渡渡鸟骨架在英国一家拍卖行举行的拍卖会上出售给了一名私人收藏家。渡渡鸟是一种不能飞的鸟，已经绝种近三百年。据说世界上仅有 12副类似的完整骨架，而且全部都由博物馆收藏。这副被拍卖的骨架是一名渡渡鸟迷用四十年的时间通过各种搜集渠道获取的渡渡鸟碎骨拼凑而成的，完整度近 95%。请听 BBC 的报道。

It’s a comical icon of natural history, the dumpy, flightless and ultimately doomed native bird of Mauritius.

European explorers discovered the dodo in 1598, but they also hunted the birds, destroyed their habitat and drove the species to extinction within a century. A fascination with the story of this enigmatic creature inspired a British collector to start acquiring individual dodo bones in private sales and auctions in the 1970s. Forty years later, he had enough to piece together this skeleton.

It’s the first dodo to come up for sale for a century and sold over the phone for 346,300 pounds.

词汇表

comical 滑稽的
icon 代表
dumpy 又矮又胖的
flightless（鸟或昆虫）不能飞的
doomed 注定要灭绝的
habitat 栖息地，生活环境
fascination 着迷，痴迷
enigmatic 神秘的，被谜团包围着的
to piece together 拼凑起来
skeleton 骨架

测验

请听报道并回答下列问题。

1. Explorers from which continent discovered the dodo birds?

2. How long did it take for dodo birds to become extinct?

3. True or false? The dodo skeleton was discovered forty years ago.

4. Which word in the text means ‘mysterious’?

答案

1. How many people have played the game mentioned in the text?
European explorers discovered the dodo birds in 1598.

2. How long did it take for dodo birds to become extinct?
Within a century.

3. True or false? The dodo skeleton was discovered forty years ago.
False. The collector spent forty years collecting bones from private sales and auctions, then he built the skeleton.

4. Which word in the text means ‘mysterious’?
Enigmatic.