慢速英语 | 科学家发现珍贵彩虹龙化石
Scientists recently announced the discovery of a small, bird-like dinosaur from China which had unusual, colorful feathers.
最近，一些科学家宣布，他们发现了一种来自中国的小型类鸟恐龙，羽毛罕见，色彩斑斓。
The scientists named the dinosaur Caihong, the Mandarin word for rainbow.They discovered the nearly complete and almost entirely undamaged fossil in Hebei Province.
他们给这种恐龙取名为彩虹(Caihong)，与普通话的彩虹两字同音。他们在河北省发现了这种几乎毫发未伤的完整化石。
Microscopic structures in the fossil suggest that the creature had wide, shiny feathers.The feathers mostly covered the dinosaur’s head and upper body.The colors of those feather would have appeared to change depending on how the light hit them.
通过对该化石在显微镜下的观察发现，这种恐龙的羽毛又宽又有光泽。这种恐龙的头部和身体上部的大部分地方都长有这种羽毛。其羽毛的颜色会随着照在他们身上的光的颜色而变换。
The colorful dinosaur lived 161 million years ago during the Jurassic Period of earth’s history.
这种彩虹龙生活在地球史上侏罗纪时期的1.61亿年前。
Chad Eliason is an evolutionary biologist with the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois.He helped write the study announcing the discovery in the scientific publication Nature Communications.Eliason told the Reuters news service that the discovery “suggests a more colorful Jurassic World than we previously imagined.”
乍得·埃利亚松是伊利诺斯州菲尔德博物馆的一名进化生物学家。他助力撰写了这篇发现彩虹龙的研究，发表在科技出版物《自然通讯》上。埃利亚松在接受路透社采访时表示，这次的发现“表明侏罗纪世界比我们之前想象的更加色彩斑斓。”
The scientists used powerful microscopes to identify the remains of the cell structures responsible for the apparent color of the feathers.The shape of those structures appears to have influenced what color the feathers would have.Round-shaped structures in the Caihong fossil show that it had feathers similar to that of a modern day hummingbird.
这些科学家用高倍显微镜找到了哪部分残留的细胞结构是负责显现羽毛颜色的。这些结构的形状看起来影响了羽毛的颜色。这种彩虹龙中圆形的结构中含有与现代蜂鸟相似的羽毛。
Much of Caihong’s body had dark feathers.The shiny, color-changing feathers covered its head and neck.The dinosaur had many bird-like qualities.But researchers doubt that it could actually fly.
彩虹龙的身体上有很多地方都有深色的羽毛。这种色泽闪亮、颜色变换的羽毛在头上和颈部都有。彩虹龙有很多特质与鸟类很像。但研究人员猜测，彩虹龙实际上是能飞的。
Its feathers could have served the purpose of gaining the attention of sexual partners while also providing protection from heat and cold.
它羽毛的作用可能是吸引性伴侣的注意，同时帮助他们抵御炎热和寒冷。
Caihong was two-legged and had a long, narrow head with sharp teeth.It had boney crests above its eyes, and it hunted other, smaller animals for food.
这种两脚兽的头又长又细，牙齿尖尖的。眼睛上面的嵴部很瘦，这种恐龙以捕猎其他小型动物为食。
Scientists say many dinosaurs had feathers.Birds evolved from small feathered dinosaurs near the end of the Jurassic Period.
一些科学家表示，很多恐龙都有羽毛。鸟类就是从侏罗纪末期一些有羽毛的小型恐龙进化来的。
Caihong had two kinds of feathers.It also is the earliest-known creature with feathers that did not have the same shape on both sides.This is a physical quality that modern birds have and use to direct themselves while flying.
彩虹龙有两种羽毛，它也是目前所知最早出现的一种两侧羽毛不对称的物种。这是一种现代鸟类才有的体征，这种体征有助于指引他们飞行。
The unevenly shaped feathers on Caihong were on its tail.This suggests that tail feathers, not arm feathers, were first used to improve movement through the air in flying dinosaurs, scientists said.
这种不对称的羽毛长在彩虹龙的尾部。这表明，尾部的羽毛并非用于战斗的羽毛，其最初是用来提升恐龙的飞行情况，科学家这样解释道。
Xing Xu is a paleontologist with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.Xing Xu said, “It is extremely similar to some early birds such as Archaeopteryx.”Archaeopteryx is the earliest known bird.It is believed to have lived 150 million years ago.
邢旭是中国科学院的一名古生物学家。他表示，“彩虹龙与一些早期的鸟类十分相似，比如始祖鸟。”始祖鸟是目前所知的最早出现的鸟类，据猜测生活在1.5亿年前。
“To be honest, I am not sure what function the feathers have,” Xing Xu added.“And I don’t think that you can completely exclude the possibility that the feathers helped the animal to get in the air.”
“说实话，我不是十分确定这些羽毛的功用，”邢旭补充道。“而且我觉得人类也无法完全排除羽毛可以帮助鸟类飞行的可能。”
The dinosaur’s full scientific name is Caihong juji, which means “rainbow with a big crest.”
彩虹龙的完整学名是巨嵴彩虹龙，意思是“嵴部大大的彩虹龙。”
I’m Pete Musto.
皮特·马斯托为您播报。