Discovering the oldest complete fish fossil发现最古老的完整鲨鱼化石

李全忠

主题语境：探索与发现 篇幅：325词 建议用时：7分钟

1 Back in 2019， three careful Chinese scientistswere playfighting during a break from workingin Chongqing， China. Looking into a rockthrough an opening in the rock face， one ofthem found a wonderful fossil lying undisturbed，which had been preserved for millions of years.

2 The fossil was a jawed fish， some 439 million years old， and the findings from theChongqing site， along with other fossil findings in nearby Guizhou Province， have excitedthe science world， as they are 11 million years older than any jawed fish fossilfound before. It is a significant discovery because scientists have suspected that jawsevolved （进化） some 450 million years ago， but there had yet to be any fossils that supportedthis theory. The oldest fossils with jaws found were 439 million years old.

3 The research team recently published four papers on the discoveries. Today they arestaring at complete early fishes， 11 million years earlier than the previous oldest finds.These are both the most exciting as well as the most challenging fossils the team havehad the privilege to work on.

4 Some of the fish that were discovered were placoderms， an extinct class of fish that havehard plates that formed a shield around the head and trunk， while others were an ancestraltype of shark called acanthodian.

5 The scientists have found the oldest?known teeth of any vertebrate （脊椎动物）， 14 millionyears older than any previous findings， as well as two other shark descendants.China has been the site of numerous discoveries in recent years， including fossils offeathered dinosaurs， as well as the oldest known animals on Earth.

6 The discovery of the Chongqing site is indeed significant for fossil hunting. It made theteam realize they had found a jaw?dropping fossil site. They are now close to the core ofsolving the fishy tree of early jawed vertebrates.

Reading

Check

1. What do we know about the discovery of the Chongqing site？

A. It was made by scientists at work.

B. It happened six years ago.

C. It relates to animals origin.

D. It was done all by chance.

2. Why is the discovery of the Chongqing site important？

A. It inspires scientists to work on.

B. It provides evidence of jaws evolving.

C. It helps four papers to be published.

D. It finds the oldest animal on Earth.

3. In which part of a magazine can you read this text？

A. Science.

B. Culture.

C. Tourism.

D. Entertainment.

Language

Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentence in the text

Some of the fish that were discovered were placoderms， an extinct class of fish thathave hard plates that formed a shield around the head and trunk， while others were an ancestraltype of shark called acanthodian. 一些被发现的鱼类是盾皮鱼，这是一种已经灭绝的鱼類，其头部和躯干周围坚硬的鳞片形成了一道屏障，而另一些则是一种被称为棘鱼的鲨鱼祖先。

【点石成金】本句是一个并列复合句。句中的while连接并列从句，在第一个分句中的三个that都引导定语从句。

Ⅱ. Fill in the blanks with a proper expression

along with significant stare at previous unbelievable be close to

1. This house doesn't compare with our___________one.

2. I know it sounds___________but I never want to cheat.

3. I would rather___________a clear， star?filled sky than a TV set.

4. There are no___________differences between the two groups of students.

5. The problem of pollution arises___________the rapid development of industry.

6. The task should___________students' life， learning experience and social reality.