一具距今约 6700 万年的霸王龙化石在纽约苏富比拍卖行以 5010 万美元，即 3740 万英镑成交，创下恐龙化石价格的新纪录。

It was initially valued at $30 million, but Gus, as the T-rex has been affectionately named, went for much more after a bidding battle that lasted over 10 minutes. Cassandra Hatton, worldwide head of natural history at Sotheby's, said the price reflected the time to excavate and reconstruct the specimen and its quality.

这具霸王龙化石被亲切地命名为 “格斯”，最初估价为 3000 万美元。然而，在持续十多分钟的激烈竞拍后，其最终成交价远远超过预估价格。苏富比全球自然史业务负责人卡桑德拉·哈顿表示，成交价反映了发掘和复原这件标本所耗费的大量时间，以及标本本身的品质。

Standing at 12.5 feet tall and with more than 60% of the bones recovered, it is one of the most complete specimens of its kind. We are unlikely to find out the identity of the buyer immediately. Time will tell if the dinosaur is coming to a museum near you.

该标本高 12.5 英尺，已发现并回收的骨骼超过整体的 60%，是现存最完整的霸王龙标本之一。我们可能无法立即得知买家的身份。只有时间才能揭晓，这具霸王龙化石未来是否会在你附近的博物馆展出。

词汇表

initially 最初，起初
affectionately 亲切地
bidding 出价，竞标
natural history 自然史
excavate 发掘，挖掘
reconstruct 复原，重建
specimen 标本
standing at （高度）达到
recovered 被发掘出，被找回
time will tell 只有时间才能揭晓答案，还有待时间证明

听力练习

一、听第一遍音频，回答问题。

1. Is this about the discovery of a dinosaur skeleton or the sale of a dinosaur skeleton?

二、用一分钟阅读下列问题，然后听第二遍音频并回答问题。

1. The dinosaur was sold for $30m.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given

2. Many people wanted to buy the specimen.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given

3. Gus is a particularly good example of a dinosaur specimen.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given

4. Gus is a complete dinosaur skeleton.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given

5. The dinosaur will appear in museums.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given

三、听第三遍音频，将句子补充完整。（提示：可以反复听，直到听清楚每一个词）

1. _____________ 12.5 feet tall and with more than 60% of the bones recovered, it is one of the most complete specimens of its kind.

2. _____________ if the dinosaur is coming to a museum near you.

答案

一、听第一遍音频，回答问题。

This article is about the sale of a dinosaur skeleton.

二、 用一分钟阅读下列问题，然后听第二遍音频并回答问题。

1. b. False. It was initially valued at $30 million, but Gus, as the T-rex has been affectionately named, went for much more after a bidding battle that lasted over 10 minutes.

2. a. True. It was initially valued at $30 million, but Gus, as the T-rex has been affectionately named, went for much more after a bidding battle that lasted over 10 minutes.

3. a. True. Cassandra Hatton, worldwide head of natural history at Sotheby's, said the price reflected the time to excavate and reconstruct the specimen and its quality.

4. b. False. Standing at 12.5 feet tall and with more than 60% of the bones recovered, it is one of the most complete specimens of its kind.

5. c. Not given. Time will tell if the dinosaur is coming to a museum near you.

三、听第三遍音频，将句子补充完整。（提示：可以反复听，直到听清楚每一个词）

1. Standing at 12.5 feet tall and with more than 60% of the bones recovered, it is one of the most complete specimens of its kind.

2. Time will tell if the dinosaur is coming to a museum near you.