The World of Fossils

Look how big its feet are! ” Eric pointed. “ How did they find all the bones?” Dana raised her hand. All the kids in the class were looking at a dinosaur exhibit. Do you want to know a secret?” Miss Bennett, the museum guide, said in a low voice. “ Those are not real dinosaur bones! ” But . . . but . . . but, ” Eric stuttered. “ So dinosaurs never existed?” Carol asked timidly.

看它的脚有多大！”埃里克指了指。“他们是怎么找到所有骨头的？”丹娜举起了手。 班上所有的孩子都在看恐龙展览。 你想知道一个秘密吗？”博物馆导游贝内特小姐低声说道。“那不是真正的恐龙骨头！” 但是但是但是，”埃里克结结巴巴地说。“所以恐龙从未存在过？”卡罗尔胆怯地问道。

Of course they existed! ” Miss Bennett laughed. “ But those bones are not the original bones. Follow me and I will explain. ” The class followed her into another room. “ First, who knows where those bones came from?” Miss Bennett asked. From dead dinosaurs?” Eric answered. “ They come from fossils! ” Carol said.

他们当然存在！”贝内特小姐笑了。“但那些骨头不是原来的骨头。跟着我，我会解释的。” 全班同学跟着她走进另一个房间。“首先，谁知道这些骨头是从哪里来的？”贝内特小姐问道。 来自死恐龙？”埃里克回答。“它们来自化石！”卡罗尔说。

You are both right. The dinosaur's dead bones turned into fossils. ” Miss Bennett switched on a projector. She pointed at the dinosaur on the screen. “ Look at this dinosaur. Usually, when a dinosaur dies, it decays or another animal eats it. But sometimes the dinosaur is buried before it gets destroyed. Slowly the flesh and skin of the dinosaur rot away. Only the bones are left.

你们都是对的。恐龙的尸骨变成了化石。” 贝内特小姐打开了投影仪。她指着屏幕上的恐龙。“看看这只恐龙。 通常，当一只恐龙死亡时，它会腐烂或被其他动物吃掉。 但有时恐龙在被摧毁之前就被埋葬了。 恐龙的肉和皮慢慢地腐烂了。只剩下骨头了。

Then more and more mud and sand cover the bones. The mud and sand, which are called sediment, press down on the bones. The sediment has water in it. The water has minerals. The minerals soak into the dinosaur bones. Slowly the bone material is replaced by the minerals. The bones become hard rock. Now they are fossils. This process takes a very long time.

然后越来越多的泥和沙子覆盖在骨头上。被称为沉积物的泥和沙压在骨头上。 沉积物里有水，水里有矿物质。矿物质渗入恐龙骨骼。 慢慢地，骨骼材料被矿物质所取代。骨头变成坚硬的岩石。现在它们是化石。 这个过程需要很长时间。

It takes thousands and thousands of years for the sediment to form heavy layers. These heavy layers turn into sedimentary rock around the fossils. So most fossils are found in this rock. ” When the slide show was over, Miss Bennett gave everyone a slab of clay. Let's try a simple experiment, ” she said as she held up her hand. “ Place your hand on the clay.

沉积物需要数千年才能形成厚层。 这些厚层变成化石周围的沉积岩。所以大多数化石都是在这块岩石中发现的。” 幻灯片放映结束后，贝内特小姐给了每个人一块粘土。 让我们做一个简单的实验，”她举起手说。“把手放在粘土上。

Pretend that your hand is a dead dinosaur covered with sand and mud. Press down on your hand and imagine it is being covered by more layers of sand and mud. Imagine the sediment keeps pressing for thousands, even millions of years! ” Ouch! My hand hurts, Miss Bennett! ” Eric said. Everyone laughed, and Miss Bennett continued her explanation.

假装你的手是一只沾满沙子和泥的死恐龙。 按下你的手，想象它被更多的沙子和泥土覆盖。 想象一下，沉积物在数千年甚至数百万年的时间里一直在挤压！” 哎哟!我的手疼，贝内特小姐！”埃里克说。大家都笑了，贝内特小姐继续解释。