| 1. What does the professor mainly discuss? |
教授主要讨论了叫做“archaeopteryx”的古代鸟类。 |
“FEMALE PROFESSOR: OK, we’ve been talking about birds, modern birds, and their environments. But it might be interesting to say something about ancient birds, especially the one called archaeopteryx.” |
| 2. According to the professor, why was the first archaeopteryx fossil of unusually high quality? |
第一个archaeopteryx化石之所以质量异常高，是因为它被发现于德国一座采石场的极细粒石灰岩中。 |
“FEMALE PROFESSOR: Well, I mentioned before that the archaeopteryx fossil was found in a quarry– you know, where people cut stone– in this case, exceptionally fine-grained limestone.” |
| 3. Why does the professor mention the Mona Lisa? |
教授提到蒙娜丽莎是为了说明不同的观众会根据自己的偏见对它有不同的理解，而archaeopteryx在科学界也有类似的地位。 |
“FEMALE PROFESSOR: It’s like, say, the Mona Lisa… you guys have seen copies of that painting, right? The Mona Lisa? Well, one of the great things about it is that each person who sees that painting understands it a little differently, according to their own biases. You might say that the archaeopteryx is a scientific Mona Lisa.” |
| 4. What point does the professor make about the tail of the archaeopteryx? |
教授指出archaeopteryx的尾巴长且骨质，类似爬行动物的尾巴，而不像现代鸟类的尾巴短且粗壮。 |
“FEMALE PROFESSOR: I mean, it is very different from modern birds in some important ways—there’s no beak, the tail is long and bony the way a reptile’s is, rather than short and stubby like a modern bird’s.” |
| 5. What is the professor’s attitude toward the recent research on fossils discovered in China? |
教授认为，尽管这项最近基于中国发现的化石的研究尚未完成，但她觉得其结论非常有说服力。 |
“FEMALE PROFESSOR: Well, the most recent research is based on some fossils being found in China. It’s hardly complete, but I find its conclusions really compelling.” |
