as is the case in all those other combined skeletons, truly allows us to appreciate the way the dodo looked and see how tall or fat it really was，" said Juilan Hume, of the Natural History Museum UK, a co­author on the study.

　　The scans were performed on site in Durban, South Africa, and allow examination of the biology of this mysterious extinct bird in detail for the first time. Using the newest digital tools and techniques, the scans provide an insight into how the flightless dodo may have developed its giant size, and how it walked and lived in its forest home. According to Kenneth Rijsdijk, a biologist from University of Amsterdam, "the skull (颅骨) of the dodo is so large and its mouth so strong, that it is easy to understand that the earliest naturalists thought it was related to sharks and other birds of prey (猛禽), rather than the pigeon family."

　　语篇解读：本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍了运用3D扫描技术来研究渡渡鸟的骨架。

　　1．The underlined phrase "a poster child" in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to "________"．

　　A．a typical example

　　B．an endangered animal

　　C．a child who puts up posters on the board

　　D．a child posted in a newspaper as an advertisement

　　解析：选A　词义猜测题。根据前半句"The dodo is among the most famous extinct creatures"以及下文对渡渡鸟的详细介绍可推知，a poster child意为"典型的例子"。故答案选A。

　　2．The researchers study the dodo skeleton to find out ________.

　　A．ways to save the dodo

　　B．the dodo's living habits

　　C．the bird's natural habitat

　　D．the cause of the dodo's extinction

　　解析：选B　细节理解题。根据第一段第三句"A new study ... this famous extinct bird."可知，研究者们研究渡渡鸟的骨架是为了了解渡渡鸟的生活习惯。故答案选B。

　　3．What is special about the dodo skeleton found by an amateur collector?

　　A．It is gathered from more than one individual.

　　B．It remained unstudied between 1899 and 1917.

　　C．It is the only complete dodo skeleton from a single individual bird.

D．It can be examined with 3­D laser scanning technology.