Unit 4 Wildlife Protection Learning about Language & Using Language学案

　　ANIMAL EXTINCTION①

　　Many animals have disappeared during the long history of the earth. The most famous of these animals are dinosaurs②. They lived on the earth tens of millions of years ago, long before humans came into beingand their future seemed secure at that time③. There were many different kinds of dinosaur and a number of④ them used to live in China. The eggs of twenty­five species have been found in Xixia County, Nanyang, Henan Province. Not long ago a rare new species of bird­like dinosaur was discovered in Chaoyang County, Liaoning Province. When scientists inspected⑤ the bones, they were surprised to find⑥that these dinosaurs could not only run like the others but also climb trees⑦. They learned this from the way the bones were joined together⑧.

　　Dinosaurs died out⑨ suddenly about 65 million years ago. Some scientists think it came after an unexpected⑩incident⑪ when a huge rock from space hit the earth and put too much dust⑫ into the air. Others think the earth got too hot for the dinosaurs to live on⑬ any more. Nobody knows for sure⑭why and how dinosaurs disappeared from the earth in such a short time⑮. 　　①extinction/Ik'stIŋkʃn/n.灭绝；消亡

　　extinct adj.不再存在的；已灭绝的；绝种的

　　②dinosaur/'daInəsɔː/n.恐龙

　　③come into being形成；产生(相当于come into existence)

　　long before远远早于......，long用在before前表示两个动作发生的时间相隔久远。

　　④a number of"许多的；若干的"，后接可数名词的复数形式，谓语动词用复数形式。

　　the number of"......的数量"，后接可数名词复数形式，谓语动词用单数形式。

　　⑤inspect/In'spekt/vt.检查；视察

　　⑥be surprised to do sth.吃惊地做某事(to do sth.是surprised的原因)

　　⑦that引导宾语从句，从句中含有并列连词not only ... but also连接的并列谓语，即run与climb。

　　⑧the bones ...是省略that的定语从句，修饰the way。

　　⑨die out灭亡；逐渐消失

　　⑩unexpected/ˌʌnIk'spektId/adj.没料到的；意外的

　　⑪incident/'InsIdənt/n.事件；事变，指小插曲；事件；冲突

　　accident指意外事故

　　⑫dust/dʌst/n.灰尘；尘土；尘埃

　　dusty adj.多灰尘的

　　⑬live on继续存在

　　too hot for the dinosaurs to live on为"too＋adj.＋for sb./sth. to do sth."结构，意为"对......来说，太......而不能......"。

　　⑭for sure无疑地；确定地(＝for certain)，在句中作状语。

⑮why and how共同引导宾语从句，作knows的宾语。