We know many other wild plants, animals, insects and birds have died out more recently. According to⑯ a UN report, some⑰ 844 animals and plants have disappeared in the last 500 years⑱. The dodo is one of them. It lived on the Island of Mauritius and was a very friendly animal. Please listen to a story of the dodo and how it disappeared from the earth. 　　⑯according to按照；根据......所说，介词短语，后常跟名词或动名词作宾语。

　　⑰some adv.大约，常用于数字前，相当于about。

　　⑱in the last 500 years在过去的500年里，用作时间状语，相当于"over/during the past 500 years"，常与现在完成时连用。 　　

　　　[第3段译文]

　　我们知道，近来许多其他的野生动植物、昆虫和鸟类也灭绝了。根据一份联合国的报告，在过去的500年里，大约有844种动植物已经消失。渡渡鸟就是其中的一种。它生活在毛里求斯岛上，是一种非常友好的动物。请听一个关于渡渡鸟的故事，看看它是如何从地球上消失的。

　　Step 1　True (T) or False (F)．

　　1．Most animals have died out during the long history of the earth.__F__

　　2．Dinosaurs are the most famous of the animals that have disappeared.__T__

　　3．There used to be many different kinds of dinosaurs on the earth.__T__

　　4．A rare species of bird­like dinosaur could both run and climb trees.__T__

　　5．Now people know the reason why dinosaurs suddenly disappeared.__F__

　　Step 2　Read the text and choose the best answers.

　　1．According to the passage, what can we know about the dinosaurs?

　　A．Dinosaurs were once the kindest animals on the earth.

　　B．They lived on the earth together with humans.

　　C．They died out for some unknown reasons.

　　D．It was the temperature that caused them to die out.

　　2．The bird­like dinosaurs were discovered in ________.

　　A．Xixia County, Nanyang, Henan Province

　　B．Chaoyang County, Liaoning Province

　　C．Xixia County, Nanyang, Liaoning Province

　　D．Chaoyang County, Henan Province

　　3．How did scientists know that the bird­like dinosaurs could run as well as climb trees?

A．By studying their eggs.　 B．By studying their teeth.