中国辽宁发现一种新的恐龙
We may not know how it tasted, but it certainly looked like a chicken. A new species dinosaur, which had feather all over its body, the earliest known bird ancestor — was recently discovered by a team of scientists in Liaoning, China.
What they found there was a really well-preserved, 125-million-year-old fossilized skeleton of the three-foot long animal, which has been named Jianianhualong tengi. Jianianhualong tengi is a troodontid dinosaur — one of the bird-like dinosaurs that are the closest relatives to modern-day birds. One of the key features of the newly discovered dinosaur was its asymmetrical feathers, which are wider on one side than the other. This is a prime factor in the history of animal flight.
“Asymmetrical feathers have been associated with the ability of flying, but are also found in species that do not fly, and their appearance was a major event in feather evolution,”the authors write in the study. It is not clear whether Jianianhualong tengi was capable of flight. The scientists will try their best to find more evidences to tell whether the newly found species have the ability of traveling freely in the sky just like large birds.
“It is extremely challenging to accurately tell their ability of flying in early fossil birds and bird-like dinosaurs because there is a lot of missing data to deal with,” Michael Pittman, a scientist at the University of Hong Kong and an author of the study, told National Geographic. The discovery was published on Tuesday in Nature Communications, a very popular British journal.
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1.What is the best title of the passage?
A New feathered dinosaur discovered in China.
B The way to tell the new kind of chicken taste.
C Scientists in Liaoning found new chicken.
D New name Jianianhualong tengi was given.
解析：选A。主旨大意题。 文章讲述的主要内容就是在中国发现了一种新的恐龙。故该题的正确答案为A。
2.What is the special character of the Jianianhualong tengi?
A It has the fossilized skeleton.
B It has the asymmetrical feather.
C It is the bird-like dinosaur.
D It has the relatives to modern birds.
解析：选B。细节理解题。根据文章第二段第三句的One of the key features of the newly discovered dinosaur was its asymmetrical feathers可以得知这种恐龙有不对称的羽毛，这是新发现的恐龙的特点。
3.Why do the scientists continue to study?
A They want to know the history of animal flight.
B They wonder who is the earliest bird ancestor.
C They doubt whether the species are able to fly.
D They have the desire to understand the chicken.
解析：选C。推理判断题。根据第三段的The scientists will try their best to find more evidences to tell whether the newly found species have the ability of traveling freely in the sky just like large birds.可以得知科学家们将会继续探索这种恐龙是否能在空中飞翔。
4.What Michael Pittman said means ______.
A it is difficult to know bird-like dinosaurs’ flight ability
B people can read the article in Nature Communications
C lots of missing data has already been found in Liaoning
D National Geographic has good relationship with him
解析：选A。推理判断题。根据文章最后一段第一句的It is extremely challenging to accurately tell their ability of flying in early fossil birds and bird-like dinosaurs可以得知判断这种恐龙是否能飞是很难的。