A New Insight into the Disappearance of the Dodo▼ 傻傻惹人憐的多多鳥 Scientists recently uncovered new information about one of the first species that disappeared in the modern era. 科學家最近發現有關近代第一批消失物種之一的新資訊。
The dodo was one of the strangest-looking animals that ever lived. These large birds had a long, green beak▼ and lived on the island of Mauritius. Unlike most birds, they could not fly. They got the name dodo because the sailors who discovered them thought they were stupid creatures. Dodos had no natural predators▼, so they weren't afraid of anything that might hurt them. This made it easy for people to hunt and kill the poor birds. The sailors also brought new animals to Mauritius, such as monkeys, pigs, and dogs. These animals started eating dodo eggs from their nests. By the year 1662, all of these changes had damaged their population, and now dodos no longer exist. Today, scientists are using new technology to learn about this mysterious bird. In a new study, a team of scientists examined the bones of 22 dodos. They learned that dodos hatched from their eggs every August and quickly grew to adult size. They also found out that changing weather in Mauritius may have played a role in the animal's downfall▼. Hopefully, learning about this iconic bird will help us prevent more human-caused destruction in the future.
▼ insight n. 深刻見解；洞察力 ▼ dodo n. 多多鳥；傻瓜（非正式用法） ▼ beak n. 鳥嘴，喙 ▼ predator n. 掠食動物 ▼ downfall n. 造成滅絕／衰敗的原因
1. species n.（動植物的）物種，種（單複數同形） The scientist discovered a rare species of lizard in the jungle. 科學家在叢林裡發現一種稀有的蜥蜴品種。 * lizard n. 蜥蜴 2. disappear vi. 消失 The cockroach disappeared under the bed, and we couldn't find it. 那隻蟑螂消失在床底下，所以我們找不到牠。
3. unlike prep. 不像，與……不同 Unlike most girls, Cindy prefers building model cars instead of playing with dolls. 不像大部分的女孩，辛蒂偏好做模型車而非玩洋娃娃。
4. creature n. 生物；動物 Jellyfish are interesting creatures, but they can be dangerous to swimmers. 水母是有趣的生物，但牠們對泳客卻有危險性。
5. damage vt. 損害 Even though he knows that eating junk food might damage his health, Jason still cannot quit. 雖然傑森知道吃垃圾食物有害健康，他還是無法戒掉。
6. exist vi. 存在；生存 Jeff won't believe that ghosts exist unless he sees them with his own eyes. 除非親眼看到，否則傑夫不相信鬼魂的存在。
7. hatch vi.（蛋）孵化 The hen is sitting on the eggs waiting for them to hatch. 母雞正坐在蛋上等待它們孵化。
8. hopefully adv. 但願，可望 Hopefully, the singer will finish her new album by the end of October. 但願那位歌手能在十月底前完成她的新專輯。
名詞 nest 的相關用法 本文 "These animals started eating dodo eggs from their nests." 中的名詞 nest 表「鳥巢，鳥窩」。這個字也可引申為「家」，相關片語為 fly / leave the nest，表「搬出父母的家，離家獨立」。此外，nest 也表「（壞事滋生的）溫床／窟」，相關用法為 nest of N。例：
All the Huang children have flown the nest. （黃家的所有小孩都離家獨立了。）
The diplomats have been driven out from the country because their embassy has become a nest of spies. （外交官被驅逐出境了，因為他們的大使館已經淪為間諜窩。）
