19恐龙猎人.docx

19恐龙猎人.docx

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19恐龙猎人

Eightymillionyearsago,

disastercametoaworld

ruledbydinosaurs.

ltcameinwavesof

andandwind

thatburied

everycreaturealive.

Foreons,

thedinosaurslayentombed

inaplacethatwould

onedaybecalled

theGobiDesert

inacountrynamedMongolia.

Amongthedead

wasoneofthestrangest

dinosaursthateverlived.

ltwascalledOviraptor.

ltwasswift,smart,lethal.

Now,onlybones

tellusaboutitslife.

Andthevicious

worlditlivedin.

Theboneshavegivenus

aglimpseofthose

ancienttimes.

Adimreflectionoflife

beforehistory.

Butthereismore

tothestory......stillhidden

inthevastemptiness

oftheGobi.

Nowanambitiousexpedition

istravelingto

thatdistantdesert

touncoverthesecrets

oftheOviraptor'sworld.

Theydon'texactly

looklikescientists.

Often,they'remistaken

foreachother.

ButMikeNovacekleads

theexpedition,

alongwithcolleague

MarkNorell.

Theycouldbetaken

forsurfers;

butthey'refrom

theAmericanMuseum

ofNaturalHistory-

scientistspiecingtogether

anancientjigsawpuzzle

ofevolutionandextinction.

Tomeit'sso

obviouslyimportant,

l'msoemotionally

boundupinthis.

lcan'timaginewhy

aknowledgeofourhistoryof

wherewecomefromisn't

importanttohumanexperience.

Couldyouimagine

whatitwouldbelike

toliveinthelate

20thcentury

andnotknowthatextinction

actuallyexisted?

There'salsojust

thissenseofdiscovery.

lmean,

everybonethatwefind

tellsussomethingabout

howtheworld

was80millionsyearsago,

whichis...prettyneat.

Justhavingasenseofhistory

ofwhattheplanetwaslike

andwhattheplanet

hasgonethrough,

lthink,justincreases

ourappreciation

forourownexistence.

MikeandMarkareabouttojourney

tothesunscorchedbadlandsoftheGobi.

lt'sadesolatearea-

ahalfmilliondusty

squaremilesofsand,scrub,

andredrockcliffs.

Butit'sapaleontologist's

versionofheaven.

Forthisiswhere

theOviraptorslivedanddied

andlayuntouched

intheearthformillennia.

Then,in1922,oneofthe

mostfamousscientific

expeditionsinhistory

wounditswaytoward

Mongolia'sdinosaurgraveyard

ltsleaderwasacharismatic

and......

ontroversialexplorer

namedRoyChapmanAndrews.

LikeMarkandMike,

hecamefromthe

AmericanMuseum

ofNaturalHistory.

ButAndrewswasan

incurablepublicityhound-

andascientificcowboy.

Wherehispaleontologist

usedacamel-hairbrush,

Andrewshackedawaywith

apickax.

Buthefoundoneofthe

richestdinosaurboneyards

intheworld.

Hereturnedwithaspectacular

collectionoffossils--

andalibrary

ofstunningfilmimages.

Butinthe1920s,

Communistsseizedpower

inMongolia.

TheopendoortotheWest

slammedshut.

Forthenext65years,

thefabulousfossilfields

oftheGobi

wereforbiddenterritory.

Now,everything'schanged.

Onlytokensymbols

ofRussia'sdominationremain.

Finally,

Westernscientistscanreturn.

Wedon'twantthoseonions?

Theyrot.

Theyrotintwodays.

MarkandMikewereamong

thefirstscientists

allowedin.

They'renowback

fortheirsixthexpedition

withtheMongolianAcademy

ofSciences.

Threekilos?

Threekilos.

Theyhavejustenoughsupplies

forashortmonth,

andalongwaytogo......

retracingAndrews'footsteps

ontheirwayto

oneoftherichest

concentrationsoffossils

intheworld-

aplacecalledUkhaaTolgod.

Overavastspanoftime,

UkhaaTolgod

wasruledbydinosaurs.

Dinosaurhistory

canbethoughtof

asagreatempire

thatlasted

afewhundredmillionyears.

That'sasignificant

sliceofthehistoryoflife.

lmaginethattime,

fromthemomentthedinosaurs

appearedtillnow,

isasingleday.

Atmidnight,

dinosaursfirstwalkedearth.

They'reflourishingatnoon.

Theydon'tgoextinct

untilfiveintheafternoon.

Timepasses.

Thefirstmodernman

finallyappears

aminuteandahalf

beforemidnight.

Allofourrecordedhistory

takesthreeandahalfseconds

lntheGobi,timeseemsto

havestoodstill.

TheGobiissuchabigplace

anditbasicallyhasnolife

supportsystem.

Wereallyhavetobring

everythingwithus.

Soallourfood,

allourfuel

whichwe'recarryingin

afueltanker,

alloursupplies

havetobetreatedlikewe're

actuallyexploring

apolarregion.

lnsuchavastarea,

successisnevercertain.

Evengettingthere

canbeanightmare.

RoyChapmanAndrews

thoughthe'dsolved

theprobleminthe'20s,

withanewpieceof

technology.

Whenitwasannounced

thatweweretoattempt

ascientificexploration

oftheGobiDesert

withafleetofmotorcars,

mensaidthat

wewerelittlelessthanfools.

Onlycamelshadbeenused

inthatcountry.

Wehad40men,

eightmotorcars

and150camels

tocarrysupplies.

ltwasthebiggestland

scientificexpedition

evertoleave

theUnitedStates.

RoyChapmanAndrews.

FromChina,

Andrewsheadednorthwest.

HeleftPeking,

thencrossedovertheborder

anddrovedeepinto

theparchedheart

ofouterMongolia.

Mongolia,alandofpainted

desertsdancinginmirage.

Mongolia,alandofmystery,

ofparadoxandpromise!

Athirstyland.

Alandofdesolation!

Gazelles,wildasses,

andwolvesranged

themarchingsands.

Fewexplorershadbeenthere

andtheybroughtbacktales

ofthirst,cold,andhunger.

ButAndrewsfound

onemorething......mud.

Ouraveragespeedwas

onlyfourmilesanhour.

Rocks,ravines,washouts,

andditches

followedoneanother

inrapidsuccession.

Onemightimaginethatthe

roadshavegottenbetter.

Theyhavenot.

Andevenmodernjeeps

aren'tbuilt

foradesertliketheGobi.

Wehaveanelectricalproblem

andwedon'tknowwhatitis.

lt'snotaverycomplicated

wiringplan.

lt'saRussianjeep.

lt'snotlikeaJapanese

oranAmericancar.

They'reupandrunning.

Butnext,

it'satruck'sturn.

Piston,huh?

Wethinkit'spiston

numbersix.

Acriticalbreakdowncould

havesevereconsequences.

Endoftheexpedition,

ifnottheendofourlives.

Maybewe'llmakeit.

Oh,God.

Withthenearestgasstation

some500milesaway,

andtimealready

gettingtight,

thingswillhavetogo

smoothlyfromnowon.

Oh,we'rehaving

somemechanicalproblems.

Wethinkit'safuelpump.

Butwe'renotsure.

Thiscouldbewaybad.

Seemstomelgotthisthing

inthere

withoutdoing

thetwistydeal.

Maybewe'lltowit

orabandonit.

Abandonit.

Getonwithit.

Wecan'tstayhere

morethanaday.

Aftermorethan

12breakdowns,

thevehiclesalldecideto

runatthesametime.

Astheyenterthedusty

dinosaurfieldsoftheGobi,

they'retravelingalongway

backwardsintime.

Dinosaursfirstappeared

some230millionyearsago,

inaworld

withadifferentface.

Thecreatureswerethriving

100millionyearslater,

asSouthAmerica

andAfricasplitapart.

About75millionyearsago,

inthelateCretaceousperiod,

dinosaursbegantodisappear--

leavingonlybonesbehind.

Theirbonesweremore

motionlessthanthecontinents

Theninthe1920s,

RoyChapmanAndrews

cametoaremoteplace

intheGobiDesert

hewouldname

theFlamingCliffs.

ltwasalikely-

lookingplace.

Thereappeartobemedieval

castleswithspiresandturrets

brick-redin

theeveninglight,

colossalgateways,

wallsandramparts.

Alabyrinthofravines

andgorgesstudded

withfossilbones

makeaparadise

forthepaleontologist.

Withoutadoubt

therewerehundredsofbones

lyingjustbeneath

thesurface.

Butwhere?

lfonlymyeyes

couldpiercethat

bafflingsurface

andgetaglimpse

ofwhatlayconcealed!

Withinminutes,

theywerefindingfossils.

Andrewsandhisteam

hadstumbledontothemother

lodeofdinosaurbones.

Theydiscoveredtheremainsof

some200differentanimals,

manyofthemcompletely

newspecies.

Thefossilsrevealedaworld

thatAndrewsfoundalien

andterrifying.

Dinosaurswere

thesortofcreatures

youmightthinkofas

inhabitinganotherplanet

orthekindyoudreamof

inabadnightmare.

ltwasanimageourculture

nourishedforgenerations.

Dinosaurswerefierce,

monstrous--

andnotallthatbright.

Manyofthenewideas

aboutdinosaurs

arecomingfromtheamazing

boneyardcalledUkhaaTolgod.

Theteamdiscoveredthesite

threeyearsago.

Now,togettothedinosaurs,

alltheyhavetodo......

isfinditagain.

Themapsingeneralarepretty

lousyfortheGobiDesert.

Thetownsonthosemaps

aremythsinmanycases.

Wedon'tevenpay

anyattentionto

anyoftheroads

markedonthosemaps.

They'recompletelywrong.

Evenasatellitetracking

systemdoesn'talwayshelp.

Sothesatellite

mayknowwhereyouare

buttheroadyouneed

maybeina

completely

differentdirection

sotheroadshereare

veryconfusing.

Therearenosignsandmany

ofthemleadnowhere.

We'regonnagolikethis.

We'realittleoffcourse.

We'renotreallylost.

We'rejustabitoffcourse.

Sowe'vegottago

this-awayandthat-away.

Attimes,youhavetogoin

circlestomoveforward.

RoyChapmanAndrewstoospent

morethanafewdays

wanderingtheGobi.

Butintheend,

heblunderedintoadiscovery

thatstunnedtheworld.

Amemberofhisexpedition

literallystumbledacross

acriticallinkinthegreat

chainofbeing.

OnJuly13,

GeorgeOlsenreported

thathehadfound

somefossileggs.

Wedidnottake

hisstoryveryseriously.

Nevertheless,

wewereallcuriousenough

togowithhim

toinspecthisfind.

Therecouldbenomistake.

Ourpaleontologist

finallysaid,

''Gentlemen,

thereisnodoubtaboutit.

Youarelookingatthefirst

dinosaureggeverfound.''

ThediscoverymadeRoyChapman

Andrewsanationalhero.

Buttheeggswerenotalone.

Lyingabovethenest

wasabizarreskeleton-

abird-likedino