《中英對照讀新聞》Orchids likely decorated dinosaur stomping grounds╱ 蘭花可能滿佈恐龍橫行的大地
◎胡立宗
Fossilized orchid pollen on the back of a bee preserved in amber has offered the first evidence that these delicate flowers existed around the time of the dinosaurs, according to U.S. researchers.
保存在琥珀中的一隻蜜蜂背上發現的蘭花花粉化石，首度證明（蘭花）這種精緻的花朵在恐龍生存的年代就已經出現，美國研究人員表示。
Biologists at Harvard University said the ancient pollen, found on a now-extinct worker bee, means orchids are much older than previously thought.
哈佛大學的生物學專家說，這遠古蘭花花粉，是在一種現在已經滅絕的工蜂的身上發現，代表蘭花出現年代比之前設想的還要早。
While orchids are the largest and most diverse plant family on Earth, they have been largely absent from the fossil record, said Harvard researcher Santiago Ramirez, whose study appears in the journal Nature.
雖然蘭花是地球植物中數量最多、分支最繁的一科，但它們的化石標本幾乎找不到，哈佛大學研究員拉米雷茲說，他的研究報告已在「自然」期刊刊出。
Orchids package their pollen in structures called pollinia, which consist of masses of pollen grains. It was that structure that caught Ramirez' eye.
蘭花的花粉儲存在含有大量花粉粒的「花粉塊」中。就是這個（特別的）結構引起拉米雷茲的注意。
"It is very distinct. Because of its shape and form, we were able to identify it right away," Ramirez said. "Orchids were missing in the fossil record until this was found."
「這非常顯著。因為它的形狀，我們馬上就認出來了，」拉米雷茲說。「之前一直沒有蘭花的化石紀錄，直到我們發現這團花粉。」
新聞辭典
extinct：形容詞，熄滅了的、滅亡了的、絕種的。extinct volcano（死火山）； dormant volcano（休火山）；active volcano（活火山）。
family：名詞，生物學分類項目。kingdom（界）；phylum（門）；class（綱）；order（目）；family（科）；genus（屬）；species（種）。
catch someone's eye︰顯眼，引人注意。意思類似 attract someone's attention；常用的類似意思的形容詞為 eye-catching；an eye-catching hat（一頂引人注目的帽子）。
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