The Natural History Museum

Face to face with dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum

Neil:That's true. Welcome to On the Town from BBC Learning English, I'm Neil. This is the programme where we visit some of the most interesting places in London.

Sun Chen:还有我，孙晨。我们今天的 On the Town 我们要去伦敦最著名的一个景点。那我们今天到底要去哪儿呢？

Neil:Well, standing here in front of this enormous dinosaur, there's only one place we can be – the Natural History Museum.

Sun Chen:Dinosaur 恐龙。我们今天来的，就是伦敦的自然历史博物馆。

Neil:Here's Chloe, who works here at the museum.

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We're standing right at the entrance of our central hall. Right in front of us we've got Dippy, our diplodocus, who stands about the height of two people at the highest point.

Neil:Entrance Hall.

Sun Chen:入口大厅。

Neil:In the entrance hall there's a life-size model of a diplodocus skeleton. Life-size.

Sun Chen:实际大小– life-size 是一支梁龙。这里展出了这支恐龙的骨骼. 那英国人平时都管这梁龙叫什么呢？

Neil:Its nickname is Dippy. Nickname.

Sun Chen:就是外号。说起来，英语当中的外号，的确在生活当中到处都是。通常呢，就是在名字后面，加上 "y" 就行了。比如说 Jim/Jimmy, Rob/Robby, Mick/Micky.

Neil:But the Natural History Museum's not just about skeletons. You can also see life-size, moving models of dinosaurs.

Sun Chen:你在这里，还能看到能动的，跟实际大小一样的恐龙。 Are they scary 这些看着不害怕吗?

Neil:What do think Chloe?

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They're surprisingly scary. They're the most realistic we've ever made. They're formed by the latest research. They move, they chew, they can be seen to even poo in places.

Neil:They are realistic, aren't they?

Sun Chen:Yes, very realistic 是有一种身临其境的感觉。

Neil:They move and chew.

Sun Chen:嘴还在动个不停 chew.

Neil:And they even poo.

Sun Chen:Urgh! 他们还拉屎。

Neil:And quite a lot, by the look of it. Here's Chloe again.

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They're surprisingly scary. They're the most realistic we've ever made. They're formed by the latest research. They move, they chew, they can be seen to even poo in places.

Neil:So, here we are in the Natural History Museum in London.

Sun Chen:We've seen lots of dinosaurs, but what else is there? 那除了恐龙以外，我们在这儿还能看见什么呢？

Neil:Well, it's about the natural world in all its different forms.

Sun Chen:Not just animals. 伦敦自然历史博物馆从各个方面展出一个丰富多彩的大自然。

Neil:Hang on, what's going on here? The ground's shaking.

Sun Chen:怎么现在地在动啊？

Neil:It's a re-creation of the earthquake which destroyed the Japanese city of Kobe in 1995.

Sun Chen:啊，这是在展示地震时的场面。1995年的日本神户大地震，把整个城市都给毁了。 I need a bit of peace and quiet after all these dinosaurs and earthquakes.

Neil:Well, what could be more peaceful than a Giant Panda?

Sun Chen:A Giant Panda 大熊猫。

Neil:Well it's only a stuffed one...

Sun Chen:Ahh, 是一个大熊猫标本。

Neil:Here's Chloe.

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Here we are in the back of the central hall in the cafe where you can sit and have your lunch alongside Chi Chi, a Giant Panda who was caught in Sichuan in China in 1957 and came to London Zoo in 1958.

Neil:Chi Chi the panda came from Sichuan in 1957 and was in London Zoo until she died in 1972. Then they preserved her body and put her on display in the museum.

Sun Chen:这支叫做奇奇的大熊猫，1957年从中国四川，到英国的伦敦动物园落户，一直到他1972年去世。然后这儿的工作人员，就把奇奇做成了标本，在自然历史博物馆里展出。

Neil:Well, we're nearly out of time. I wonder what these people thought about the Natural History Museum.

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I've never seen dinosaur bones before, so it's pretty cool.

It's beautiful but we don't have enough time to see all the things.

Neil:It was the first time she'd seen dinosaur bones. She though it was pretty cool.

Sun Chen:Cool 非常酷。

Neil:Pretty cool.

Sun Chen:在英语当中，人们经常用 pretty 来说很怎么样。

Neil:She's right – the museum is pretty cool. And it's true – it's impossible to see everything in just one visit. Well, that's about all we have time for today on BBC Learning English.

Sun Chen:If you want to learn more, go to our website www.bbc.co.uk/china.

Neil:See you next time.

Sun Chen:Bye.