Dinosaurs

D I N OSAURS - T e r r i b l e L i z a r d s

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II. If you were a paleontologist, what would you study? ● A, Ancient life on Earth. ● B, Ancient life on other planets. ● C, Ancient life in other galaxies.

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1 split – rozdelila sa/rozdělila se; 2 tra’æsik, džu ’ræsik, kri’teiš s pi ri d – geolog.triasové, jurské a kriedové obdobie/ t.,j. a křídové období; 3 kouni’f r s ænd f :ns – ihličnany a papradě/ jehličnany a kapradí; 4 moist – vlhký; 5 i’vo:lv – vyvíjali sa/vyvinuli se; 6 ru:lt – vládli; 7 klo: d – s pazúrmi/pazoury; 8 džo: s – čeľuste; 9 balki – masívny, nemotorný; 10 pleits o: spaiks - ostne alebo/aneb hroty; 11 sw :md – víril/vířil; 12 h l u – duté; 13 didn lu:k aft – nestarali sa/nepečovali; 14 wi:k – slabí; 15 wiηspa:n – rozpätie krídiel/ rozpětí křídel; 16 di’send nts – potomkovia/potomci e

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Then about 65 million years ago something happened and dinosaurs disappeared at once. Maybe a massive volcano, or a terrible cosmic accident, such as a crash of the Earth with a giant asteroid which caused a dramatic change of climate. Many other animals became extinct. Some others adapted. But the “terrible lizards” ruled the world no more. O

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THE MYSTERIOUS END

● 2. They dominated the world for about 225 million years. ● 3. Originally there were two continents. ● 4. The vegetarian dinosaurs were very small. ● 5. All dinosaurs were good parents. ● 6. Dinosaurs have no descendants here today.

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● … that the biggest flying creature that ever lived was a dinosaur called Quetzalcoatlus with a wingspan15 of 15.4 meters? ● … that in the world’s museums you can see the remains of about 2,100 different dinosaur species? ● … that mammals existed before dinosaurs? ● … that the fastest dinosaur, Dromicaiomimus, could run faster than 60 km/h? ● … that birds are the only true descendants16 of dinosaurs? ● … that nobody knows what a dinosaur heart looked like?

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Of course not. Some were many meters long and some less than a meter long. Some were slow and some could run at more than 60 kmph. Some of them were hunters that attacked and killed other animals. The typical example is Tyrannosaurus. Dinos like them had small arms with sharp, clawed7 fingers; powerful jaws8 with sharp teeth; long, muscular hind legs; and clawed feet. Others were vegetarians. They had small heads, bulky9 bodies, and long necks and tails. A typical example is Diplodocus. Some of them, like Stegosaurus, had plates or spikes10 along their backs to protect them and to regulate body temperature. The water was full of life, too. In the water lived the biggest animals of all. The air swarmed11 with “flying lizards”. They were big, too and many people wonder how they could keep themselves in the air. The truth is, that their bones were hollow12 and very light. Parents didn’t look after13 their young. The young dinosaurs were usually quite small and weak14. Many of them were I. Correct the following statements. killed by predators so only a ● 1. The word „dinosaurs“ means big lizards. few survived and grew up.

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Before we start, try to do this test and see how Today the world is very different from the world of dinosaurs. Their era started much you know about the popular dinos. Write about 225 million years ago and they True, False, I don’t know dominated the world for 160 million T F I don’t know. years. So, when did their era end? ............ 1. A dinosaur is a long-legged crocodile. Today we live on our continents (how 2. The word dinosaur means hungry monster. many? Can you name them?). When 3. The first people hunted dinosaurs. the dinosaur era started, there were no continents like today. There was only one 4. All dinosaurs were very big. giant supercontinent called Pangaea. 5. All dinosaurs moved very slowly. It then split1 into two landmasses – 6. They were all vegetarians. Laurasia and Gondwanaland. They later separated even more and formed our 7. They lived only on land. present day continents. The plants and animals were different, too. But we How many questions could you answer? Are you an expert? mustn’t think that during this period of If not, this article will tell you more. Read it carefully and then try 160 million years the plants and animals to find the correct answers. stayed the same. Maybe you know that we can divide the era into three periods: Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretacerous periods2. At first there were extremes in climate, there was rich vegetation around the lakes and on the coasts. The typical plants were ginkgos, conifers and ferns3. The Jurassic climate was warm and moist4 so the plants were huge, and the first flowering plants appeared. In the last period the climate was warm and moist, too, the seasons began. New mammals, insects, turtles, and fish evolved5. Still, the dinosaurs ruled6 and evolved.

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WERE ALL OF THEM THE SAME?

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Have you seen Jurassic Park? Or some other films about dinosaurs? Or have you read any books about them? Why do you think they are so popular?

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