This episode’s vocabulary
Paleontology
noun — the scientific study of organisms that lived on earth before there were written records, esp. by examining fossils.
Fossil
noun — the shape of a bone, a shell, or a plant or animal that has been preserved in rock for a very long period.
Fungus (fungi - plural)
noun — any of various types of organisms that get their food from decaying material or other living things.
Ecosystem
noun — all the living things in an area and the way they affect each other and the environment.
Hinge
noun — a piece of metal that fastens the edge of a door, window, lid, etc. to something else and allows it to open or close.
Thermoregulation
noun — the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different.
Utility
noun — the usefulness of something, especially in a practical way.
Questions and answers
Today Rory is going to describe an area of science that interests him and he is interested in it. He should say what it is, this area of science, what he learns from it, when he started becoming interested in it, and he's going to explain how this area of science helps him. Wow. Rory, are you ready to rock and roll?
Yes.
Yes, shoot.
I think it's a good time to talk about paleontology, which is the study of previous forms of life on Earth based on fossils. A lot of people think that's just about studying dinosaurs and that is part of it. If you watch films like Jurassic Park, then you've seen this kind of thing before. But they might be surprised to learn that it also includes microscopic animals, and plants, and even fungi. They can leave behind fossils as well. And I don't think a lot of people knew about that or even know about it still. And through this subject, I usually pick up facts like the names of different things, and what they ate, and how they operated in their ecosystems, and unique features that they had. For example, Stegosaurus had bone plates on its back that could be moved like they were on a hinge. And most people think that this is a form of thermoregulation, but other people think it's a kind of defense, so if they're attacked by other more predatory animals at the same period. Speaking of which, a lot of people think that Stegosaurus and Tyrannosaurus, which is a predatory animal, it's a predatory dinosaur. They think that they existed in the same period of time. But actually they didn't. I think they're separated by something like 100 million years. So that's another useful fact that you can learn from paleontology. And I think I first got into it when I was a child. Most kids are fascinated with dinosaurs, and I was no different. At first I learned the basic facts like names and periods that existed. But the more I found out, the greater the interest became and I've ended quite a bit now. I wasn't actually sure if it would help me, but it seems actually it's quite good for relating to kids when you're a teacher. In addition to giving me something to speak about for this IELTS test. So that's quite useful, isn't it? But if we go back to talking about kids, I think this is the area of greatest utility because, well, I teach kids more that I take IELTS tests and the kids are much more interested in dinosaurs.
What about your friends? Do they enjoy this area of science?
I think they used to, but I don't think they still do. They have other interests now. -