Strange old animal – level 3

Strange old animal

25-07-2023 15:00

Scientists have finally pieced together fossils of an animal, which was discovered more than half a century ago.

They put the fossils in an electron microscope, initially hoping to find eyes, but they were astonished to find teeth smiling back at them. The animal is known as Hallucigenia and had a worm-like formation. It was about 5 centimetres long, had seven pairs of legs ending in claws, and long spines sprouting from its back.

Its mouth was encased in teeth, which also lined its throat, and may have been able to flex in and out as the animal pulled in food.

The creature is distantly related to modern-day insects and died in mud 508 million years ago.

Difficult words: astonish (surprise or amaze) claw (a nail), sprout (to grow), encased (enclosed), flex (to move), creature (an animal).

You can watch the video news lower on this page.

What is thought to have been the purpose of the long spines sprouting from Hallucigenia's back?

LEARN 3000 WORDS with NEWS IN LEVELS

News in Levels is designed to teach you 3000 words in English. Please follow the instructions
below.

How to improve your English with News in Levels: 

Test

  1. Do the test at Test Languages.
  2. Go to your level. Go to Level 1 if you know 1-1000 words. Go to Level 2 if you know 1000-2000 words. Go to Level 3 if you know 2000-3000 words.

Reading

  1. Read two news articles every day.
  2. Read the news articles from the day before and check if you remember all new words.

Listening

  1. Listen to the news from today and read the text at the same time.
  2. Listen to the news from today without reading the text.

Writing

  1. Answer the question under today’s news and write the answer in the comments.

Speaking

  1. Choose one person from the Skype section.
  2. Talk with this person. You can answer questions from Speak in Levels.

 

Stock images by Depositphotos