Unit5 Looking into nature 课内解析篇-2026年春八年级英语下册寒假预习衔接讲义（外研版新教材）

1 Imagine a dinosaur in an ancient forest． It is running around looking for its next meal． With an angry cry, it opens its mouth, raises its beautiful feather-covered arms, and．．．

2 Wait, feathers on a dinosaur? For hundreds of years, people believed that dinosaurs looked like huge lizards． Just look at all those dinosaurs in books, films and TV shows! However, thanks to a piece of amber, scientists now know that this idea is wrong． In the amber from Southeast Asia, they found the tail of a dinosaur – with feathers．

3 These beautiful golden stones quietly keep pieces of the past． They can tell us whether dinosaurs had feathers, but that’s not all． They also help us understand that life on earth has always changed． A piece of amber from Northern Europe, for example, holds a flower． This species no longer grows in this area． But the find proves that it did 35 million years ago． In the future, amber may also help us discover if other species have changed over time．

4 Thanks to amber, more than 300 unknown species have been discovered． In a piece of amber from Africa, scientists found 13 ants． Research shows that they are a completely new species． Scientists used to believe that ants came from the northern half of the earth． The discovery of this African species has changed old beliefs about the history of ants． Who knows whether this piece of amber will tell us more secrets?

5 As a window on the past, amber has been much studied． However, it’s still not fully understood． We should put more effort into research． Then we can use this key to unlock more secrets of nature．

2 等一下，恐龙身上长羽毛？数百年来，人们一直认为恐龙长着巨型蜥蜴的外形。看看书籍、电影和电视剧里那些恐龙形象就知道了！然而，多亏了一块琥珀，科学家们现在发现这个观点是错误的。在东南亚的琥珀中，他们发现了一条长有羽毛的恐龙尾巴。

3这些美丽的金黄色琥珀静静地保存着过去的片段。它们不仅能告诉我们恐龙是否长有羽毛，还能帮助我们理解地球上的生命始终处于变化之中。例如，一块来自北欧的琥珀中保存着一朵花，该物种现已不再生长于该地区，但这一发现证明其在3500万年前曾在此生长。未来，琥珀或许还能帮助我们探究其他物种是否随时间发生了变化。

4 柴火虫琥珀的发现，让科学家们解锁了300多个未知物种。在非洲发现的一块琥珀中，科研人员意外发现了13只蚂蚁。研究表明这些蚂蚁属于全新物种。过去人们普遍认为蚂蚁起源于地球北半球，而非洲新物种的发现彻底颠覆了这一认知。这颗琥珀是否还藏着更多未解之谜？

5 作为窥探远古的窗口，琥珀虽经深入研究，但其奥秘仍未完全破解。我们需要加大科研投入，用这把钥匙继续揭开自然界的神秘面纱。

I looked ________my pen everywhere, but I couldn’t________ it． I want to find________ who took it away． 我到处找我的钢笔，但没找到。我想弄清楚是谁拿走了它。

表示过去一度存在或经常发生，但现在已经不存在的动作或状态，其后接动词原形，且不与具体的过去时间状语连用。used to的否定形式是didn’t use to或used not to (usedn’t to)。

We used________ talk about everything． 我们曾经无话不谈。

He________ use to wear glasses． = He usedn’t to wear glasses． 他过去不戴眼镜。

The knife is used to________ fruit． = The knife is used for cutting fruit． 这把刀是用来切水果的。

People should get used to________ by public transportation． 人们应该习惯于乘坐公共交通工具出行。

The________ elephant is the largest land animal on Earth． 非洲象是地球上最大的陆生动物。

（1）African［可数名词］非洲人其复数形式是Africans。

Those________ will come to China next year． 那些非洲人明年会来中国。

（2）Africa［名词］非洲

I used to teach English as a volunteer in________ ． 我曾经作为志愿者在非洲教英语。

Do you know the pyramids in________ ? If you go to see them, you may meet many________ ． They will show you some________ dances． 你知道非洲的金字塔吗？如果你去参观金字塔，你可能会遇到很多非洲人。他们会向你展示一些非洲舞蹈。

（2）belief /bɪˈli:f/ n．观点

There is a general________ that things will soon get better． 大家普遍认为情况很快就会好转。

A．［不可数名词］信心；信任

When you get something wrong, it can shake your________ in yourself． 如果有什么事情没做好，就会动摇你对自己的信心。

［可数名词］信仰

The people still follow their traditional________ ． 那些人仍然遵循传统的信仰。

B．与belief相关的词：

1 Nature presents us with endless wonders． Most people get interested and ask questions． But one person took his interest all the way to the fields． He was born in the flowering season of early summer, and made plants his life． For over 70 years, he explored China to study the country’s plants． This person was Wang Wencai．

2 Throughout his life, Professor Wang worked hard to research the world of plants in China． He discovered and named about 1,370 new plant species． To carry out his research, he spent years in wild mountains and forests． Once, he fell seriously ill while doing field work in Yunnan． Though he nearly died, Wang never stopped his work． He lost sight in his right eye at the age of 83． But he didn’t let anybody know． With a magnifier in hand, he still carried on with his researches for another 10 years．

3 Despite his huge success, Wang seldom thought about personal honour or wealth． Although he received the First Class Award of National Natural Science Awards twice, he hardly mentioned it． For him, the award belonged to the team, and he was just doing his job． In fact, Wang was always quiet about his achievements． He was such a great scientist． But for a long time, even his granddaughter had no idea．

4 Plants grow and sleep with the seasons． So did Professor Wang． He passed away at the age of 96 with the falling leaves of autumn． When people came to say goodbye, they didn’t hear any sad notes． Instead, they got to listen to Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony． This was Wang’s favourite piece of music． It softly told people about his lifelong exploration and love of nature．