Animals Sealed i Stone 石头中蹦出来生命.docVIP

Animals Sealed in Stone 石头中蹦出来的生命 　　One of the greatest Warner Bros. cartoons of all time is the one about the singing frog1). A construction worker finds a time capsule2) in the cornerstone3) of an old building. When he opens it, out leaps a green frog, which starts to dance and sing. The worker is amazed and quickly sees that this astonishing find will make his fortune. So he quits his job and opens a theatre starring his talented frog. When the curtain rises on opening night, however, the frog just sits and croaks4). The worker never questions how the frog was able to sing and dance. He doesnt even question how it managed to survive so long in an airtight5) time capsule without food or water. But then, this is just a cartoon, right? Nothing to do with reality. 中国论文网 /9/viewhtm　　You think so? In fact, there are numerous documents of such findings, mostly involving frogs. Most often the frogs found within solid rock, come out―alive! Granted, they do not sing or dance, but they are one of the most perplexing6) mysteries of geology. Here are some of those cases. 　　In May, 1733, when the master builder Johan Graberg went to inspect the quarry7) of Wamlingebo (now Vamlingbo) in Sweden, two of the workers brought him an astonishing news. While cutting large blocks of sandstone more than 3m below the surface, one of them had discovered a large frog sitting in the middle of a big stone that had just been cut open. Graberg followed them down into the quarry and was startled by the sight before him. Part of the stone nearest the frog was so porous8) that the violence of the blow had broken it, destroying the impression of the animals body. The frog was in a lethargic9) state and its mouth was covered with a yellow membrane10). Later, Graberg took the frogs body to several scholars in Stockholm and the discovery of the frog got published in the Academys Transactions11). 　　In the autumn of 1862, the Great International Exhibition was opened in Cromwell Road, London