VOA慢速英语:‘Hobbit’ Ancestor Bones Found

短语讲解：

1. In Tolkien’s stories, hobbits are similar to human beings, only smaller.

be similar to 类; 与…相似; 类乎
例句：This behavior is similar to buckling of strut.
这种状态类似于压杆的屈曲。

2. The hobbits are hominins — a group that includes modern humans and human species that no longer exist.

no longer 不再，已不
例句：He could no longer hold back his tears.
他再也忍不住自己的眼泪。

3. The newly discovered fossils belong to an adult and two children.

belong to 属于
例句：I belong to no party.
我不属于任何派别。

4. According to Nature, supporters of this idea think that the creature became dwarfed — or smaller -- in just a few hundred thousand years because of a lack of food or other resources on Flores.

according to 根据，按照
例句：According to etiquette, you should stand up to meet a guest.
按照礼节你应该站起来接待客人。

5. He spent four years looking for the hobbit’s ancestors. In 2014, he was about to give up at the end of the year.

give up 放弃; 投降
例句：Don't give up hope; keep on trying.
不要灰心，继续努力。