新托福阅读材料：WhalefossilstuckinEgyptcustomswrangle

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四千万年前还是一片汪洋大海的地区如今是什么样子呢?答案是一片沙漠。很少有人能想到，如今黄沙遍野的上埃及地区曾充满海水，曾是鲸鱼的乐园。  
8 I+ y# e3 y7 s+ ~* Y7 j　　Its name in Arabic is Wadi Hitan but it is known as the Valley of the Whales.

. {: _" o4 o! [& ?% {8 l- J　　For years palaeontologists have been unearthing a remarkable collection of whale fossils, all the more surprising because the area is now inland desert in upper Egypt.

* J% g/ y' \8 x; w+ o% d- F+ k, c　　It is believed that about 40 million years ago the area was submerged in water, part of the Tethys Sea. As the sea retreated north to the Mediterranean it left a series of unique rock formations and also a cornucopia of fossils.

8 Z" }* k- @5 @1 E7 S& Q; ~3 I- }7 @6 z　　One of the most exceptional finds was a 37 million-year-old whale from the species Basilosaurus isis, unearthed by a team led by Prof Philip Gingerich of the University of Michigan in the United States.

$ m& X& u' }% `) d. }: {& M% W　　But now it has become the subject of a bizarre customs wrangle at Cairo airport.
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, {0 z2 ?+ O& E" Z: f, a　　Prof Gingerich explained that this was the only complete specimen from this species of whale.
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) ^" Y2 B3 D  ?  x' m　　It provides evidence of how whales evolved from being land-based creatures to go back into the sea - a reverse of the usual evolutionary process.

　　Basilosaurus isis retained tiny feet, a useless reminder of its evolution from land animal to sea-dweller.
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　　The limbs are human sized, even though the creature is 15m-16m long.
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: }* l9 J9 [4 K* w7 m　　For the past two years Prof Gingerich and his team have been painstakingly reassembling the skeleton back in Michigan. It is now being returned to Egypt for a new museum, planned for the Valley of the Whales.

　　But according to the Egyptian media the whale skeleton is stuck at Cairo airport.

( M& u; Y2 \# d6 _% r; Z& S　　Customs agents are demanding a $40,000 fee.
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　　It is not clear how they came to that figure as prehistoric fossils have no agreed market value.
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　　In any case the Egyptian authorities who are importing the fossil are refusing to pay.

　　A senior official from the ministry of tourism has warned that the issue needs to be resolved speedily, otherwise it could cause a "big scandal" for Egypt, he said.
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/ U- H2 O, B% F9 h; O' _, Y　　Prof Gingerich joked that it had taken two-and-a-half years to be allowed to export the fossil to the United States, and it could take another two-and-a-half years to get it back.