How to Treat a Fossil in Geological Fieldwork

Complete the following article putting "some", "any", “a” or “the” in the blank spaces (R.P. 2.3)

Fossils cannot be considered in isolation from their environment. All the features found in a fossiliferous rock must be recorded if you are to gain _______ benefit from the examination of the fossil. Note the abundance of the fossils in each fossiliferous horizon of the locality: is there _______ particular pattern? Are the fossils widespread or clustered into groups? Did _______ fossils die where they were found or were they transported there after death? Do they show _______ alignments due to currents? Different fossils may occur in different parts of the same horizon and there may be _______ lateral changes which can be traced over considerable distances. There may also be _______ vertical changes as the depth of the water the rocks were deposited in changed. Do not be over-anxious to collect _______ fossil when you find it. First, study it in place, noting its attitude and surroundings; make _______ notes with sketches if necessary. You will probably see only a small part of _______ fossils, perhaps because only a small part is exposed, or because only fragments survive. Decide how best to remove the specimen from the rock, then removes it carefully, trying to keep it intact. If you find _______ fossil deposit, don't be greedy, take only one specimen, leave _______ for others. However, you will usually only be able to collect incomplete fossils. _______ may show external features, _______ internal casts: collect both. _______ fossil left behind will be a help to those geologists that come after you. As with rocks, name the fossils in situ, but before going into the field you should revise the types you may expect to see in the rocks you will be looking at. Do not be discouraged if you cannot name _______ fossil you find; often _______ expert help is often needed in this domain. Remember you will not find _______ better clue for reconstructing the geological environment in which the fossil lived and the geological time scale.

(Paul Nixon & Alferdo Bezzi “English for Geologists”)

4. ORAL COMMUNICATION - Geologic time scale.