Scientists Find a Golden Ball in the Sea. It Is Part of a Sea Animal.

Apr 24, 2026, 10:36

Introduction

In 2023, scientists found a strange golden ball on the seafloor in the Gulf of Alaska. For two and a half years, they did not know what it was. Now they know it is part of a deep-sea animal called a sea anemone.

Main Body

The ball was 3,250 meters under the water. A NOAA ship picked it up with a special tool. Scientists first thought it could be an egg, a sponge, or something from space. They sent it to a museum in Washington, D.C. First, DNA tests did not work well. Then they did more tests. The DNA matched a big sea anemone called Relicanthus daphneae. A scientist named Allen Collins said it was a hard job to find the answer. NOAA said some deep-sea mysteries take a long time to solve. Captain William Mowitt said new DNA tests help us understand the ocean.

Conclusion

The golden ball is dead cells from the bottom of a sea anemone. It was the part that held the animal to a rock. This answer solves one mystery, but there are still many unknown things in the deep ocean.

Vocabulary Learning

animal
A living thing that is not a plant.動物
Example:A sea anemone is a deep-sea animal.
answer
A reply or solution to a question.答案
Example:Now we have the answer to the mystery.
found
To see or get something that was lost or not known.找到（過去式）
Example:The scientists found a golden ball in the sea.
part
A piece or section of something.部分
Example:The ball is part of a sea animal.
sea
A large area of salt water.海
Example:The golden ball was in the deep sea.

Sentence Learning

In 2023, scientists found a strange golden ball on the seafloor in the Gulf of Alaska.
This sentence uses the past simple tense to talk about a past event. 'Scientists' is the subject, 'found' is the verb.本句使用過去簡單時態談論過去事件。「科學家」是主語，「發現」是動詞。
For two and a half years, they did not know what it was.
This sentence uses the past simple negative 'did not know' to express lack of knowledge. 'They' is the subject.本句使用過去簡單否定式「不知道」來表達缺乏知識。主語是「他們」。
Now they know it is part of a deep-sea animal called a sea anemone.
This sentence uses the present simple tense 'know' and 'is' to state a current fact. 'Called' is a past participle used as an adjective.本句使用現在簡單時態「知道」和「是」來陳述當前事實。「稱為」是過去分詞用作形容詞。
The ball was 3,250 meters under the water.
This sentence uses the past simple tense 'was' to describe the location of the ball. 'Under the water' is a prepositional phrase.本句使用過去簡單時態「是」來描述球的位置。「在水下」是介詞短語。
The golden ball is dead cells from the bottom of a sea anemone.
This sentence uses the present simple tense 'is' to state a fact. 'Dead cells' is a noun phrase.本句使用現在簡單時態「是」來陳述事實。「死細胞」是名詞短語。