纪录片《恐龙的战争》 极限生存（3）

In the Cretaceous Period, plant eaters faced vicious killers¹.

在白垩纪，食草动物们不得不面对凶残的杀手。

And none has a worse reputation than Tyrannosaurus Rex, possibly the largest land predator² that has ever lived.

这其中没有比霸王龙更臭名昭著的了，它可能是迄今为止最大的陆生食肉动物。

T. Rex is sort of the quintessential monster. A dinosaur³ with an attitude.

某种程度上说霸王龙是最完美的怪兽。充满敌意的恐龙。

A Tyrannosaurus Rex can grow to five 5.5 meters tall and 12 meters long, with jaws⁴ designed to tear meat to shreds⁵.

霸王龙可以长到5.5米高，12米长，它们的下颚天生就是用来撕碎血肉的。

It's reputation for violence and terror is unmatched.

它那狂暴和恐怖的名声无人能及。

But a infant T. Rex comes into the world better protected than most.

但是霸王龙的幼崽在出生后会受到比多数幼崽更好的保护。

If you say "Tyrannosaurus Rex", I think of gentleness.

如果你提起"霸王龙"，我会想到温柔。

I think of superb motherhood and a struggle to raise one's chicks.

我会想到伟大的母性和养育幼崽的艰辛。

The dreaded⁶ Tyrannosaurus Rex, it turns out, is one of the most nurturing⁷ of all dinosaur parents.

令人恐惧的霸王龙却是恐龙家庭中最擅长育雏的家长。

It means taking care of the eggs, sticking around the nest, defending the nest, and keeping track of its progress.

这意味着对蛋的细心照料，在巢穴附近徘徊守护巢穴，时刻关注蛋的动向。

Tyrannosaurus rex means "tyrant⁸ lizard⁹ king."

霸王龙的意思是"蜥蜴暴君"。

And this beast rules a world where physical traits more than intelligence determine winners and losers.

它统治着这个身体特征比智力因素更能决定成王败寇的世界。

But T. Rex has both-- superb biomechanics and, by dinosaur standards, a sharp intellect.

但霸王龙两者兼得，完美的生理结构，还有相对恐龙标准来说的敏锐思维。

It was the result of many, many millions of years of specialization for large body size, for focus on prey¹⁰, for sensory¹¹ apparatus¹², and for the ability to dispatch a large herbivore.

这是数百万年特化的结果，才有了它的庞大身躯，执着捕食，感觉器官，还有杀死大型食草动物的能力。

With things like Tyrannosaurus Rex, you have bigger brains, you have the option for more complex behaviors, especially when it comes to parental¹³ care.

对于霸王龙，它们拥有更大的大脑，可以选择更加复杂的行为，尤其是亲代育雏方面。

For three months, an adult delicately guards the nest to ensure the survival of their youngsters and the continuation of their genes¹⁴.

在三个月时间里，成年霸王龙都会悉心保护巢穴以确保幼崽的存活和基因的延续。

You've got to have somebody that's very, very attentive¹⁵ when these little things hatch.

当这些小家伙孵化时必须确保时时刻刻有人关注。

Inside the egg, the embryo¹⁶ breathes in oxygen and exhales¹⁷ carbon dioxide.

在蛋的内部胚胎吸入氧气，呼出二氧化碳。

The CO2 dissolves in fluid, making carbonic acid, which will slowly weakens the shell.

二氧化碳溶解于胚胎组织液中，形成碳酸会慢慢腐蚀蛋壳。

Before long, a meter long T. Rex chick breaks free.

没过多久，一米长的霸王龙幼崽破壳而出了。

You can imagine T. Rex helping¹⁸ its young out of the shell, even with those big, giant jaws.

你可以想象霸王龙帮助幼崽破壳而出的场景，即使用它那巨大的下颚。

The hatchling is tiny compared to its gigantic parents.

刚孵出的幼崽与庞大的父母相比是如此瘦小。

And it's immediately under threat.

它们很快就被威胁萦绕左右。

1 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

2 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

3 dinosaur   

n.恐龙

参考例句：

• Are you trying to tell me that David was attacked by a dinosaur?你是想要告诉我大卫被一支恐龙所攻击？
• He stared at the faithful miniature of the dinosaur.他凝视著精确的恐龙缩小模型。

4 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

5 shreds   

v.撕碎，切碎( shred的第三人称单数 )；用撕毁机撕毁（文件）

参考例句：

• Peel the carrots and cut them into shreds. 将胡罗卜削皮，切成丝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I want to take this diary and rip it into shreds. 我真想一赌气扯了这日记。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

6 dreaded   

adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
• He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》

7 nurturing   

养育( nurture的现在分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• These delicate plants need careful nurturing. 这些幼嫩的植物需要精心培育。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants. 这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

8 tyrant   

n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人

参考例句：

• The country was ruled by a despotic tyrant.该国处在一个专制暴君的统治之下。
• The tyrant was deaf to the entreaties of the slaves.暴君听不到奴隶们的哀鸣。

9 lizard   

n.蜥蜴，壁虎

参考例句：

• A chameleon is a kind of lizard.变色龙是一种蜥蜴。
• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect.蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。

10 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

11 sensory   

adj.知觉的，感觉的，知觉器官的

参考例句：

• Human powers of sensory discrimination are limited.人类感官分辨能力有限。
• The sensory system may undergo long-term adaptation in alien environments.感觉系统对陌生的环境可能经过长时期才能适应。

12 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

13 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

14 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

15 attentive   

adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的

参考例句：

• She was very attentive to her guests.她对客人招待得十分周到。
• The speaker likes to have an attentive audience.演讲者喜欢注意力集中的听众。

16 embryo   

n.胚胎，萌芽的事物

参考例句：

• They are engaging in an embryo research.他们正在进行一项胚胎研究。
• The project was barely in embryo.该计划只是个雏形。

17 exhales   

v.呼出，发散出( exhale的第三人称单数 )；吐出（肺中的空气、烟等），呼气

参考例句：

• He shivers, exhales, gets the ball and races back to his friends. 他浑身一颤，舒了口气，捡起球，跑回到他的朋友们那里。 来自互联网
• A smoker exhales in a pub in Richmond, London. 一名吸菸者在伦敦瑞旗蒙一家酒吧吞云吐雾。 来自互联网

18 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。