纪录片《恐龙的战争》 极限生存（14）

50 million years before the first T. Rex walked the earth, Sauroposeidon youngsters are already out on their own.

在霸王龙出现五千万年前，波塞东龙的幼龙就已经独立生存了。

Huge numbers hatch each year. But only 3 out of 10,000 will survive to adulthood¹.

每年幼龙孵化的数量非常巨大。但是一万只幼龙中只有三只能够存活下来。

The most dangerous time is the first few weeks when they're smallest.

最危险的时间便是孵化后不久，当它们最弱小的时候。

Their best defense² is to get as big as they can as fast as they can.

它们最好的防御手段便是在最短的时间内尽快长大。

In order to grow very big very fast, they do something that appears to break the most basic rules of biology.

为了尽快长大，它们的有些行为似乎违背了生物学最基本的规律。

For the first few years, these plant eaters are meat eaters.

在出生后的几年中，这些食草动物是吃肉的。

Probably many of them were eating insects and small animals, because it was a ready source of protein.

它们中的大多数会进食昆虫和小型动物，因为这些生物中富含蛋白质。

Very many plant-eating animals will also take animal prey³ when they can get them because it's an important source of nutrients⁴ that are really hard to get from plants.

很多食草动物也会在适时猎食小型动物，因为这是很重要的营养源，它们很难从植物中获取这些营养。

A young Sauroposeidon processes food in an entirely⁵ different way than an adult, digesting its food in the stomach and small intestine⁶.

幼年波塞东龙消化食物的方式和成年龙完全不一样，食物会在胃和肠道中消化吸收。

It's a digestive process more like those of carnivores.

这个消化过程更类似于食肉恐龙。

And Sauroposeidon has another trick for growing to mammoth⁷ proportions-hollow bones.

并且波塞东龙还有一个特点能使它成长得体型巨大——中空的骨骼。

Its backbone⁸, neck, and ribs⁹ have walls just a few milometers thick.

它的脊椎骨，脖颈还有肋骨只有几厘米的厚度。

Even its limbs are far less dense¹⁰ than the bones of many mammals.

即使它的四肢骨骼也没有大部分哺乳动物坚固。

To look at these big sauropods like Sauroposeidon, they're growing to 20,30,40,50 tons, and they're doing it in the space of just two or three decades.

如果观察蜥蜴类动物中类似波塞东龙的恐龙，它们能长到二十至五十吨，而且它们所花的时间仅仅是二三十年。

Sauropods grow in spurts¹¹, depending on their age, the season, and the availability of food.

蜥蜴类动物的成长速度，取决于它们的年龄所处季节，以及食物的丰富与否。

Scientists know this because their growth is recorded as rings, like rings in a tree trunk.

科学家们知晓这些是因为它们的骨骼生长线，就像是树木的年轮一样。

For the first few years of a Sauroposeidon's life, predators¹² are at every turn.

波塞东龙成长的最初几年掠食者无处不在。

One of the most common, Deinonychus is also one of the most deadly. Cunning. Definitely cunning. Big brain. Smart.

最为常见的恐爪龙，也是最致命的。狡猾，非常狡猾。大脑很大，很聪明。

It's sort of creatures seems very adapt for doing a lot of damage in a short amount of time. Nasty.

它是一种能够在短时间内造成大量伤害的生物。很可怕。

Deinonychus is very nasty animal that, you know, you meet up with these, the near chances being disenbowed are pretty great.

恐爪龙是非常可怕的恐龙，如果你遭遇它们，那很可能就会成为它们的腹中餐了。

For something like Deinonychus, Sauroposeidon will be great meal.

对于恐爪龙这种恐龙来说，波塞东龙是一顿大餐。

For the herbivore Sauroposeidon, death by Deinonychus is violent and painful.

对于食草性的波塞东龙，被恐爪龙杀死将是残暴而痛苦的。

It's a kill not unlike today's hyenas¹³, one of the Serengeti's most effective predators.

这并不像是现在土狼的猎杀方式，土狼是塞伦盖蒂位于非洲最高效的掠食者。

When hyenas bite through the gut¹⁴ of antelope¹⁵, it just stops. It's functionally¹⁶ dead.

当土狼咬穿羚羊的内脏时，它们即刻毙命。它实际上已经死了。

While juveniles¹⁷ fight it out in the woodlands, adult Sauroposeidon are, as always, foraging¹⁸ for food.

当幼龙在树林中搏斗时，成年波塞东龙一如既往地在觅食。

With their tiny brains, they live in a world of oblivion, seemingly unaware¹⁹ of the fate of their offspring.

由于纤小的大脑，它们生活在遗忘世界中，似乎对后代的命运毫不知情。

1 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 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。

4 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

6 intestine   

adj.内部的；国内的；n.肠

参考例句：

• This vitamin is absorbed through the walls of the small intestine.这种维生素通过小肠壁被吸收。
• The service productivity is the function,including external efficiency,intestine efficiency and capacity efficiency.服务业的生产率是一个包含有外部效率、内部效率和能力效率的函数。

7 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

8 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

9 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

10 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

11 spurts   

短暂而突然的活动或努力( spurt的名词复数 )； 突然奋起

参考例句：

• Great spurts of gas shoot out of the sun. 太阳气体射出形成大爆发。
• Spurts of warm rain blew fitfully against their faces. 阵阵温热的雨点拍打在他们脸上。

12 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 hyenas   

n.鬣狗( hyena的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These animals were the prey of hyenas. 这些动物是鬣狗的猎物。 来自辞典例句
• We detest with horror the duplicity and villainy of the murderous hyenas of Bukharinite wreckers. 我们非常憎恨布哈林那帮两面三刀、杀人破坏，干尽坏事的豺狼。 来自辞典例句

14 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

15 antelope   

n.羚羊；羚羊皮

参考例句：

• Choosing the antelope shows that China wants a Green Olympics.选择藏羚羊表示中国需要绿色奥运。
• The tiger was dragging the antelope across the field.老虎拖着羚羊穿过原野。

16 functionally   

adv.机能上地，官能地

参考例句：

• Objective To explore occlusion reconstruction by computer aided design (CAD) with functionally-generated pathway (FGP). 目的探索借助功能性？记录(functionally-generated pathway,FGP)技术进行口腔固定修复体计算机辅助设计(Computer aided Design,CAD)生理性建？的方法。 来自互联网
• In this respect, the proceeding was functionally similar to a comparative licensing adjudication. 在这一点上，手续在作用上即类似于比较许可证发放的裁断。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

17 juveniles   

n.青少年( juvenile的名词复数 )；扮演少年角色的演员；未成年人

参考例句：

• Do you think that punishment for violent crimes should be the same for juveniles and adults? 你对暴力犯罪的惩罚对于青少年和成人应一样吗？ 来自生活英语口语25天快训
• Juveniles Should we not exactly in need of such strength and conviction? 少年的我们难道不正是需要这种力量和信念吗？ 来自互联网

18 foraging   

v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的现在分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西）

参考例句：

• They eke out a precarious existence foraging in rubbish dumps. 他们靠在垃圾场捡垃圾维持着朝不保夕的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The campers went foraging for wood to make a fire. 露营者去搜寻柴木点火。 来自辞典例句

19 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。