纪录片《恐龙的战争》 完美捕食（11）

The name Deinonychus means "terrible claw."

"恐爪龙"意为"恐怖的利爪。"

It's a reference to the hinged bone on its foot.

指的就是它脚爪上的铰接骨。

The cutting edge is sheathed¹ in keratin, the same substance that forms a cat's claw.

锋利端表面覆盖角质层，猫科动物的爪子也是由同种物质构成。

But on a Deinonychus, this claw is 10 centimeters long.

只不过恐爪龙的爪子有10厘米长。

This lethal² weapon is sharpened to a point and can flex³ almost 180 degrees.

这一致命武器极其锋利，且几乎可以一百八十度弯曲。

To keep the knife razor-sharp, Deinonychus holds it up off the ground until the moment it's needed.

为了保持刀刃锋利，不到必要时恐爪龙甚至不会让它着地。

Then, in one lightning-fast swipe, this sickle⁴ can rip deep into flesh

然后闪电般地一划，这柄镰刀便深深撕破血肉，

delivering a kicking blow with 200 kilos of cutting force.

其切割力可达200公斤。

The key to the Deinonychus' killing⁵ blow is the hind⁶ leg.

恐爪龙的致命一击，关键在于后腿。

The hind leg is the strongest organ in the body by far and ends in a huge claw like a box-cutting knife.

它的后腿是身体最强壮的器官，其末端的巨爪如切割机一般。

So that cutting, curved knife into your belly⁷,

所以那把锋利弯曲的利刃刺入目标腹部

into the target would cause a fatal wound with one...one flection.

随着一次弯曲，带来了一记致命的伤害。

Deinonychus instinctively⁸ knows to go for this giant's weakest point...its neck.

恐爪龙本能地意识到要对准这只庞然大物的弱点，它的脖颈。

You've got the windpipe there.

那里面有气管。

You've got the jugular⁹ vein¹⁰, which if opened up will mean that that Sauroposeidon is dead meat.

有颈静脉，如果它们破裂开就意味着那只波塞东龙必死无疑。

But death does not come quickly or pleasantly.

但死亡的到来既不迅速也不愉快。

For a pack of Deinonychus, a kill this big means a feast.

对一群恐爪龙来说这么大的一次杀戮意味着一顿饱餐。

And their skulls¹¹ are specially¹² designed for competitive eating.

而它们头骨的结构天生就是用来争抢食物的。

Its jaws¹³ are narrow and lightly built.

它的双颚又窄又轻。

And its gums are equipped with 70 sharp, serrated teeth.

牙龈装备了七十颗锋利的锯齿状牙齿。

They're like walking piranhas, perfect at eviscerating¹⁴ a victim.

它们如同行走着的食人鱼，擅长为受害者开膛破肚。

If you look at the teeth carefully, they're ridiculously small.

如果仔细观察它的牙齿，你会发现它们特别小。

They are very, very delicate. They're not killing weapons.

且非常，非常精细。算不上杀人武器。

A single adolescent Sauroposeidon, an animal more than 10 times the size of its killer¹⁵,

一只少年波塞东龙体型比恐爪龙大十倍，

can feed a pack of hungry Deinonychus for weeks.

可供这只饥肠辘辘的凶手食用数周。

Making the kill worth the effort...and the risk.

因而值得恐爪龙为此拼斗为此冒险。

1 sheathed   

adj.雕塑像下半身包在鞘中的；覆盖的；铠装的；装鞘了的v.将（刀、剑等）插入鞘( sheathe的过去式和过去分词 )；包，覆盖

参考例句：

• Bulletproof cars sheathed in armour. 防弹车护有装甲。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The effect of his mediation was so great that both parties sheathed the sword at once. 他的调停非常有效，双方立刻停战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

3 flex   

n.皮线，花线；vt.弯曲或伸展

参考例句：

• We wound off a couple of yards of wire for a new lamp flex.我们解开几码电线作为新的电灯花线。
• He gave his biceps a flex to impress the ladies.他收缩他的肱二头肌以吸引那些女士们的目光。

4 sickle   

n.镰刀

参考例句：

• The gardener was swishing off the tops of weeds with a sickle.园丁正在用镰刀嗖嗖地割掉杂草的顶端。
• There is a picture of the sickle on the flag. 旗帜上有镰刀的图案。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 hind   

adj.后面的，后部的

参考例句：

• The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
• Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

7 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

8 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 jugular   

n.颈静脉

参考例句：

• He always goes for the jugular.他总是直奔要害而去。
• Bilateral internal jugular vein stenting is also a rare procedure.两侧内颈静脉支架置放术也是少见的技术。

10 vein   

n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络

参考例句：

• The girl is not in the vein for singing today.那女孩今天没有心情唱歌。
• The doctor injects glucose into the patient's vein.医生把葡萄糖注射入病人的静脉。

11 skulls   

颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜

参考例句：

• One of the women's skulls found exceeds in capacity that of the average man of today. 现已发现的女性颅骨中，其中有一个的脑容量超过了今天的普通男子。
• We could make a whole plain white with skulls in the moonlight! 我们便能令月光下的平原变白，遍布白色的骷髅！

12 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

13 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。

14 eviscerating   

v.切除…的内脏( eviscerate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Dark also end up eviscerating Marauders in a ruthless fashion. 黑暗圣堂无情的把掠夺者切成几块。 来自互联网

15 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。