纪录片《恐龙的战争》 顽强防御（16）

But not all plant eaters in the Cretaceous live as a group. Ankylosaurus are loners.

然而白垩纪并非所有食草动物都是群居的。甲龙就是个独行侠。

They depend on a powerful tail club and steel-like body armor to defend themselves.

它们靠尾部有力的尾锤和全身钢铁般的铠甲保护自己。

Without the herd¹ to watch your back, Ankylosaurus has to watch its own.

没有同伴的互相帮助，甲龙全靠自己小心。

That's a job made even harder, as its worst enemy, T. Rex, can hunt under the cover of darkness.

更难的是，它的劲敌，雷克斯霸王龙能在夜幕的掩护下猎食。

Fortunately, an Ankylosaurus has another effective weapon in its armory² - a highly refined sense of smell.

幸运的是甲龙还有个绝招，那就是极其敏感的嗅觉。

The nasal region of Ankylosaurus and its kin³ is one of the most specialized⁴ parts of its anatomy⁵.

甲龙及其亲缘物种的鼻子是它全身最特殊的一部分。

For an Ankylosaurus, a T. Rex's distinctive⁶ odor is a dead giveaway.

对于甲龙，雷克斯霸王龙发出的独特气味就是死亡的警示。

This is an animal for whom the sense of smell was more important, potentially, than the sense of vision.

嗅觉比视觉对于它们而言更加重要。

Ankylosaurus' nasal passages wind through the skull⁷, significantly increasing their surface area.

甲龙的嗅觉通道蜿蜒在头骨里，有效地增加了其感知面积。

This enlarged space is populated by millions of odor receptors.

其中还布满上百万个气味感受器。

Complicated, crazy-straw, tortuous⁸ nasal passageway that went from the nostrils⁹,

复杂而弯曲的鼻道从鼻孔开始

made several loops through the snout before it went down into the throat.

在鼻部环绕数圈一直蜿蜒到颈部。

Ankylosaurus' supersensitive nose can pick up a carnivore over two miles away.

甲龙极其敏感的嗅觉能在两英里外就辨别出食肉动物的气味。

If it could smell a Tyrannosaurus coming, it's got an early warning,

当它嗅到霸王龙的气味，早早获得敌情，

and so it can begin to react appropriately.

便可以随之采取相应的对策。

For a hungry T. Rex, it means a meal has simply vanished into thin air.

对饥饿的雷克斯霸王龙来说，这就意味着一顿美餐化为乌有。

Never underestimate a vegetarian¹⁰.

千万不能低估了食草动物。

Parasaurolophus and Sauroposeidon rely on the numbers to spot predators¹¹ before they attack.

副栉龙和波塞东龙靠群居来警惕食肉动物的攻击。

Ankylosaurus has an armory of senses to keep carnivores at bay.

甲龙的秘密武器是它的嗅觉可以御敌于千里之外。

But no matter how clever an herbivore may be,

但无论食草动物多聪明，

no matter how many tools they have at the ready, sometimes their time is up.

无论它们有什么本领，有时死神依然会降临。

For herbivores, keeping one step ahead of the competition is never ending struggle.

对食草动物来说，在生死竞争中领先一步就要永远保持战斗状态。

T. Rex was designed by natural selection to overcome those formidable defences.

雷克斯霸王龙在自然选择下能够对抗这些坚不可摧的防御手段。

1 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

2 armory   

n.纹章，兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Nuclear weapons will play a less prominent part in NATO's armory in the future.核武器将来在北约的军械中会起较次要的作用。
• Every March the Armory Show sets up shop in New York.每年三月，军械博览会都会在纽约设置展场。

3 kin   

n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的

参考例句：

• He comes of good kin.他出身好。
• She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。

4 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

5 anatomy   

n.解剖学，解剖；功能，结构，组织

参考例句：

• He found out a great deal about the anatomy of animals.在动物解剖学方面，他有过许多发现。
• The hurricane's anatomy was powerful and complex.对飓风的剖析是一项庞大而复杂的工作。

6 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

7 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

8 tortuous   

adj.弯弯曲曲的，蜿蜒的

参考例句：

• We have travelled a tortuous road.我们走过了曲折的道路。
• They walked through the tortuous streets of the old city.他们步行穿过老城区中心弯弯曲曲的街道。

9 nostrils   

鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her nostrils flared with anger. 她气得两个鼻孔都鼓了起来。
• The horse dilated its nostrils. 马张大鼻孔。

10 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

11 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》