纪录片《恐龙的战争》 繁衍生息（3）

For egg-laying animals, it's almost always in the late spring or summer.

对卵生动物来说，一般都会在晚春或是夏季进行繁殖。

That way, the eggs can be incubating during the summer, during the warmest part of the year,

那样的话，蛋就能在夏季里孵化，也就是一年中最温暖的季节，

when the climate is the most amenable¹ to the production of young.

那时气候宜人，是最适合哺育幼崽的季节。

To know when to mate, dinosaurs² react to the change of seasons.

为得知何时将会交配，恐龙会对季节的变化做出反应。

In the weeks leading up to the breeding season,

在繁殖季节的前几周内，

there would be hormonal⁴ changes taking place in the body of the dinosaur³ that are triggered by passing time itself...

恐龙体内的荷尔蒙会发生一定的变化，并且是随着时间变化而变化的，

by the length of the day, for example.

比如说，由白昼的长短来决定。

As winter recedes⁵, the days get longer.

随着冬天的逝去，白天会变得更长。

Sensors⁶ in the back of the eyes respond to changing light, transmitting crucial information to the brain.

位于眼睛后方的感光器官会对光线的变化做出反应，并把重要讯息传递给大脑。

A signal triggers the pituitary gland⁷ to release the hormone⁸ gonadotropin.

这个信号会促使脑垂体释放出促性腺激素。

These chemicals prepare their bodies to produce eggs or sperm⁹.

这些化学物质会让身体准备好产生卵子或精子。

Raging hormones¹⁰ also trigger dramatic changes in behavior, and very different changes in males and females.

激增的荷尔蒙也会使它们的行为发生巨大的变化，而且雄性和雌性的变化大相径庭。

For the females, that means stockpiling resources to produce the offspring.

对雌性来说，它们会囤积营养为产卵最好准备。

For the males, that means figuring out how they're gonna beat the other males at the game of reproduction itself.

而雄性，则会一直思考着如何才能在这场繁殖大战中打败其他的雄性竞争者。

They're more alert. They're more visual. They're being more aggressive.

它们会更警觉。眼神会更好，也更具侵略性。

There are more fights, beginning a whole cascade¹¹ of social complexity¹² which would be really fun to watch.

那时会有更多的战斗，并会创建一连串复杂的社会关系，那看上去将会很有趣。

With hormones racing¹³ through their veins¹⁴, a carnivore's advanced killing¹⁵ tools become even more deadly.

随着荷尔蒙在血液里的激增，食肉动物先进的杀戮武器会变得更加致命。

Between the ages of 15 and 18, the mortality rate for meat eaters like T. Rex increases five-times.

在十五至十八岁之间，像雷克斯霸王龙这样的食肉动物，其死亡率较平时会增加五倍。

This is the age adolescent males begin to challenge older, more experienced males.

在这个年龄段里年少的雄性恐龙会开始挑战更年长，更富经验的雄性恐龙。

Battles may start over a mate, but they can quickly develop into a death match.

开始可能只是为了争夺配偶而战，但很快这将会演变成一场生死之战。

There's going to be some threshold, some test that the male has to pass to get the privilege of mating with the female, get the privilege of reproducing.

雄性恐龙必须要通过一些门槛和测试后才能获得与雌性交配的特权，和繁殖后代的特权。

Fights break out over territory, bravado¹⁶, and, of course, to impress females.

战斗通常因领地而起，有时也是虚张声势，当然也为了博得雌性的好感。

These clashes are shows of strength meant to prove who has the best genes¹⁷.

这些冲突都是力量的展现，意在证明谁的基因才是最优秀的。

Fortunately, most of the time, the aim is not to kill your opponent.

幸运的是，在大部分情况下它们都不想置对手于死地。

1 amenable   

adj.经得起检验的；顺从的；对负有义务的

参考例句：

• His scientific discoveries are amenable to the laws of physics.他在科学上的发现经得起物理定律的检验。
• He is amenable to counsel.他这人听劝。

2 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 hormonal   

adj.激素的

参考例句：

• Some viral diseases are more severe during pregnancy, probably tecause of hormonal changes. 有些病毒病在妊娠期间比较严重，可能是由于激素变化引起的。
• She underwent surgical intervention and a subsequent short period of hormonal therapy. 他接受外科手术及随后短暂荷尔蒙治疗。

5 recedes   

v.逐渐远离( recede的第三人称单数 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• For this reason the near point gradually recedes as one grows older. 由于这个原因，随着人渐渐变老，近点便逐渐后退。 来自辞典例句
• Silent, mournful, abandoned, broken, Czechoslovakia recedes into the darkness. 缄默的、悲哀的、被抛弃的、支离破碎的捷克斯洛伐克，已在黑暗之中。 来自辞典例句

6 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

7 gland   

n.腺体，(机)密封压盖，填料盖

参考例句：

• This is a snake's poison gland.这就是蛇的毒腺。
• Her mother has an underactive adrenal gland.她的母亲肾上腺机能不全。

8 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

9 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

10 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

11 cascade   

n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下

参考例句：

• She watched the magnificent waterfall cascade down the mountainside.她看着壮观的瀑布从山坡上倾泻而下。
• Her hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade of curls.她的卷发像瀑布一样垂在肩上。

12 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

13 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

14 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 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。

16 bravado   

n.虚张声势，故作勇敢，逞能

参考例句：

• Their behaviour was just sheer bravado. 他们的行为完全是虚张声势。
• He flourished the weapon in an attempt at bravado. 他挥舞武器意在虚张声势。

17 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