侏罗纪搏击俱乐部 第3期:玛君龙

 　　This discovery had given paleontologists an opportunity to look inside the skull¹ of this rare dinosaur².

　　这个发现给了古生物学家们仔细观察这种稀有恐龙颅内情况的机会。

　　Dr. Lawrence Witmer of Ohio University leads one of the most technologically³ advanced dinosaur research labs in the world.

　　俄亥俄大学的劳伦斯·维特莫博士领导着世界上技术最先进的恐龙研究实验室。

　　He's able to dig deeper into the stories of bones and brain cavity than ever before.

　　对这些骨头和颅腔的故事他能挖掘得比从前都要深入。

　　CT scanning has opened a new door into dinosaur behavior.

　　CT扫描打开了一扇了解恐龙行为的大门。

　　CT scanning is a medical technology that allows us to look inside an object.

　　CT扫描是一项医学技术用于观察物体的内部。

　　But we can use that same technology on dinosaurs⁴ to look inside their skulls⁵, to see through the rock to see how these animals are built.

　　不过我们也能用这项新技术来观察恐龙头颅的内部，并且透过石头来看到这些动物的构造。

　　We can look at the bony brain cavity in CT scan, and from that, extract what the form the brain was like, as well as all of the tissues that're surrounding that.

　　我们可以用CT扫描看到化石颅腔，这样就能够知道它的大脑是怎样的还有所有其周围组织的构造。

　　CT scanning of the skull of Majungasaurus gave clues into every aspect of this predator⁶, its senses of vision, hearing, balance and agility⁷.

　　对玛君龙颅骨的CT扫描给出了这种掠食者各个方面的线索，包括视觉、听觉、平衡感和灵活性。

　　By comparing the size and shape of the brain and inner ear canals to those of modern birds and reptiles,通过把它大脑的大小形状和内耳道与现代的鸟类和爬行类的进行比较，scientists have developed a rare insight into the behavior of Majungasaurus, how it lived and how it could have fought.

　　科学家们对玛君龙的行为获得了少有的深入了解，知道了它如何生活和战斗的。

　　At first glance, the skull reveals obvious detail.

　　只要一眼就能够看到这颅骨上的明显细节。

　　The exterior⁸ was covered in a thick, rough texture⁹, ending in a three-inch horn. that jutted¹⁰ from the top of the skull.

　　其外层较厚、质地粗糙形成一个不到十厘米的角。从颅骨的顶部支出。

　　What makes this Majungasaurus look so odd are the bumps and strange horns and spikes¹¹ that stuck out all over its skull.

　　这头玛君龙看起来奇怪的地方在于其颅骨上的隆起、奇怪的角和随处可见凸起。

　　These are actually designed to show rival that this male is a mature adult.

　　这些实际上是成熟雄性向竞争者展示的设计。

　　They are also designed to attract a mate.

　　它们也是用来吸引配偶的。

　　These odd horns and spikes were probably brightly colored.

　　这些怪角和凸起很可能颜色鲜艳。

　　These are make-ups. It's a signal that screams to the ladies: "Check me out!"它们是装扮物。是对女士表示的强烈信号：“看看我吧！”

　　One of the interesting things about the horn of Majungasaurus is that it is very rough and the bone is very sort of cauliflower like and bumpy¹².

　　玛君龙角有趣的地方之一就是它，很结实，骨头是像菜花似的坑坑包包。

　　And, in fact, that bumpiness¹³ actually pertains¹⁴ to most of the skull.

　　而实际上这种不平整在整个头颅上都有。

　　The texture was another clue.

　　其质地是另一条线索。

　　The male's head was not merely an ornament¹⁵.

　　这个雄性的头颅不只是个装饰品。

　　It was a weapon that could be wielded¹⁶ against both rival and prey¹⁷.

　　它是个武器，可以被挥向竞争对手和猎物。

　　One of the things we think is going on with the bumpy skin of Majungasaurus is that it relates to combat.

　　我们觉得玛君龙不平的皮肤是跟搏斗有关的。

　　They are potentially, actually interacting in a very direct physical way, head-to-head or head-to-flank kind of combat.

　　它们可能有非常直接的身体接触头撞头或是头撞体侧那种搏斗。

　　It's a very unusual kind of thing, the kind of structures we don't really see in animals,这种结构很不寻常我们在别的动物身上都看不到，like Ceratosaurus where the horns we see are almost delicate kind of structure.

　　比如说角鼻龙，我们看到的角是比较纤弱的。

　　So what we see with Majungasaurus is a kind of structure that was built for combat.

　　我们看到的玛君龙有着为搏斗设计的结构。

　　When you look at the design of a skull of a Majungasaurus, you can compare that to modern day big-horn sheep.

　　当观察玛君龙颅骨设计时可以与现代的大角盘羊进行比较。

　　It's very heavily built and perfectly¹⁸ designed to take a heavy beating.

　　它的体格壮硕身体很适合沉重的撞击。

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 technologically   

ad.技术上地

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a technologically advanced city. 上海是中国的一个技术先进的城市。
• Many senior managers are technologically illiterate. 许多高级经理都对技术知之甚少。

4 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》

5 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！

6 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。

7 agility   

n.敏捷，活泼

参考例句：

• The boy came upstairs with agility.那男孩敏捷地走上楼来。
• His intellect and mental agility have never been in doubt.他的才智和机敏从未受到怀疑。

8 exterior   

adj.外部的，外在的；表面的

参考例句：

• The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
• We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。

9 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

10 jutted   

v.（使）突出( jut的过去式和过去分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出

参考例句：

• A row of small windows jutted out from the roof. 有一排小窗户从房顶上突出来。
• His jaw jutted stubbornly forward; he would not be denied. 他固执地扬起下巴，一副不肯罢休的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 bumpy   

adj.颠簸不平的，崎岖的

参考例句：

• I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

13 bumpiness   

n.崎岖不平

参考例句：

• Given the bumpiness of the road ahead, you might be better off with a crash helmet. 考虑到你面前这条颠簸的道路，你最好还是配个头盔吧。 来自互联网

14 pertains   

关于( pertain的第三人称单数 )； 有关； 存在； 适用

参考例句：

• When one manages upward, none of these clear and unambiguous symbols pertains. 当一个人由下而上地管理时，这些明确无误的信号就全都不复存在了。
• Her conduct hardly pertains to a lady. 她的行为与女士身份不太相符。

15 ornament   

v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物

参考例句：

• The flowers were put on the table for ornament.花放在桌子上做装饰用。
• She wears a crystal ornament on her chest.她的前胸戴了一个水晶饰品。

16 wielded   

手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的过去式和过去分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响）

参考例句：

• The bad eggs wielded power, while the good people were oppressed. 坏人当道，好人受气
• He was nominally the leader, but others actually wielded the power. 名义上他是领导者，但实际上是别人掌握实权。

17 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。

18 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。