侏罗纪搏击俱乐部 第4期:顶级掠食者

 　　Majungasaurus thrived more than 70 million years ago.

　　玛君龙在七千多万年前很繁盛。

　　Fossil evidence proves that the island of Madagascar teemed¹ with a variety of plants and animals.

　　化石证据证明了马达加斯加岛满是种类繁多的动植物。

　　But Majungasaurus was at the top of the food chain, the ultimate predator².

　　不过玛君龙处于食物链的顶端是终极掠食者。

　　Every environment has an apex³ predator, that is the ultimate predator at the top of the food chain.

　　每种环境里都有顶级掠食者，就是位于食物链顶端的终极掠食者。

　　On North America, Tyrannosaurus-Rex was that apex predator.

　　在北美洲，霸王龙是顶级掠食者。

　　But on the island of Madagascar, it was Majungasaurus.

　　不过在马达加斯加岛，则是玛君龙。

　　Majungasaurus was the top predator in its community.

　　玛君龙是它的环境里的顶级掠食者。

　　In general, it would've spent its day stalking around for prey⁴, killing⁵ something,and when it killed it, ate it, and rested for a while.

　　一般情况下，它会整天搜寻猎物然后杀死并吃掉，然后休息一会儿。

　　As more bones emerged from the site, scientists began to get a clearer picture of the size and shape of this creature.

　　随着出土的骨头越来越多，对这种生物的大小和形态科学家们有了更清晰的认识。

　　He was a two-legged predator, standing⁶ three meters tall, nine meters long and weighing one ton, the same as a baby elephant.

　　它是一种两足行走的掠食者，站起来有三米高长达九米、重量有一吨相当于一头幼年大象。

　　Along with its size and a reinforced head butting⁷ skull⁸, Majungasaurus had a even more dangerous mouthful of serrated teeth.

　　除了有壮硕的身体和结实的头颅，玛君龙满口的锯齿形牙齿更加危险。

　　Closer inspection⁹ of the jaws¹⁰ would reveal that, like a shark, Majungasaurus had rows of teeth that continuously replaced themselves.

　　仔细检查它的颌骨就能发现玛君龙和鲨鱼一样有多排牙齿能够不停地自我更新。

　　The teeth of Majungasaurus were pretty incredible. They were replaced throughout its entire life.

　　玛君龙的牙齿挺不可思议。它们一直都在不断地更新。

　　When a tooth got dull, it would fall out and be replaced by a brand new tooth.

　　当一颗牙变钝了就会掉下被换成一颗新牙。

　　They were also serrated on both of front and back edges making them perfect for slicing meat.

　　而且前后边缘都有锯齿，非常适合切肉。

　　Majungasaurus still had a further weapon that was capable of delivering a lethal¹¹ blow, its massive tail.

　　玛君龙还有一样武器也能够给出致命一击，就是巨大的尾巴。

　　With reinforced bones and powerful muscles, the dinosaur¹² could wield¹³ its tail like a oversized baton¹⁴.

　　尾巴上有加强的骨头和有力的肌肉，挥动起来就像超大的警棍。

　　Although Majungasaurus was a force to reckon with, it was not without shortcomings.

　　尽管玛君龙的威力惊人，它也有自己的缺点。

　　Even the king of the jungle has weaknesses. A first was its unusually small arms.

　　这个丛林之王也有薄弱环节。首先就是它异常小的前肢。

 

1 teemed   

v.充满( teem的过去式和过去分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The pond teemed with tadpoles. 池子里有很多蝌蚪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ideas of new plays and short stories teemed in his head. 他的脑海里装满了有关新的剧本和短篇小说的构思。 来自辞典例句

2 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。

3 apex   

n.顶点，最高点

参考例句：

• He reached the apex of power in the early 1930s.他在三十年代初达到了权力的顶峰。
• His election to the presidency was the apex of his career.当选总统是他一生事业的顶峰。

4 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。

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 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 butting   

用头撞人（犯规动作）

参考例句：

• When they were talking Mary kept butting in. 当他们在谈话时，玛丽老是插嘴。
• A couple of goats are butting each other. 两只山羊在用角互相顶撞。

8 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。

9 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

10 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。

11 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。

12 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。

13 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

14 baton   

n.乐队用指挥杖

参考例句：

• With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
• The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。