侏罗纪搏击俱乐部 第12期:丛林中的性别大战

 　　To demonstrate his intentions, the male would have begun to perform a courtship dance.

　　为了说明自己的意图雄性会开始表演一种求偶舞蹈。

　　CAT scan evidence shows that the brain of Majungasaurus was incredibly small and therefore primitive¹,CT扫描证据表明玛君龙的大脑相当小，

　　leading paleontologists to speculate that this dance would have been very simple.

　　因此也很原始这让古生物学家们猜测这种舞蹈应该非常简单。

　　Certainly, given the brain size of something like Majungasaurus which has a relatively² primitive brain,当然要是像玛君龙那样只有比较原始的大脑，

　　we would expect them to have the kinds of primitive, very ritualized,我们估计它们的求偶仪式会是很原始、很模式化，courtship rituals that we see in lizards³ and crocodiles today,就像现代的蜥蜴和鳄鱼一样，

　　very stereotype⁴, rigid⁵ kinds of courtship behaviors.

　　求偶行为非常模式化，比较固定。

　　In this theory, although the male tried his best, the female was not receptive.

　　不过这一次尽管雄性使尽浑身解数，雌性就是不为所动。

　　Ripped from the continent of Gondwanaland by the violent upheavals⁶ of the Earth tectonic plates, the island of Madagascar was born.

　　由于地球猛烈的板块运动，一块陆地被从冈瓦纳大陆上撕下，马达加斯加岛自此诞生。

　　Surrounded by sea, the island quickly became a lush green "Garden of Eden".

　　这个岛屿被海洋包围，迅速地变成了繁茂的绿色伊甸园。

　　As evolution forged ahead, an extraordinary inhabitant emerged: Majungasaurus.

　　在进化的作用下一种非同寻常的居民出现了：玛君龙。

　　In these jungles, a colossal⁷ battle of sexes appeared to have taken place.

　　在这些丛林里一场性别大战一触即发。

　　To help to piece together a viable⁸ scenario⁹, paleontologists have gathered as much information about the competitors as possible.

　　为了能够拼出可能的情景，古生物学家们在尽量多地收集其竞争者的信息。

　　The skeletal design of Majungasaurus shows that these were very powerful animals.

　　玛君龙的骨骼设计表明它们是非常有力的动物。

　　But there may have been a difference in size and strength between male and female.

　　不过它们的雌性和雄性之间也有大小和力量的差别。

　　We do see some differences between the different specimens¹⁰ that we find in Majungasaurus.

　　我们的确在不同的玛君龙标本中看到了一些的差异。

　　It's hard for us to know whether there were just differences between different individuals or differences that we can associate to differences in sex.

　　我们很难确认这仅仅是不同个体之间的差异还是我们提到的性别差异。

　　Both of these animal are probably fairly comparable in terms of their general size and strength and general capabilities¹¹.

　　这种动物的雄性和雌性大小、力量和一般能力相当。

 

1 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

2 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

3 lizards   

n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nothing lives in Pompeii except crickets and beetles and lizards. 在庞培城里除了蟋蟀、甲壳虫和蜥蜴外，没有别的生物。 来自辞典例句
• Can lizards reproduce their tails? 蜥蜴的尾巴断了以后能再生吗？ 来自辞典例句

4 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

5 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

6 upheavals   

突然的巨变( upheaval的名词复数 )； 大动荡； 大变动； 胀起

参考例句：

• the latest upheavals in the education system 最近教育制度上的种种变更
• These political upheavals might well destroy the whole framework of society. 这些政治动乱很可能会破坏整个社会结构。

7 colossal   

adj.异常的，庞大的

参考例句：

• There has been a colossal waste of public money.一直存在巨大的公款浪费。
• Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.那座城市里的一些高层建筑很庞大。

8 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

9 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

10 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓