侏罗纪搏击俱乐部 第18期:幼年霸王龙惨遭横死

 　　In the summer of 1998, a group of amateur paleontologists were conducting a routine dig, when they made a stunning¹ discovery1998年的夏天，一组业余古生物爱好者在进行一次例行挖掘时做出了一个惊人发现，the fossilized remains² of a Tyrannosaurus Rex and the site of its death.

　　一具雷克斯暴龙的化石残骸和它毙命的地点。

　　They were immediately able to determine that the remains belonged to a young T-Rex.

　　他们立刻就确定了这具残骸属于一头幼年霸王龙。

　　But this was not just an ordinary skeleton.

　　不过这不是一具寻常的骨架。

　　Many of the bones had been broken and surrounding the skeleton were strange blade-like teeth.

　　很多骨头已经碎裂，而且骨架的周遭是奇怪的刃状牙齿。

　　But these teeth were not the teeth of the baby T-Rex. They were the teeth of another, unidentified predator³.

　　不过这些并非幼年霸王龙的牙齿。它们属于另一种尚待确认的掠食者。

　　Science attempts to explain how this T-Rex died.

　　科学界试图解释这头霸王龙的死因。

　　In 1998, near the town of Belle⁴ Fourche, South Dakota, they found what appeared to be the skeletal remains of a relatively⁵ small dinosaur⁶.

　　1998年，在南达科塔的贝尔伏奇，人们发现了一具相对较小的恐龙留下的骨骼残骸。

　　At first, they were not sure of what they had, but evidence started to emerge that told them this was a young Tyrannosaurus Rex.

　　开始时，他们不知道这是什么，不过证据开始告诉他们这是一头幼年霸王龙。

　　T-Rex is a pretty rare dinosaur, but juveniles⁷ are almost unheard of. So its discovery was pretty significant.

　　霸王龙是一种较少见的恐龙，幼年的更是几乎闻所未闻。所以这次发现很有意义。

　　As they continued to excavate⁸ the remains, they observed broken ribs⁹, leg and arm bones, and various vertebras showed signs of injury.

　　随着他们继续挖掘化石骨骸，他们看到碎裂的肋骨腿骨和臂骨，而且有几节脊椎骨有受伤的迹象。

　　The sheer number of broken bones was unusual. Something had happened here. Something had killed this T-Rex.

　　碎裂骨头的数量很不寻常。这里发生过什么事。有什么东西杀死了这头霸王龙。

　　The bones indicated a brutal¹⁰ battle. paleontologists realized they were looking at the scene of a violent death.

　　这些骨头表明了一场残酷的战斗。古生物学家们意识到所见的是霸王龙惨遭横死的现场。

　　Tyrannosaurus Rex was the apex¹¹ predator of its time. Little, if anything, hunted it.

　　雷克斯暴龙是当时的顶级掠食者。几乎没什么能够猎杀它们。

　　In the late Cretaceous, T-Rex stood out among dinosaurs¹² as one of the deadliest.

　　在白垩纪晚期，霸王龙在恐龙中鹤立鸡群，是最为致命的一种。

　　They weighed up to 7 tons, stood 5 meters tall, and measured 14 meters in length.

　　它们重达七吨，立起来有五米高，长度达十四米。

 

1 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 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。

4 belle   

n.靓女

参考例句：

• She was the belle of her Sunday School class.在主日学校她是她们班的班花。
• She was the belle of the ball.她是那个舞会中的美女。

5 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。

6 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。

7 juveniles   

n.青少年( juvenile的名词复数 )；扮演少年角色的演员；未成年人

参考例句：

• Do you think that punishment for violent crimes should be the same for juveniles and adults? 你对暴力犯罪的惩罚对于青少年和成人应一样吗？ 来自生活英语口语25天快训
• Juveniles Should we not exactly in need of such strength and conviction? 少年的我们难道不正是需要这种力量和信念吗？ 来自互联网

8 excavate   

vt.挖掘，挖出

参考例句：

• They plan to excavate a large hole.他们计划挖个大洞。
• A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs.一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。

9 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

10 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

11 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。

12 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》