侏罗纪搏击俱乐部 第109期:千万别去惹迅猛龙

 　　Along with its deadly claws, Utahraptor relied on its teeth as an effective means of killing¹ its prey².

　　除了其致命的爪子外，犹他盗龙凭借它的牙齿作为一个杀死猎物的有效工具。

　　And to ensure it always had a fresh set, Utahraptor had a special adaptation.

　　为了保证总有满口锋利牙齿，犹他盗龙有一种特殊的适应力。

　　When we are looking at the jaw³ of something like Utahraptor, really, many of the predatory dinosaurs⁶, we see that all the teeth aren't really at the same level, but rather they seem to be, some are really poking⁷ out a lot, some are just a little bit.

　　我们观察犹他盗龙这类恐龙颌骨时，其实很多掠食恐龙都这样，我们看到的牙齿不是真的在同一个水平的，相反的是它们似乎，有些真的支出来很多，有些则露出来一点点

　　What that is actually reflecting are the ways that the teeth are replaced.So they actually grow at different rates and at different times.

　　那实际上反映了的这些牙齿的更替方式。所以其实它们在不同的时间以不同的速度生长。

　　These reptiles⁸, like Utahraptor, are actually replacing teeth throughout their life, so they've got teeth, they are actually at different stages of their growth and different stage of eruption⁹ where they are in the jaw at different parts of their life.

　　像犹他盗龙这样的爬行动物，一生之中都在不断地更换牙齿，所以它们的牙齿实际上处于不同的生长阶段，在它们生命的不同部分从颌上冒出来的状态也不一样。

　　This is actually a very wonderful strategy because these animals are actually breaking teeth.

　　这其实是一种非常奇妙的策略，因为这些动物其实是在破坏牙齿。

　　Their life style of actually biting into other animals is pretty tough on their teeth.

　　它们靠撕咬其它动物的生活方式对其牙齿是严峻考验。

　　And as a result, they are breaking teeth and wearing them down, yet there is always one in replacement¹⁰, so they are always equiped with a series of these dagger-like teeth.

　　结果就是，它们在破坏牙齿或者磨损它们，但总有一个替补，所以它们一直都装备着满口匕首一般的利齿。

　　Along with its sharp claws and replaceable teeth, the Utahraptor was a master strategist.

　　除了拥有锋利的爪子和可更新的牙齿，犹他盗龙还是策略高手。

　　We do CAT scanning of Raptor skulls¹¹.

　　我们对迅猛龙颅骨进行CAT扫描。

　　We can see that these Raptors like Utahraptor had really fairly expanded brains.

　　我们能看见像犹他盗龙这样的迅猛龙有相当膨胀的脑部。

　　So we see expansion of the higher centers of the brain, the parts of the brain that are associated with maybe even some cognitive¹² capabilities¹³ - the abilities to solve problems.

　　我们看到脑部的高级功能区的扩大，这部分的大脑可能与认知能力有关，就是解决问题的能力。

　　These guys had a pretty doglike advanced brain, very much like living birds of today, very smart smart animals.

　　这些家伙有跟狗非常像的先进大脑，跟如今的鸟类非常相似，它们是很聪明的动物。

　　Don't mess with the Raptor, you're gonna lose.

　　别去惹迅猛龙，你会输的。

　　Being smarter than your prey is an excellent way to remain a top predator⁴.

　　比你的猎物更加聪明是保持顶级掠食者王座的妙招。

　　But the ability to adapt to environmental changes is what makes any dinosaur⁵ successful.

　　不过适应环境变化的能力才是恐龙成功的关键。

　　And in Utahraptor's time, the environment was going through some very dramatic changes indeed.

　　在犹他盗龙时期，环境确实正在经历着一些剧烈的改变。

　　Over the next several million years, the earth continued to cool and seasons became more extreme.

　　接下来的几百万年，地球继续变冷，季节越来越极端。

　　Plants became increasingly diverse to adapt to the changing seasons.

　　为了适应季节的变化，植物的分化愈发明显。

　　Herbivores ranged far and wide to find suitable food and the Utahraptor adapted its hunting strategies to take advantage.

　　植食动物长途跋涉来寻找合适的食物，犹他盗龙调整其狩猎策略来占便宜。

　　When you are a predator and your environment changes, you need to adjust your hunting methods accordingly.

　　如果你是一个掠食者而你周围的环境改变了，你就得相应地调整狩猎方法。

　　If you are used to hunting in dense¹⁴ forest and then the forest is replaced by smaller bushes and open country, then you'd better be prepared to tweak your hunting methods.

　　如果你适应在密林里捕猎，然后森林变成了灌丛或开阔地，那你得准备好改变你的狩猎方法。

　　And Utahraptor was an expert in doing just that.

　　犹他盗龙就是个中高手。

1 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。

2 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。

3 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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》

7 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

8 reptiles   

n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Snakes and crocodiles are both reptiles. 蛇和鳄鱼都是爬行动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Birds, reptiles and insects come from eggs. 鸟类、爬虫及昆虫是卵生的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

10 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

11 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！

12 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

13 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

14 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。