侏罗纪搏击俱乐部 第158期:捍卫领地绰绰有余

 　　Albertosaurus hunted in small groups of up to five.

　　阿尔伯特龙小群狩猎，每群多可达五头。

　　A herd¹ of Pachyrhinosaurus would have been more than capable of standing² their ground against a single Albertosaurus.

　　一群肿鼻角龙面对一头阿尔伯特龙，要捍卫它们的领地绰绰有余。

　　But if there more than one, well, that would make it considerably³ more difficult for the Pachyrhinosaurus.

　　不过要是超过一头，对于肿鼻角龙来说就相对困难多了。

　　We know Albertosaurus hunted, at least some of the time, in packs.The fossil evidence proves that.

　　我们知道阿尔伯特龙成群狩猎，起码有些时候会这样。化石证据已经证明了这一点。

　　The Arctic was not home to any top predators⁴.

　　北极不是任何顶级掠食者的家园。

　　Facing a monster, such as the Albertosaurus, would have been terrifying to the Arctic dinosaur⁵, especially to the young in the pack.

　　面对阿尔伯特龙这样的怪兽，对于北极恐龙来说非常可怕，特别是群体里的幼年恐龙。

　　It's completely possible, and in my opinion pretty likely, that one of the hunting methods of Albertosaurus would have been to try to separate a member from the herd.

　　这完全有可能，在我看来可能性很大，就是说阿尔伯特龙的一种狩猎方式就是试图让一头恐龙脱离群体。

　　Once they have it separated, then killing⁶ it's a lot easier because you don't have to contend with the entire group.

　　一旦让它与群体分开来，要杀死它就容易多了，因为用不着对抗整个恐龙群了。

　　This is the same technique that we see in modern predators.

　　现代掠食者也在使用同样的技术。

　　Animal behavior doesn't change.So we look at hunting methods of say, a lion, and it gives us a window into the hunting methods of an Albertosaurus.

　　动物行为不会改变。比如我们来看看狮子的狩猎方式，这就给了我们一个窗口来了解阿尔伯特龙的狩猎方法。

　　Arctic dinosaurs⁷ gathered in herds⁸ not only for protection but to share body warmth.

　　北极恐龙聚集成群不仅是为了寻求保护，也是为了分享身体的温暖。

　　We know, based on the geological evidence, that the herd ended up in a flooded river.

　　根据相关的地质证据，整个恐龙群在洪流中灭亡。

　　But very few animals will attempt to cross a river when its flooding.

　　不过没多少动物会在河水泛滥时过河。

　　Well, we don't have the evidence that tells us exactly what happened and why these animals chose into the river, but something drove them into it.

　　我们没有证据能告诉我们到底发生了什么以及这些动物为什么进入河流，不过肯定有什么东西驱使它们。

　　The only explanation I can think of is that they were forced into the river.

　　我能想到的唯一解释就是它们是被迫下河的。

　　It's certainly plausible⁹ that they were being chased into it by something as big as Albertosaurus.

　　被阿尔伯特龙这么巨大的恐龙追赶下河肯定合理。

　　The Albertosaurus couldn't withstand the Arctic cold.It didn't have enough fat to insulate itself.

　　阿尔伯特龙不能忍受北极的严寒。它没有足够多的脂肪来保暖。

　　The main weapon of Albertosaurus is very powerful bone crushing, flesh tearing jaws¹⁰.

　　阿尔伯特龙的主要武器是能咬断骨头、撕开血肉的有力双颌。

　　And behind it, it's got a pretty good computer, a big brain as far as dinosaurs go and really good senses, great vision, great sense of smell.

　　在这后面，有一个相当好的计算机，它的大脑在恐龙中算大的，还有非常敏锐的感官，视觉很好、嗅觉也很灵敏。

　　Pachyrhinosaurus' weapons...it's got this very powerful nose mass whether it's a horn or a lump, that's a very good defensive¹¹ weapon.

　　肿鼻角龙的武器嘛，它有非常强大的鼻部圆顶，不管是角还是鼓包，那都是非常不错的防御武器。

1 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

2 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。

3 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

4 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 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。

7 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》

8 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

9 plausible   

adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的

参考例句：

• His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
• Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。

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 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。