侏罗纪搏击俱乐部 第162期:北极恐龙正步入灭绝

 　　Pachyrhinosaurus like pretty much all members of the Ceratopsian family have no weaponry from behind their neck backwards².

　　肿鼻角龙和角龙家族的所有成员一样，从颈部往后没有什么武器。

　　From their neck back, they're completely vulnerable and they have no weapons, they have no spikes³, they have nothing.

　　从颈部往后，它们是完全脆弱的，没有武器，没有尖刺，什么都没有。

　　All of their weapons are in the front.

　　它们的所有武器都在前面。

　　So to attack an animal like a Pachyrhinosaurus your best bet would be to attack its unprotected side or its flanks or even the back of the neck behind the shield.

　　所以要攻击肿鼻角龙这样的动物，最好的机会就是攻击它没有防御的侧面，或其协腹甚至是颈盾后面的脖子。

　　The skin of the Pachyrhinosaurus was thick and similar in toughness to an elephant or rhino¹.

　　肿鼻角龙的皮肤很厚，跟大象或犀牛的一样坚韧。

　　Once the Pachyrhinosaurus is knocked to the ground, he's basically helpless.

　　一旦肿鼻角龙被击倒在地，它基本就没有希望了。

　　All the Albertosaurus will need to do is grab him by the throat or rip open his belly⁴.

　　所有阿尔伯特龙要做的就是咬住它的喉咙或是撕开它的肚皮。

　　Those sharp, serrated teeth can cut through flesh like a hot knife through butter.

　　那些带锯齿的牙齿切进血肉就像热刀切过黄油一样。

　　When you calculate the dimensions of the jaws⁵ of this big meat-eater, you can see that it can bite off and swallow a hundred pounds of flesh in every single bite.

　　要是计算一下这种巨大食肉动物双颌的尺寸，就能看出来它一口能咬下并吞下近100磅肉。

　　The Arctic was changing forever.

　　北极一直在变化。

　　It would go from a wasteland to a lush paradise for animals of all kind.

　　它会从一片荒原变成茂盛的各种动物的天堂。

　　But it would not be kind to the Arctic dinosaur⁶.It was headed for extinction⁷.

　　不过它对北极恐龙并不会友善。北极恐龙正步入灭绝。

　　70 million years ago in what is now Canada, two Albertosaurus charged a herd⁸ of Pachyrhinosaurs, causing a stampede towards a flooding river.

　　七千万年前，在现在的加拿大地区，两头阿尔伯特龙驱赶着一群肿鼻角龙，导致它们逃向洪水激流。

　　The Albertosaurus had a fast metabolism⁹ like the birds of today.

　　阿尔伯特龙的新陈代谢很快就像现代的鸟类。

　　This forces it to feed frequently to replenish¹⁰ its energy.

　　这迫使它们必须经常进食来补充能量。

　　Because of their lower center of gravity, dinosaurs¹¹ like Pachyrhinosaurus would've been able to recover quickly from a fall.

　　因为它们的重心很低，肿鼻角龙这样的恐龙摔倒后能很快爬起来。

　　They have very powerful front rear legs and this makes getting back up, if you fall, a lot easier.

　　它们的前后腿力量很足，这也让它们能摔倒后很快起身。

　　As quickly as it knocked him down, it's back up on its feet again.

　　它刚刚被打倒便马上又站立了起来。

　　The Pachyrhinosaurus has legs as thick as a grown man's waist.

　　肿鼻角龙的腿跟成年人的腰一样粗。

　　They are also relatively¹² dense¹³ like the legs of an elephant, not as hollow as those of the Albertosaurus.

　　它们也相对结实就像大象的腿一样，不同于阿尔伯特龙的空心骨头。

　　The thin legs of Albertosaurus are its weak spot because it wouldn't take much force to crack or even break the leg bones.

　　阿尔伯特龙较细的腿是它的弱点，因为用不了多大力量就可以让它断裂甚至断掉腿骨。

　　But because they're relatively thin, they're a smaller target.

　　但是因为它们比较细，它们也是较小的目标。

　　The Pachyrhinosaurus misses the bone and only rips the skin and this enrages¹⁴ the Albertosaurus who then goes for broke.

　　肿鼻角龙没有撞到骨头只划破了点儿皮，这激怒了阿尔伯特龙，它开始全力进攻。

1 rhino   

n.犀牛，钱, 现金

参考例句：

• The rhino charged headlong towards us.犀牛急速地向我们冲来。
• They have driven the rhino to the edge of extinction.他们已经令犀牛濒临灭绝。

2 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

3 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

5 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。

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 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

8 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。

9 metabolism   

n.新陈代谢

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• All living matter undergoes a process of metabolism.生物都有新陈代谢。

10 replenish   

vt.补充；(把…)装满；(再)填满

参考例句：

• I always replenish my food supply before it is depleted.我总是在我的食物吃完之前加以补充。
• We have to import an extra 4 million tons of wheat to replenish our reserves.我们不得不额外进口四百万吨小麦以补充我们的储备。

11 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》

12 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。

13 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。

14 enrages   

使暴怒( enrage的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• That is exactly what enrages and frightens the Sunnis. 但这个点子带点垂死挣扎的味道：伊朗早已深植于伊拉克的逊尼派，这恰恰是逊尼派又惊又怕的原因。
• He often stabs people in the back, which enrages me. 他就会背后放冷箭，真让人火大。