侏罗纪搏击俱乐部 第167期:行星终结了恐龙王朝

 　　The thing about extinction¹ events is that, of course they're very bad for the animals that go extinct, but they open up a door of opportunity for a lot of other animals and plants.

　　其实就灭绝事件来说，当然对走向灭绝的动物来说很糟糕，不过这也为很多其它动物和植物，打开了机会之门。

　　And basically once certain species disappear, then other species will evolve and change and take over their place in that particular ecosystem² or habitat.

　　基本上一旦某种物种消失了，其它物种就会进化，改变并取代它在特定生态环境或栖息地的位置。

　　Ultimately, it would be the giant asteroid³ that would end the reign⁴ of the dinosaurs⁶.

　　最终，一颗巨大的小行星终结了恐龙的王朝。

　　But that deadly space missile would take another 250 million years to finally reach the earth.

　　不过那颗致命的太空导弹还要再花两亿五千万年才会到达地球。

　　In the meantime, the dinosaurs waged a savage⁷ battle for survival.

　　在此期间，恐龙发动了一场惨烈的生存之战。

　　144 million years ago, at the end of the Jurassic era, many dinosaur⁵ species became victims of climate changes that probably brought about their first extinction.

　　一亿四千四百万年前，在侏罗纪末期，很多恐龙种类成了气候变化的受害者，这大概带来了它们的首次灭绝。

　　But a host of others managed to rise to power.

　　不过其它一些恐龙设法登上统治地位。

　　More efficient plant eaters like Gastonia and Tenontosaurus were able to fill the void left by their predecessors⁸, and in turn, new predators¹⁰ appeared along with them.

　　更多高效的植食者，比如加斯顿龙和腱龙，能够填补前辈留下的空缺，反过来，新的掠食者也就随之出现。

　　At the top of the food chain are the Raptors.

　　在食物链的顶端是迅猛龙。

　　These predators were more advanced than their earlier cousins.

　　这些掠食者比它们早期的亲戚更加先进。

　　This is when raptors, like Deinonychus and Utahraptor made their debut¹¹.

　　正是这个时候，迅猛龙，比如恐爪龙和犹他盗龙，初次登场。

　　Over the next 79 million years, dinosaurs continued as the unchallenged rulers.

　　接下来的七千九百万年，恐龙仍是不可动摇的统治者。

　　No other animals could match their size, power or ferocity.

　　没有其它动物能比得了它们的体型、力量或凶残。

　　By the end of the Cretaceous period, global environmental changes saw the emergence¹² of tougher, more fibrous species of plants.

　　到了白垩纪末期，全球的环境变化带来了更坚韧、纤维更多的植物物种。

　　To take advantage of these new food sources, specially¹³ adapted herbivores evolved.

　　为了能够利用这些新的食物来源，进化出了特化的植食动物。

　　By the end of the Cretaceous, we had some very advanced dinosaurs.

　　到了白垩纪末期，出现了一些非常先进的恐龙。

　　There were lots of species of Ceratopsians, these were the horn dinosaurs.

　　有很多种角龙，这些是长角的恐龙。

　　And there were an abundance of duckbilled dinosaurs called Hadrosaurs.

　　还有很多嘴部像鸭喙的恐龙，称之为鸭嘴龙。

　　Both of these groups had remarkably¹⁴ advanced teeth and jaw¹⁵ design which allowed them to eat a wider variety of plants.

　　这两类恐龙都有相当先进的牙齿和颌部构造，使之能够吃更多种类的植物。

　　And the predators also had become more advanced.

　　掠食者也变得更加先进。

　　Dinosaurs like Albertosaurus was able to hunt cooperatively with other members of their own family, while raptors took pack hunting to a whole new level.

　　像阿尔伯特龙这样的恐龙与家族中的其它成员能够进行合作狩猎，而迅猛龙更是将群体猎食带到了全新高度。

　　But sitting atop all of these was Tyrannosaurus Rex.

　　不过首屈一指的是雷克斯暴龙。

　　He was the ultimate predator⁹ in earth's history.

　　它是地球历史中的终极掠食者。

　　And yet with all these evolutionary¹⁶ advancements¹⁷, they literally¹⁸ disappeared in the blink of an eye.

　　但尽管有着所有这些进化优势，它们转瞬间就消失了。

　　65 million years ago, the giant asteroid that had been hurtling towards earth finally struck.

　　在六千五百万年前巨大的小行星经过飞向地球的漫长的岁月终于到达。

　　Nothing was safe.

　　没什么是安全的。

　　All the dinosaurs in the world at that time became extinct along with a lot of the big reptiles¹⁹ that sort of looked like dinosaurs, things like Mosasaurs and Plesiosaurs in the ocean,

　　那时全球所有的恐龙都走向灭绝，一起的还有很多看起来有点像恐龙的大型爬行动物，像是海洋里的沧龙和蛇颈龙，

　　and, on land of course the Tyrannosaurus Rex, and Nanotyrannus, and Triceratops, and all the duck-bill dinosaurs, and all the little raptors and so forth²⁰.

　　当然陆地上的霸王龙，矮暴龙，三角龙和所有的鸭嘴龙，还有所有的小迅猛龙等等。

　　It was a pretty much extinction of everything.

　　基本上所有的都灭绝了。

　　For many years, scientists were baffled by this massive extinction.

　　很多年来，科学家们为这次大灭绝而困惑。

　　It seemed incredible that so much carnage could have been caused by a single, sudden, catastrophic event.

　　似乎很难相信一次单独突发的灾难性事件能带来那么多的大屠杀。

　　The time in geological history that separates that end of the Cretaceous from the Tertiary Period is marked with a very distinctive²¹ band of clay.

　　在地质历史中分开白垩纪末期和第三纪的那段时间被记录在非常独特的一层黏土中。

　　You can see this thin band in locations throughout the world and it clearly marks the spot where something major had taken place.

　　在全球都能看到这薄薄的一层黏土，它非常清晰地标出发生过重大事件的地点。

　　Below it we find dinosaurs, pterosaurs and a variety of giant sea reptiles.

　　在这层黏土之下我们发现了恐龙、翼龙和各种大型海洋爬行动物。

　　But above that line, we don't see any evidence of these same creatures.

　　不过在那条线以上，我们没有看见过任何这些同种生物的证据。

　　So this layer clearly represents that something dramatic had happened on earth that caused a mass extinction in a very short time.

　　所以这一层黏土清晰地表明地球上曾发生过剧烈变化，并在很短时间内导致了大规模灭绝。

　　The layer that separates the periods is called the K-T boundary.

　　这区分两个纪元的土层被称作KT界限层。

1 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。

2 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

3 asteroid   

n.小行星；海盘车(动物)

参考例句：

• Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.天文学家还没有目击过小行星撞击其它行星。
• It's very unlikely that an asteroid will crash into Earth but the danger exists.小行星撞地球的可能性很小，但这样的危险还是存在的。

4 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

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 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

8 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 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》

11 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

12 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

13 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

14 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

15 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。

16 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

17 advancements   

n.（级别的）晋升( advancement的名词复数 )；前进；进展；促进

参考例句：

• Today, the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements. 当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Great advancements in drought prediction have been made in recent years. 近年来，人们对干旱灾害的预报研究取得了长足的进步。 来自互联网

18 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

19 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》

20 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

21 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。