英语听力：2013-05-24 完美捕食 Perfect Predators —10

 These Olympic capabilities¹ come down to one simple anatomical feature, its tail. Half the length of its body, it acts like a built-in counterbalance. By flicking² it from side to side, it can make a sharp turn at full speed. 

 

If you were to look at Deinonychus in slow motion chasing after a prey³ item, it would look a lot like a big cat today. If the prey item tries to dart⁴ away, it turns even faster, and it’s swinging its tail off to the side and can cut it off and intercept⁵ that prey item as it’s trying to get away. 

 

Put all these together, speed, agility⁶, a powerful sense of smell, and a young Sauroposeidon, even an animal nearly a ton in weight might just be staring death in the face, particularly if there’s more than one Deinonychus in pursuit. 

 

Stalking the Cretaceous are predators⁷ like Tyrannosaurus Rex with jaws⁸ that can bite down with nearly four tons of force, and Deinonychus, sporting claws that could slice straight through flesh. But the prey these carnivores hunt are heavily armed. 

 

Often in reconstructions⁹ of dinosaurs¹⁰, we just see the meat eaters attacking the herbivores, and it’s easy to miss the fact that, in the real world, herbivores fight back. 

 

The plant eater Sauroposeidon defends itself by growing to mammoth¹¹ proportions. This one is a juvenile¹², but it’s almost 6 meters tall, an animal on the edge of adolescence¹³, and an animal on the run.

 

It’s being chased by two raptors. These raptors are known as Deinonychus. These tiny killers¹⁴ work as a team. 

 

Deinonychus wouldn’t weigh much more than a human being. And when they’re attacking things like Sauroposeidon, it would be a big advantage for them to be able to act as a group.

 

1 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

2 flicking   

（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的现在分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）

参考例句：

• He helped her up before flicking the reins. 他帮她上马，之后挥动了缰绳。
• There's something flicking around my toes. 有什么东西老在叮我的脚指头。

3 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。

4 dart   

v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲

参考例句：

• The child made a sudden dart across the road.那小孩突然冲过马路。
• Markov died after being struck by a poison dart.马尔科夫身中毒镖而亡。

5 intercept   

vt.拦截，截住，截击

参考例句：

• His letter was intercepted by the Secret Service.他的信被特工处截获了。
• Gunmen intercepted him on his way to the airport.持枪歹徒在他去机场的路上截击了他。

6 agility   

n.敏捷，活泼

参考例句：

• The boy came upstairs with agility.那男孩敏捷地走上楼来。
• His intellect and mental agility have never been in doubt.他的才智和机敏从未受到怀疑。

7 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》

8 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。

9 reconstructions   

重建( reconstruction的名词复数 )； 再现； 重建物； 复原物

参考例句：

• Multicolored reconstructions have been formed using (black and white) volume holographic plates. 利用黑白体积全息片已经做成了彩色重建象。
• The method gives ways to evaluate collision speed in traffic accident reconstructions. 该模型为交通事故再现推算碰撞速度提供了有效实用的方法。

10 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》

11 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

12 juvenile   

n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
• Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

13 adolescence   

n.青春期，青少年

参考例句：

• Adolescence is the process of going from childhood to maturity.青春期是从少年到成年的过渡期。
• The film is about the trials and tribulations of adolescence.这部电影讲述了青春期的麻烦和苦恼。

14 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。