【英语时差8，16】大鸟

 It's time once again for the Moment of Science Pop Quiz. Ready? Here goes.   Do birds have teeth?

Sure, you can laugh, but what's the answer? No? Maybe? Have you ever looked?

In fact, the correct answer is: not any more.

Some modern day birds have ridges¹ or notches² in their beaks³ that can function a little bit like teeth, but they don't actually count as teeth. But the idea of a toothy bird is not so ridiculous as it seems. In fact, if you lived about 100 million years ago, toothy birds would be no laughing matter.

Surprisingly, the first true bird seems to have been closely related to the dinosaurs⁴. It is called the Archaeopteryx and lived about 150 million years ago. Archaeopteryx was the size of a modern day crow but had a full set of chompers. Presumably they weren't used for eating seeds.

After this character came on the scene birds began to grow bigger and bigger. A lot of these species had teeth. Big, shiny, pointy teeth. These were scary birds we're talking about here. Some of these prehistoric⁵ fanged⁶ birds grew to be larger than the modern-day ostrich⁷. One of them laid an egg more than a foot in length. Imagine being chased by a fanged ostrich. It's enough to make you stay in your own century.

Thankfully, no fanged birds exist today, and all modern birds are smaller than ostriches⁸. Don't think that means birds are no longer a successful species, though. Quite to the contrary: there are about twenty-five birds for every single person now alive on the earth.

1 ridges   

n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊

参考例句：

• The path winds along mountain ridges. 峰回路转。
• Perhaps that was the deepest truth in Ridges's nature. 在里奇斯的思想上，这大概可以算是天经地义第一条了。

2 notches   

n.（边缘或表面上的）V型痕迹( notch的名词复数 )；刻痕；水平；等级

参考例句：

• The Indians cut notches on a stick to keep count of numbers. 印第安人在棒上刻V形凹痕用来计数。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They cut notches in the handle of their pistol for each man they shot. 他们每杀一个人就在枪托上刻下一个V形记号。 来自辞典例句

3 beaks   

n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 )；鹰钩嘴；尖鼻子；掌权者

参考例句：

• Baby cockatoos will have black eyes and soft, almost flexible beaks. 雏鸟凤头鹦鹉黑色的眼睛是柔和的，嘴几乎是灵活的。 来自互联网
• Squid beaks are often found in the stomachs of sperm whales. 经常能在抹香鲸的胃里发现鱿鱼的嘴。 来自互联网

4 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》

5 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

6 fanged   

adj.有尖牙的，有牙根的，有毒牙的

参考例句：

• The piercing wind fanged his ears. 刺骨的寒风吹得他耳朵疼痛。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The fanged dagger, with spikes protruding from the handle. 手柄有突出尖状物的有尖牙状的匕首。 来自互联网

7 ostrich   

n.鸵鸟

参考例句：

• Ostrich is the fastest animal on two legs.驼鸟是双腿跑得最快的动物。
• The ostrich indeed inhabits continents.鸵鸟确实是生活在大陆上的。

8 ostriches   

n.鸵鸟( ostrich的名词复数 )；逃避现实的人，不愿正视现实者

参考例句：

• They are the silliest lot of old ostriches I ever heard of. 他们真是我闻所未闻的一群最傻的老鸵鸟。 来自辞典例句
• How ostriches could bear to run so hard in this heat I never succeed in understanding. 驼鸟在这样干燥炎热的地带为什么能疾速长跑，我永远也理解不了。 来自辞典例句