纪录片《恐龙的战争》 极限生存（6）

Tyrannosaurus Rex...a skull¹ almost one and half metres long. Up to 60 serrated teeth.

霸王龙，头骨有一点五米长。有六十颗锯齿。

Able to cover 5 metres in a single stride.

上下颚开合能覆盖五米的区域。

This is one of the biggest carnivorous dinosaurs² ever to walk the earth.

这是地球史上最大的食肉恐龙。

T. Rex has bone-crushing teeth.

霸王龙拥有碎骨巨齿。

They're huge and two or three or four times the strength, for their body size, of any other meat eater.

它们体型巨大，并拥有数倍于其体重以及其他食肉恐龙体重的力量。

But a T. Rex is born into a world of enemies.

但是霸王龙却生在一个危机四伏的世界中。

And survival, for this goliath, is never guaranteed.

生存，对于这种巨兽来说，也并非易事。

Herbivores are not dummies³.

食草类恐龙可不是傻子。

They'll try to remove the dangerous elements in a preemptive strike.

它们会先发制人地消除潜在的危险因素。

If you're a baby Tyrannosaur, every mega-herbivore in the environment wants to crush you.

如果你是只小霸王龙，周围的每只大型食草恐龙都想将你踩死。

Even the Triceratops with its tiny brain, is aware of the T. Rex's potential menace.

即使是大脑奇小的三角龙也能意识到霸王龙的潜在威胁。

Knowing that one day this tiny T. Rex chick will grow into a menacing monster, easily able to attack and defeat this plant eater.

它知道总有一天这只霸王龙幼崽会成长为可怕的掠食者，能够轻易攻击并击败这只食草恐龙。

But maybe that the worst enemy is a bit closer to home.

但是最可怕的危险也许在巢穴附近。

Probably the greatest danger to a baby T. Rex is another T. Rex, the family from over the hill.

对于一只霸王龙幼崽的最大威胁就是另一只霸王龙，来自山的另一侧。

Because Darwinian calculus⁴ tells you, the predator⁵, to eliminate your competition, other predators⁶, whenever you can.

因为达尔文的数据表明，掠食者应尽可能地铲除其他的掠食者。

Male lions defend their cubs⁷ against rivals who see their offspring as future competition for food and mates.

雄狮会保护幼崽免受那些把幼崽视作未来的食物与配偶竞争者的伤害。

So it is likely that an intelligent predator like T. Rex would do the same.

所以对于智力发达的霸王龙来说，它们也会这么做。

Compared to prehistoric⁸ plant eaters, its cerebrum, the part of the brain associated with strategy, is huge.

与史前食草动物相比，它的大脑中掌管策略的部分体积很大。

So is the cerebellum, which controls muscle function.

小脑也很大，负责控制肌肉的功能。

This is an animal that can plan and execute a devastating⁹ attack.

这是一种可以计划并执行一次致命攻击的动物。

It's a behavior hardwired into the brain.

这种行为在其脑中已根深蒂固。

If you're trying to increase your evolutionary¹⁰ advantage, the best thing you can do is get more offspring into the future generation.

如果要增加进化的优势，最佳方式就是让更多幼崽能够存活到下一代。

And one of the best ways you can do that is to take better care of the offspring that you produce.

而保证这样的最佳方式就是尽可能地保护好幼崽。

Laying eggs nearly depletes¹¹ a female.

产卵已经让雌龙筋疲力竭了。

She needs nourishment¹² to stay strong. And nourishment means meat.

它需要补充营养 保持体力。而营养就意味着肉。

While she searches for her next meal, the male stays behind to guard the nest.

在它出去觅食的时候，雄龙在巢穴边留守看护。

1 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

2 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》

3 dummies   

n.仿制品( dummy的名词复数 )；橡皮奶头；笨蛋；假传球

参考例句：

• If he dummies up, just try a little persuasion. 如果他不说话，稍微劝劝他就是了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All the articles in the window are dummies. 橱窗里的全部物品都是仿制品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 calculus   

n.微积分；结石

参考例句：

• This is a problem where calculus won't help at all.对于这一题，微积分一点也用不上。
• After studying differential calculus you will be able to solve these mathematical problems.学了微积分之后，你们就能够解这些数学题了。

5 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。

6 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》

7 cubs   

n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
• Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

10 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。

11 depletes   

使大大的减少，使空虚( deplete的第三人称单数 )； 耗尽，使枯竭

参考例句：

• Stress depletes both energy and motivation. 压力不仅消耗体力而且让你丧失动力。
• Scientists refute a longstanding theory of how HIV slowly depletes the body's capacity to fight infection. 科学家驳倒一个爱滋病毒如何慢慢地耗尽身体容量对抗感染的长时间理论。

12 nourishment   

n.食物，营养品；营养情况

参考例句：

• Lack of proper nourishment reduces their power to resist disease.营养不良降低了他们抵抗疾病的能力。
• He ventured that plants draw part of their nourishment from the air.他大胆提出植物从空气中吸收部分养分的观点。