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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Sauropods were in a predator-rich environment.
波塞东龙生活在食肉动物横行的时代。
So I'm sure that many, many sauropod nests were found and destroyed by predators1 before the babies could even hatch.
所以我肯定波塞东龙的窝在小龙还没孵出来时就被捕食者给毁了。
Sauroposeidon's size is its main defense2.
波塞东龙的体型是其主要的防护。
When it reaches an adult weight of 50 tons, nothing can touch it.
成年波塞东龙体重达50吨，谁都不敢动它。
But maintaining this massive girth means filling up almost constantly.
不过要维持这么大身型就需要几乎时刻不停地进食。
An adult will eat almost anything that grows.
成年龙什么植物都吃。
They consume as much as 330,000 calories, almost a ton of greenery every day.
它们一天要消耗三十三万卡路里吃掉约一吨的植物。
To find that much food, herds4 roam great distances.
要找到那么多食物，它们必须长途跋涉。
Even if they had the brain capacity to care for their young, there just isn't enough vegetation to let them stay by the nest.
就算它们有照顾孩子的能力，巢穴周围也没有足够的植物能够维持它们的生存。
How much of your resources do you put into reproduction, to producing the next generation? And it's always a tradeoff.
你投入多少资源进行繁殖来繁衍下一代？这一直需要加以权衡。
If you put in a lot of parental5 care, then you don't have the resources to make lots and lots of babies.
如果在抚养方面投入太多，那用来繁殖大量后代的精力就会不足。
Or you can go the other way and make tons and tons of babies, but you won't have the resources left to take very good care of them.
你也可以选择另一种方式繁殖大量的后代，那你就没有足够的能力来照顾好它们。
Taking care of offspring requires not only brain power but also well-developed senses.
要照顾好后代不仅需要智力还需要高度发达的感官。
Sauroposeidon has neither. Its eyes are separated, located on each side of its head. So it has no ability to judge depth.
波塞东龙两样都没有。它的双眼是分开的，分布在头的两侧。所以它不能判断深度。
Its small brain has just rudimentary centers of sight and smell.
它纤小的大脑只有最基本的视觉和嗅觉中枢。
And its hearing is severely6 limited, as the cochlea duct inside the inner ear is tiny.
由于内耳的耳蜗管很小，它的听觉也受到了严重的限制。
Sauroposeidon probably had a brain about the size of a kitten's, because it was not, unfortunately, a very smart animal.
波塞东龙的大脑大概只有小猫的头那么大，因为很不幸的是，它本来就不是很聪明的动物。
It didn't have to be. It was a food-processing plant.
它根本也不需要太聪明。它只是个食物消化机器。
Sauroposeidon's five senses are little more than a life-support system for the biggest stomach the world has ever known.
波塞东龙的五种感官只是勉强为全世界最大的胃服务的生命维持系统。
For a hatchling, the situation is even more dire7. They lack even the most basic early-warning system that danger is present.
对于幼兽而言，情况就更糟了。它们连最基本的预警系统都没有。
Herbivores are growing much faster than the carnivores. If they don't grow fast, they get eaten.
食草动物比食肉动物长得快得多。它们如果不快点长，就会被吃掉。
It will be a decade or more before this Sauroposeidon is big enough to join the herd3. And it will spend all those years alone.
波塞东龙要长到能够加入群体还是需要个十几年，甚至更久。而此前那些年都要独自生活。
So, where are the smaller animals? What did the sauropods do until they were a third grown? They weren't moving with the herd.
那那些小波塞东龙在哪里呢？在长大之前它们在做什么呢？它们不会跟着种群一起走。
They were probably hiding out in the forest, trying to eat as much as they could, get as big as they could as fast as they could so that they could join the herd. That's the best defense.
而很可能是躲在森林里，尽可能多吃点东西，尽快尽可能地长大，然后它们就能加入兽群了。那就是最好的防卫之道。
It doesn't matter what else you're equipped with.
你有什么其它的装备都不重要了。
Whether you have horns or armor or whatever, the best defense is always to get big.
不论是有角还是有甲壳，都无所谓，最好的防卫方式就是快快长大。
And if you're a sauropod, you've got nothing else. So getting big is the only game in town.
如果你是蜥蜴类动物，那你就无所指望。只有长大才是王道。
收听单词发音 |
1
predators
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| 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） | |
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2
defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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3
herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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5
parental
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| adj.父母的；父的；母的 | |
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6
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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7
dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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