纪录片《恐龙的战争》 顽强防御（12）

Sauroposeidon has a brain less than a thousandth of its body size-the equivalent of a human being with a brain the size of a pea.

波塞东龙的大脑不及身体体积的千分之一，就如同人类只有一个豌豆大小的大脑一样。

Lobes¹ for both sight and smell are tiny.

掌管视觉和嗅觉的脑页非常小。

Areas controlling information analysis, learning, and complex thought are barely developed.

而控制分析信息，学习和复杂思考的区域几乎没有进化。

If you look at the size of their brain, you actually have to kind of wonder how these animals managed.

如果你们观察了它们大脑的尺寸，一定会很好奇这些动物是怎么活下来的。

But they did manage. Physical size makes up for every other shortcoming.

但它们确实活了下来。巨大的体型弥补了其他方面的不足。

Surviving for 15 million years,

这些庞然大物存活了一千五百万年，

these mammoth³ creatures spread out across the globe onto every continent except Antarctica.

足迹遍及全球各个大陆，除了南极大陆。

But there's a another dinosaur⁴ that dosen't rely on size. they use a even more unusual tricks to stay alive.

但还有种恐龙并不依赖巨大的体型。它们利用了更加罕见的技巧来保证种族的生存。

The most sophiscated communication system ever developed in the prehistoric⁵ world.

史前世界最精细最发达的通信系统。

It's one vegetarian⁶ that lacks any obvious weaponry.

这种食草恐龙缺少一切显著的武器。

A Parasaurolophus is a duckbill...named for its ducklike beak⁷.

副栉龙属于鸭嘴龙科以其鸭嘴得名。

Weighing in at almost four tons, it's not tiny,

虽然四吨的体重并不算小，

but facing off against a seven-ton predator⁸ like a T. Rex would be suicide.

但是面对体重七吨的捕食者雷克斯霸王龙依然无异于自杀。

They have no fangs⁹, no armor at all, no spikes¹⁰ or horns anywhere on the body.

它们没有利齿，完全没有甲壳身上也没有尖刺或者角。

They seem to be large, vulnerable targets.

它们看上去就是脆弱而庞大的活靶子。

Parasaurolophus range across a vast area - more than 100,000 square miles from Alberta, Canada, to New Mexico,

副栉龙种群分布广泛——超过十万平方英里，从加拿大的阿尔伯达到美国的新墨西哥，

a region with more than its share of vicious predators¹¹.

比恶毒的捕食者要广得多。

What has puzzled all of us is, how did they protect themselves?

令人不解的是，它们是如何自我保护的？

The most important clue to this mystery is buried inside their skull¹².

揭开这个秘密的重要线索就掩藏在它们的头骨之中。

Parasaurolophus has the biggest brain of all herbivores.

副栉龙有食草动物中最大的大脑。

And one part of that brain is abnormally large-the area responsible for hearing and interpreting sounds.

而且其中一部分异常巨大，这就是听觉以及声波转化的区域。

It's called the auditory cortex.

这被称为听觉皮层。

What was a surprise is the higher centers of their brain are very large and suggest that

令人惊奇的是大脑的高级中心非常巨大，

something very different is going on in Parasaurolophus and its kin² than in most other of these plant-eating dinosaurs¹³.

这意味着副栉龙和它的亲缘物种一定有一些非常独特的，与其它食草恐龙些与众不同的地方。

But how does an advanced auditory cortex help a Parasaurolophus defend itself against monster carnivores?

但是发达的听觉皮层是如何帮助副栉龙防御怪物般的食肉动物的呢？

First of all, its acute hearing can detect an approaching predator from kilometers away.

首先，敏锐的听觉远隔数公里就能探测到捕猎者的来袭。

Then most importantly, it can react, deploying¹⁴ an unusual weapon.

更重要的是，它可以反抗利用非同寻常的武器。

A distinctive¹⁵ sound that originates deep inside a strangely shaped head crest¹⁶.

形状怪异的头冠所发出的奇怪声音。

1 lobes   

n.耳垂( lobe的名词复数 )；（器官的）叶；肺叶；脑叶

参考例句：

• The rotor has recesses in its three faces between the lobes. 转子在其凸角之间的三个面上有凹槽。 来自辞典例句
• The chalazal parts of the endosperm containing free nuclei forms several lobes. 包含游离核的合点端胚乳部分形成几个裂片。 来自辞典例句

2 kin   

n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的

参考例句：

• He comes of good kin.他出身好。
• She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。

3 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。

4 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。

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 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

7 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

8 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。

9 fangs   

n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座

参考例句：

• The dog fleshed his fangs in the deer's leg. 狗用尖牙咬住了鹿腿。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Dogs came lunging forward with their fangs bared. 狗龇牙咧嘴地扑过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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》

12 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。

13 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》

14 deploying   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的现在分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
• Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。

15 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。

16 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。