纪录片《恐龙的战争》 顽强防御（14）

But in this prehistoric¹ world, giant carnivores with ultra-keen senses and powerful, razor-sharp weaponry are everywhere.

但在史前世界里，机敏凶猛的大型肉食动物几乎无处不在。

Throughout the Cretaceous, hungry carnivores patrol the landscape.

纵观整个白垩纪，饥饿的食肉动物游走在陆地上。

They are the most terrifying predators² the world has ever known.

它们是史上最凶险的捕食者。

Their plant-eating prey³, though, are well armed and well armored.

而它们的猎物，食草动物也全副武装。

They don't give in without a fight.

它们决不会轻易投降。

But prehistoric herbivores have a problem.

但史前食草动物有个软肋。

They lack the brainpower of the carnivores that hunt them.

它们不如那些追杀它们的食肉动物聪明。

Sauroposeidon's brain is so tiny, it can barely process any information at all.

波塞东龙的大脑如此之小，简直难以处理任何信息。

So just how did these intellectually challenged giants cope in such a dangerous world?

那么这些智力低下的庞然大物是如何在如此危险的环境下生存的呢？

There has to be some sort of device that compensated⁴ for this diminished capacity to make individual choice, and it's got to be society.

一定有些补救措施让它们能够作出个体反应，这就是群居。

Sauroposeidon defend themselves against super-predators by working and thinking together.

波塞东龙以群体思考和行动来抵御捕食者的攻击。

So you have group intelligence, group memory, group decision-making replacing individuality.

它们用群体的智慧，记忆以及群体决策替代个体。

Living as a group is vital for Sauroposeidon's survival. lndividually, their huge size is a powerful defense⁵,

在群体中生活对于波塞东龙的生存至关重要。对于个体而言，庞大的身躯就是最佳防御，

but sticking together makes these Leviathans almost indestructible.

而聚集起来，这些庞然大物就变得坚不可摧。

Keeping a herd⁶ of 50-ton animals filled up, however, means traveling vast distances,

然而让重达五十吨的巨兽群填饱肚子意味着要走很远，

grazing a territory covering thousands of square kilometers.

通常要在上千平方公里的区域寻找食物。

And moving a mountain of flesh requires sophisticated coordination⁷.

移动如此庞大的身躯要有极强的协调能力。

One of the curious things about sauropods is that they did have a swelling⁸ in the spinal⁹ cord, in the neighborhood of their pelvis.

蜥脚类恐龙的奇妙之处在于它们在骨盆附近的脊髓处有个突起。

It's sort of like a second brain help control the back half of the body

就像第二个大脑来控制后半部分身体，

It's called the sacro-lumbar expansion,

这叫做腰底扩张，

a bundle of nerves which acts like a primitive¹⁰ brain controlling the movements of the back legs and tail.

一组神经发挥简易大脑的作用，控制着后腿和尾部的活动。

The brain in Sauroposeidon's head is simply too small and far away to coordinate¹¹ its front and back legs.

波塞东龙头部的大脑太小，距离后腿又远，很难控制后半部分身体。

So a second brain operates at the back of the animal.

所以其后半部分由第二个大脑来操控。

1 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。

2 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》

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 compensated   

补偿，报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 )； 给（某人）赔偿（或赔款）

参考例句：

• The marvelous acting compensated for the play's weak script. 本剧的精彩表演弥补了剧本的不足。
• I compensated his loss with money. 我赔偿他经济损失。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

7 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

8 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

9 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

10 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

11 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。