纪录片《恐龙的战争》 繁衍生息（6）

Females have their own concerns.

雌性恐龙要顾好自己的事。

They must prepare to bring a new generation into the world...

它们准备将新的生命带到这世界，

a new generation that needs to be a little bit better than the last.

新一代的恐龙需要做的就是青出于蓝而胜于蓝。

Fossil records show that dinosaurs² needed to prepare for mating early in life.

化石记录显示，恐龙在很年轻的时候就得为交配做好准备。

One of the things we're finding in common for all dinosaurs is that they started reproducing when they were still growing,

我们发现了所有恐龙的一个共同之处，那就是当它们还在发育时就开始繁殖了，

and this tells us that life was cheap in the age of dinosaurs.

这点告诉了我们在恐龙时代生命是廉价的。

These dinosaurs may be young, but they've got plenty of work to do.

那些恐龙也许很年轻但它们有很多事要做。

They must ensure that they are in good health, well-fed,

它们要保证自己身体健康，营养充足，

and have plenty of nourishment³ for their unfertilized eggs.

必须要为自己的未受精卵摄取大量的营养。

As these big dinosaurs are growing up,

随着那些大恐龙的成长到了一定的程度，

there comes a point where they have to start putting some of the resources not just into growth anymore, but into reproduction.

它们就得开始把一部分营养用到繁殖上，成长再也不能独享这些资源了。

Whether a carnivore or an herbivore, calories are key.

无论对食肉还是食草动物来说，热量都是关键。

To be a successful mother, females need plenty of nutrients⁵.

要成为一名成功的母亲雌性恐龙就需要摄取大量的营养。

That means high-calorie young leaves and shoots, or if you're a carnivore, more red meat.

那来自于高热量的嫩叶和嫩枝，如果你是食肉动物，就得吃更多的肉。

Without it, they can't produce eggs.

没有热量，它们就无法产卵。

Females have to be stockpiling resources big-time...lots of protein, lots of fats, lots of calcium⁶.

雌性恐龙必须要储备非常多的物资大量的蛋白质，脂肪和钙元素。

All those materials have to be stored in the body so that they're available instantly to start producing the eggs as soon as the animal has mated.

所有的这些营养都必须储存在体内所以，它们可以在一交配完后，就立刻产卵。

Hormones⁷ in females stimulate⁸ the liver to send yolk⁹ to the ovaries.

雌性恐龙体内的荷尔蒙刺激肝脏从而把卵黄送入卵巢。

When her eggs are fertilized⁴, the yolk will provide enough nutrition to keep a growing dinosaur¹ embryo¹⁰ alive for as long as three months.

当它的蛋受精后卵黄将会提供充足的营养来使发育中的恐龙胚胎存活三个月。

A dinosaur mother-to-be also needs calcium for eggshells.

恐龙孕妇也需要为蛋壳摄取钙元素。

The dinosaur eggshell is composed of calcium carbonate,

恐龙蛋的蛋壳是由碳酸钙组成的，

just like bird eggshells today, like some crocodilian eggs have this hard calcium carbonate eggshell.

就像今天的鸟蛋和鳄鱼蛋一样，蛋壳都是由这种坚硬的碳酸钙组成的。

And that eggshell protects the developing embryo.

那些蛋壳保护着发育中的胚胎。

A single female Sauroposeidon produces 300 to 500 eggs each season.

一头雌性波塞冬龙在每个繁殖季节内会产下三至五百枚卵。

That takes a lot of calcium, a mineral in short supply in the plants of the Cretaceous.

需要消耗很多钙元素在白垩纪，这是一种稀缺的矿物质。

So just how does this Leviathan, a creature requiring almost 400,000 calories a day just to survive,

那么这种每天需要四十万卡热量的"海怪"是如何生存的，

manage to maintain its girth and get enough nutrients to reproduce?

又是怎样给全身提供供养并摄取足够的营养来进行繁殖的呢？

1 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。

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 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。

4 Fertilized   

v.施肥( fertilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The study of psychology has recently been widely cross-fertilized by new discoveries in genetics. 心理学研究最近从遗传学的新发现中受益匪浅。
• Flowers are often fertilized by bees as they gather nectar. 花常在蜜蜂采蜜时受粉。

5 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 calcium   

n.钙(化学符号Ca)

参考例句：

• We need calcium to make bones.我们需要钙来壮骨。
• Calcium is found most abundantly in milk.奶含钙最丰富。

7 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

8 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

9 yolk   

n.蛋黄，卵黄

参考例句：

• This dish would be more delicious with some yolk powder.加点蛋黄粉，这道菜就会更好吃。
• Egg yolk serves as the emulsifying agent in salad dressing.在色拉调味时，蛋黄能作为乳化剂。

10 embryo   

n.胚胎，萌芽的事物

参考例句：

• They are engaging in an embryo research.他们正在进行一项胚胎研究。
• The project was barely in embryo.该计划只是个雏形。