美国国家公共电台 NPR Tyrannosaurus Rex's Bite Force Measured 8,000 Pounds, Scientists Say

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Maybe you've seen the film "Jurassic Park," and you remember that scene where the Tyrannosaurus rex escapes its pen and attacks guests at the theme park. You might remember those imposing¹ teeth. Well, in real life, the T. rex had the biggest teeth of any dinosaur². They were the size of bananas. And as NPR's Nell Greenfieldboyce reports, scientists now think they know just how hard those teeth could bite.

NELL GREENFIELDBOYCE, BYLINE³: If you want to know the biting power of a T. rex Gregory Erickson says you should start by looking at crocodiles.

GREGORY ERICKSON: Crocodiles are close relatives of dinosaurs⁴, so that's, you know - it's probably our best model for looking at dinosaurs.

GREENFIELDBOYCE: He's a biologist at Florida State University who has spent years testing the bite forces of different crocodiles species. For him, lassoing a 17-foot croc and getting it to bite on a glorified⁵ bathroom scale is all in a day's work. He and his colleague Paul Gignac recently took what they knew about crocodile jaw⁶ muscles and created computer models to estimate the chomping⁷ potential of T. rex

PAUL GIGNAC: What we came up with were bite forces of around 8,000 pounds. So that's like setting basically three small cars on top of the jaws⁸ of a T. rex. That's basically what was pushing down.

GREENFIELDBOYCE: That's more than twice the bite force of the biggest living crocodiles and way stronger than you or me. The bite force of humans is a paltry⁹ 200 pounds. Erickson says, unlike modern reptiles¹⁰, T. rex could chew up enormous bones, thanks to the right combination of biting power plus blunt teeth that were serrated like steak knives.

ERICKSON: It basically could slice through just about anything in its realm.

GREENFIELDBOYCE: And it did, devouring¹¹ everything from duck-billed dinos to triceratops. Francois Therrien works at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Canada. He says, over the years, there have been lots of attempts to estimate the bite force of T. rex, and different numbers have been thrown out there.

FRANCOIS THERRIEN: So lots of those earlier bite force estimates were more theoretical construct. They weren't really based or grounded in the modern world by comparison with some living animals for which we knew the bite force.

GREENFIELDBOYCE: That's why he likes this new analysis in the journal Scientific Reports and thinks it probably gets closer to reality.

Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF DINOSAUR JR.'S "START CHOPPIN'")

1 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

2 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。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 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》

5 glorified   

美其名的，变荣耀的

参考例句：

• The restaurant was no more than a glorified fast-food cafe. 这地方美其名曰餐馆，其实只不过是个快餐店而已。
• The author glorified the life of the peasants. 那个作者赞美了农民的生活。

6 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

7 chomping   

v.切齿，格格地咬牙，咬响牙齿( chomp的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Elizabeth and Lawrence are chomping at the bit to go on vacation. 伊莉莎白和劳伦斯迫不及待要去度假了。 来自互联网
• She was chomping away on a bagel. 她在嘎蹦嘎嘣地啃着一个硬面包圈。 来自互联网

8 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

9 paltry   

adj.无价值的，微不足道的

参考例句：

• The parents had little interest in paltry domestic concerns.那些家长对家里鸡毛蒜皮的小事没什么兴趣。
• I'm getting angry;and if you don't command that paltry spirit of yours.我要生气了，如果你不能振作你那点元气。

10 reptiles   

n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Snakes and crocodiles are both reptiles. 蛇和鳄鱼都是爬行动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Birds, reptiles and insects come from eggs. 鸟类、爬虫及昆虫是卵生的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 devouring   

吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光

参考例句：

• The hungry boy was devouring his dinner. 那饥饿的孩子狼吞虎咽地吃饭。
• He is devouring novel after novel. 他一味贪看小说。