万物简史 第503期:多灾多难的生命进程(23)

 The fact is, we don't really know a great deal about the dinosaurs¹. 实际情况是，我们其实对恐龙了解不多。

For the whole of the Age of Dinosaurs, fewer than a thousand species have been identified (almost half of them known from a single specimen), 在整个恐龙时代，已经识别的还不足1000种（其中差不多半数是从一件标本得知的），

which is about a quarter of the number of mammal species alive now. 大约相当于现在活着的哺乳动物物种数的四分之一。

Dinosaurs, bear in mind, ruled the Earth for roughly three times as long as mammals have, 不要忘记，恐龙统治地球的时间差不多有3倍于哺乳动物统治地球的长度。

so either dinosaurs were remarkably² unproductive of species or we have barely scratched the surface (to use an irresistibly³ apt cliche). 因此，要么恐龙的种类特别少，要么我们对恐龙才知道点儿皮毛（我禁不住使用这句合适的套话）。

For millions of years through the Age of Dinosaurs not a single fossil has yet been found. 恐龙时代有几百万年之长。但迄今为止一件恐龙化石也没有找到。

Even for the period of the late Cretaceous — the most studied prehistoric⁴ period there is, 即使在白垩纪末期——由于我们对恐龙和它们的灭绝怀有持久的兴趣，

thanks to our long interest in dinosaurs and their extinction⁵ — some three quarters of all species that lived may yet be undiscovered. 那是我们研究得最多的史前时期——在当时存在过的物种当中，大约四分之三也许还没有发现。

Animals bulkier than the Diplodocus or more forbidding than tyrannosaurus may have roamed the Earth in the thousands, and we may never know it. 几千头比梁龙更大或比霸王龙更威武的动物也许在地球上游荡过，而我们也许永远不会知道了。

Until very recently everything known about the dinosaurs of this period came from only about three hundred specimens⁶ representing just sixteen species. 直到最近，我们对这个时期的恐龙的全部认识，都出自仅有的大约300件标本，仅仅代表了16个物种。

The scantiness⁷ of the record led to the widespread belief that dinosaurs were on their way out already when the KT impact occurred. 由于缺少化石记录，许多人认为，恐龙在KT撞击发生的时候已经在走向没落。

In the late 1980s a paleontologist from the Milwaukee Public Museum, Peter Sheehan, decided⁸ to conduct an experiment. 20世纪80年代末，美国密尔沃基公共博物馆的古生物学家彼得·希恩决定搞一项试验。

Using two hundred volunteers, he made a painstaking⁹ census¹⁰ of a well-defined, but also well-picked-over, area of the famous Hell Creek¹¹ formation in Montana. 他在蒙大拿州著名的赫尔克里克地层划出了一片区域，选用200名志愿者进行一次仔细的普查。

 

1 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》

2 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

3 irresistibly   

adv.无法抵抗地，不能自持地；极为诱惑人地

参考例句：

• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside. 她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was irresistibly attracted by her charm. 他不能自已地被她的魅力所吸引。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

6 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 scantiness   

n.缺乏

参考例句：

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 painstaking   

adj.苦干的；艰苦的，费力的，刻苦的

参考例句：

• She is not very clever but she is painstaking.她并不很聪明，但肯下苦功夫。
• Through years of our painstaking efforts,we have at last achieved what we have today.大家经过多少年的努力，才取得今天的成绩。

10 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

11 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。