英语听力：2013-06-23 《恐龙的战争》3 顽强防御—4

 Sometimes they even take on members of their own specie in a battle for dominance. Its primary weapon is a pair of a-meter-long horns mounted on its skull¹. These horns make those of modern creatures look lightweight. A rhino’s horn is made of hair, an elephant tusk² of ivory. But Triceratops’ horn is constructed of solid bone growing directly out of the skull. Their horns, 30 centimeters wide at the base, are able to withstand up to 16 tons of force, strong enough to rip through the body of a car. 

 

It is gonna come at you, and it can move left, and it can move right, and can swing those brow horns and the nose horn at you in a great sphere of aggression³. A single blow from those hors could kill you.

 

There’s a reason Triceratops became the most successful plant eater of the Cretaceous and why a predator⁴ thinks twice before attacking. 

 

The irony⁵ for hunting is that the hunter is often more worried about their own welfare. They’re actually concerned about injuring themselves in that process. 

 

Any predator puts its life at risk every time it hunts, even things like T-Rex. 

 

A carnivore trying to bring down a defender⁶ like this relies on a stealth approach, a surprise attack and nerves of steel. 

 

One could imagine that the conflict between Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops may have been one of the greatest combats that nature has ever had.

1 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。

2 tusk   

n.獠牙，长牙，象牙

参考例句：

• The wild boar had its tusk sunk deeply into a tree and howled desperately.野猪的獠牙陷在了树里，绝望地嗥叫着。
• A huge tusk decorated the wall of his study.他书房的墙上装饰着一支巨大的象牙。

3 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

4 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。

5 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

6 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。