侏罗纪搏击俱乐部 第24期:矮暴龙的独特之处

 　　Almost all the evidence, I think, points to it being a juvenile¹, and almost certainly a juvenile T-Rex.

　　我觉得几乎所有证据都说明这是一头幼龙，基本能肯定是只小霸王龙。

　　However, there is some evidence in terms of CAT scans on the inside of the skull²,然而对其颅内结构的CT扫描发现了一些证据，

　　and some of the hollow chambers³ in that brain case that are a little peculiar⁴ in Nanotyrannus.

　　矮暴龙颅骨里的一些空腔显示它有些不同之处。

　　And that's another key difference between these two predators⁶, the shape of their brains.

　　两种掠食者间另一个主要区别是它们的大脑形状。

　　CAT scans, performed by Dr. Witmer, gave some surprising results.

　　维特莫博士进行的CT扫描带来了意外的结果。

　　So when we did the CAT scan of T-Rex and, and Nano T, it really looked like there was some striking differences.

　　我们对霸王龙和矮暴龙进行CT扫描时看起来真的有些明显的区别。

　　I mean, we can see some of those differences in the brain here.

　　我们能看到脑的这部分有些不同。

　　Here's the Tyrannosaurus Rex, and when we bring up and look at the brain of Nano T, we really see they're quite different.

　　这是雷克斯暴龙的，我们在观察矮暴龙的大脑时的确发现它们相当不同。

　　Of course they're different in size, Nano T was a smaller animal.

　　当然它们的大小不同，矮暴龙个头儿更小。

　　But really some of the differences go beyond size.

　　不过在大小之外也有些区别。

　　The size and shape of the brain was not the only difference.

　　大脑的大小和形状不是唯一的区别。

　　Experts would discover that the brain was actually positioned differently.

　　专家们发现大脑的位置其实也不一样。

　　The brain of Nanotyrannus is shaped in a very different way from Tyrannosaurus Rex.

　　矮暴龙大脑的形状与雷克斯暴龙的大相径庭。

　　T-Rex held its skull kind of like this, pretty straight on, where Nanotyrannus actually looked like this.

　　霸王龙的头颅会是这样基本是直立的，而矮暴龙的其实看起来是这样的。

　　And you cannot change because that is buried deeply in bone.

　　这是无可改变的，因为这深深地埋在骨头里面。

　　You're not going to change the orientation⁷ of those semi-circular canals of the inner ear.

　　这些中耳部位的半环管道方向是根本没法被改变的。

　　So clearly this was a different animal.

　　所以很明显这是一种不同动物。

　　This discovery proved that Nanotyrannus held its skull in a lowered position, making it easier to focus and strike at potential enemies.

　　这个发现证明了矮暴龙把头颅放在更低的位置能够更容易注视和攻击潜在敌人。

　　The evidence clearly suggests that Nanotyrannus is its own species,这个证据清楚的表明了矮暴龙自成一家，

　　because there's enough distinctive⁸ differences between it and Tyrannosaurus Rex to justify⁹ its name Nanotyrannus.

　　因为在它和雷克斯暴龙之间有充分明显的区别能够为矮暴龙正名。

　　Currently, Nanotyrannus is considered its own species: a fast and aggressive predator⁵ that could hunt down and kill juvenile T-Rexes.

　　现在矮暴龙已经被认定是独立物种，一种快速凶猛的掠食者，能够捕猎杀死幼年霸王龙。

　　It stood over 2 meters tall, was 5 meters long and weighed about a ton, approximately half the size and up to a sixth the weight of a T-Rex.

　　它站起来有两米多高，五米长，重约一吨，体型尺寸是霸王龙的一半，重量可达到霸王龙的六分之一。

　　But what Nano T lacked in stature¹⁰, it gained in speed.

　　不过矮暴龙虽然块头不敌，却有更出色的速度。

　　Nanotyrannus has much longer, more slender legs than Tyrannosaurus Rex.

　　矮暴龙与霸王龙相比腿部更加修长，也更加纤细。

　　That means this is an active, running dinosaur¹¹.

　　这说明它们是一种活跃擅跑的恐龙。

　　Even though Tyrannosaurus Rex can run, he's not really designed to run all the time.

　　尽管雷克斯暴龙能跑，但它的设计并不适合一直奔跑。

 

1 juvenile   

n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
• Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

2 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。

3 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

4 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

5 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。

6 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》

7 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

8 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

9 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

10 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

11 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。