侏罗纪搏击俱乐部 第96期:恐龙也会欺软怕硬

 　　We can look at modern jaguar¹ to see animals that sort of play the same role that Ceratosaurus does.

　　我们可以参考现代的美洲豹，来看一看差不多扮演着角鼻龙角色的动物。

　　Jaguars² take on medium to smaller prey³, but it's hesitant to attack really big things.

　　美洲虎捕猎中型和小一些的猎物，但它在攻击真正大的动物时就会犹豫。

　　Now, compare that to Allosaurus who's much heavier and more powerful, if Ceratosaurus was the jaguar of Jurassic, then Allosaurus was the tiger.

　　与之相比，异特龙要重得多也更加有力，如果说角鼻龙是侏罗纪的美洲豹，那异特龙就相当于老虎。

　　Like modern tigers, Allosaurus was the ultimate predator⁴ of its domain⁵.

　　和现代虎一样，异特龙是它的领域里的终极掠食者。

　　It could take on anything it wanted.

　　它能够与任何它想与之较量的东西较量。

　　The life of a predator rests on its ability to capture prey.

　　掠食者的生命依靠它捕获猎物的能力。

　　But with less weight to carry, Ceratosaurus may have been more agile⁶.

　　不过角鼻龙的体重较轻，可能会更加灵活。

　　In a foot race, Ceratosaurus would probably win, agility⁷-wise, because it has a smaller body mass.

　　要是比拼脚力，角鼻龙可能会赢，它因为体重要轻一些灵活度上更好。

　　So basically, their body forms are very similar.

　　基本上来说，它们的体型非常相似。

　　But Ceratosaurus, because it is gonna be a little bit smaller, probably a bit more agile than Allosaurus.

　　但是因为角鼻龙更小一点儿，可能会比异特龙更加灵活一点点。

　　Because Ceratosaurus is not as robust⁸ as Allosaurus, it is a little bit quicker and certainly more agile.

　　因为角鼻龙没有异特龙强壮，它会更快一点儿而且肯定更加灵活。

　　So even though Allosaurus is a fast dinosaur⁹, he's not nearly as quick as Ceratosaurus.

　　所以尽管异特龙是一个速度很快的动物，可是还是远不及角鼻龙快。

　　But the massive tail of Allosaurus also gave it an advantage when it came to speed and agility.

　　不过异特龙的巨大尾巴在速度和灵活度方面也给了它一个优势。

　　Allosaurus is a slightly more advanced, slightly more specialized¹⁰ meat eater.

　　异特龙是稍微先进一点儿，稍微特化一些的肉食者。

　　Its tail is a little more adapted for agility.

　　它的尾巴为了灵活度改变得更多一些。

　　It has more of a tapering¹¹ to the tail, not a deep tail.

　　它的尾巴更趋于锥形，而不是突然变细的。

　　And therefore it can use it as a counterbalance better in order to turn quickly.

　　所以它在急速转弯时能更好地用尾巴做一个平衡物。

　　What's interesting is when we actually look inside the head, we see an inner-ear structure that suggests that this kind of quick movements are more important for Allosaurus than for Ceratosaurus.

　　更有趣的是我们在检查它的头部时，我们看到的内耳结构表明这种快速移动对于异特龙要比角鼻龙重要。

　　But to offset¹² its smaller size and less powerful body, Ceratosaurus relied on a special adaptation for survival: it hunted in pairs.

　　为了弥补它更小的体型和没那么强壮的身体，角鼻龙依靠一直特别的生存适应策略：它们成对狩猎。

　　It wouldn't be unusual for predators¹³ like Ceratosaurus to hunt in pairs.

　　成对狩猎对于像角鼻龙这样的掠食者来说并不罕见。

　　Smaller predators are much more effective when they hunt in groups.

　　较小的掠食者在成群猎食的时候效率更高。

　　And we see that in members of the Raptor family.

　　我们在迅猛龙家族见证了那一点。

　　They offset their small sizes by working in a group to take on much larger prey.

　　它们通过成群狩猎来弥补它们的小体型来与更大的猎物较量。

　　Now, these dinosaurs¹⁴ were much larger than Raptors, so chances are they would not hunt in the really large groups.

　　这两种恐龙比迅猛龙大得多，所以估计不会组成那么大的群体。

　　But since they related to birds, then it would make sense that they would probably hunt with a mate.

　　不过因为它们跟鸟类有关系，所以也能理解它们可能会和一个同伴一起狩猎。

1 jaguar   

n.美洲虎

参考例句：

• He was green with envy when he saw my new Jaguar car.看见我那辆美洲虎牌新车，他非常妒忌。
• Should you meet a jaguar in the jungle,just turn slowly,walk away.But slowly,never look back.你在丛林中若碰上美洲虎，就慢慢转身走开，可一定要慢，切莫回头看。

2 jaguars   

n.（中、南美洲的）美洲虎( jaguar的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jaguars are largely nocturnal creatures. 美洲虎基本上是夜行动物。 来自辞典例句
• Jaguars (Panthera onca) once ranged from southern South America to theUnited States. 美洲虎曾经分布在北美洲南部和美洲南部。 来自互联网

3 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

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 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

6 agile   

adj.敏捷的，灵活的

参考例句：

• She is such an agile dancer!她跳起舞来是那么灵巧！
• An acrobat has to be agile.杂技演员必须身手敏捷。

7 agility   

n.敏捷，活泼

参考例句：

• The boy came upstairs with agility.那男孩敏捷地走上楼来。
• His intellect and mental agility have never been in doubt.他的才智和机敏从未受到怀疑。

8 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

9 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。

10 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

11 tapering   

adj.尖端细的

参考例句：

• Interest in the scandal seems to be tapering off. 人们对那件丑闻的兴趣似乎越来越小了。
• Nonproductive expenditures keep tapering down. 非生产性开支一直在下降。

12 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

13 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》

14 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》