侏罗纪搏击俱乐部 第133期:冰期怪兽重见天日

 　　In a cave in rural Wyoming, lies a time capsule from the ice age.

　　在怀俄明郊区的一个山洞里，有个从冰期留下的时间胶囊。

　　It contains the remains¹ of not one, but two huge mammals.

　　里面有两具巨型哺乳动物留下的遗骸。

　　Ferocious² beasts who dwarf³ even the most powerful predators⁴ of today.

　　这些猛兽让如今最厉害的掠食者都相形见拙。

　　New discoveries bring to life these true ice age monsters.

　　新的发现让这些冰期怪兽重见天日。

　　They were the Earth's largest animals, the ultimate predators.

　　它们曾是地球上最大的动物，终极掠食者。

　　New technology and forensic⁵ evidence helps paleontologists bring to life some of their final moments.

　　新的科技和现场证据如今帮助古生物学家们重现了它们生命中的最后时刻。

　　Our planet is in the throws of dramatic global change.

　　我们的星球会正经历着剧烈的全球变化。

　　Rising temperatures are triggering chain reactions throughout the world.

　　气温升高在全世界引发了连锁反应。

　　But the earth seems to hold clues indicating this has happened before.

　　不过地球上有些线索说明这并非首次发生。

　　In the past, dramatic shifts have thrown off the balance of the natural order.

　　剧烈变化在过去就曾经打破过自然秩序的平衡。

　　10,000 years ago, at the close of the Pleistocene era, the earth was very different.

　　一万年前，更新世末期，地球与现在大不相同。

　　Rising temperatures ended an ice age that saw great glaciers⁶ covering most of the northern hemisphere.

　　气温的升高终结了冰期，在冰期巨型冰川覆盖了北半球大部分。

　　Cold-adapted creatures were driven into extinction⁷, allowing new plants and animals to take their place.

　　适应寒冷气候的生物因此灭绝，新的植物和动物替代了它们的位置。

　　Glaciers that once covered North America to depth of over two miles retreated under rising temperatures.

　　随着气温的上升，曾经覆盖北美洲深达两英里的冰川开始消退。

　　These massive sheets of ice gouged⁸ deep scars in the landscape, leaving behind a legacy⁹ carved in stone.

　　这些巨大的冰层在陆地上凿出深深的疤痕，岩石上的刻痕就是它们的遗迹。

　　In what became Wyoming, dramatic climate changes had a catastrophic impact on life.

　　在当时的怀俄明，剧烈的气候变化给生命带来了灾难性的冲击。

　　Giant beasts, like the wooly¹⁰ mammoth¹¹ and giant sloth¹², died off to be replaced by better adapted creatures that migrated across land bridges from the north.

　　像长毛猛犸象和巨型树懒这样的巨大动物都灭绝了，取而代之的是适应力更好的生物，它们从北部通过陆桥迁徙而来。

　　But this migration¹³ had repercussions¹⁴.

　　不过这种迁徙也有后果。

　　Massive mammals clashed for the first time.

　　巨型哺乳动物发生了第一次碰撞。

　　And some of these were predators.

　　它们中有一些是掠食者。

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 ferocious   

adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的

参考例句：

• The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
• The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。

3 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

4 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》

5 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

6 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

7 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。

8 gouged   

v.凿( gouge的过去式和过去分词 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出…

参考例句：

• The lion's claws had gouged a wound in the horse's side. 狮爪在马身一侧抓了一道深口。
• The lovers gouged out their names on the tree. 情人们把他们的名字刻在树上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

10 wooly   

adj.毛茸茸的；糊涂的

参考例句：

• I like the feel of this cloth and it has a warm wooly feel.我喜欢这块布的手感,它摸上去毛茸茸的很暖和。
• He wore a brown t-shirt with jeans and a pair of shoes,with a wooly hat covering his hair.小贝身穿一件棕色t恤，搭配牛仔裤和皮鞋，头戴一顶盖住头发的羊毛帽子。

11 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

12 sloth   

n.[动]树懒；懒惰，懒散

参考例句：

• Absence of competition makes for sloth.没有竞争会导致懒惰。
• The sloth spends most of its time hanging upside down from the branches.大部分时间里树懒都是倒挂在树枝上。

13 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

14 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》