侏罗纪搏击俱乐部 第136期:发现拉布雷亚沥青坑

 　　Since the discovery of the La Brea pits, paleontologists have removed and catalogued over 1 million bones representing over 230 different species of animals.

　　从发现拉布雷亚沥青坑以来，古生物学家已经移出并编目了超过一百万个的骨头，这些骨头代表着两百三十个不同的动物物种。

　　The majority of these bones belonged to herbivores.

　　这些骨头中大部分是植食动物的。

　　But among them were the bones of the mega bear.

　　不过里面也有这种巨熊的骨头。

　　The discovery of the short faced bear skeleton in the La Brea Tar¹ Pits is pretty important because its one more piece of evidence to show how far these bears roamed.

　　在拉布雷亚沥青坑发现短面熊的骨架意义重大，因为这是证明这些巨熊分布范围广泛的另一个证据。

　　And wherever they went, they took up the role as top predator².

　　而且不管去哪，它们扮演着顶级掠食者。

　　We now know that Arctodus had two lethal³ adaptations.

　　我们现在知道熊齿兽有两种致命的适应力。

　　First and foremost were its massive paws embedded⁴ with huge claws.

　　首当其冲就是它结实的掌上面嵌着的巨大爪子。

　　The most powerful weapon in any bear's arsenal⁵ is his front paws.

　　任何一只熊身上最有力的武器就是其前掌。

　　They have very powerful, upper body strength, they have huge claws.

　　它们有很强的上身力量，还有巨大的爪子。

　　If they swing those upper paws, they're going to do a lot of damage to anything they hit.

　　要是它们挥动前掌，不管打到什么都会产生巨大伤害。

　　Its paws were the diameter of a football and its claws were 16 centimeters long.

　　它的脚掌直径有足球那么大，爪子长达十六厘米。

　　One swipe could take the head off of a grown man.

　　划一下就能砍下一个成人的头颅。

　　Looking at the claws of this bear, they're designed for slashing⁶ meat, very deep injuries, too.

　　看看这熊的爪子，它们是设计来切肉的，也能形成很深的伤口。

　　When he would grab an opponent or potential prey⁷, he could use those claws to inflict⁸ some pretty dangerous stuff.

　　要是它们抓住对手或是潜在猎物，就会用这些爪子留下非常可怕的创伤。

　　You could cut between the ribs⁹ of an animal and literally¹⁰ reach some of the internal organs.

　　它能够划进动物的肋骨之间，确实地触碰到其内脏器官。

　　Their fingernail was longer than a human's finger.

　　它们的指甲比人的手指都长。

　　These guys are enormous, and they're powerful, and they're designed for grabbing you and ripping you open.

　　它们庞大有力，是设计来抓住并撕开对手的。

　　This bear's second tool was its bone crushing teeth.

　　这种熊的第二种工具是能咬碎骨头的牙齿。

　　They were even more powerful than that of its modern day relative, the Grizzly¹¹ bear.

　　它们甚至比其现代亲戚灰熊的牙齿更加有力。

　　Grizzly bears have a bite force of over 1,200 pounds per square inch.

　　灰熊的咬合力是每平方英寸1200磅。

　　But the more powerful jaws¹² of the short faced bear gives it a bite force of over 2,000 pounds per square inch.

　　不过短面熊更加有力的双颌使其咬合力可以达到每平方英寸2000磅。

　　It had four big canine¹³ teeth up front and several smaller meat slicing teeth in the back.

　　它的前面有四颗巨大的犬齿后面有几颗稍小切肉用的牙齿。

　　This tooth configuration¹⁴ made this bear one of the most formidable predators¹⁵ on earth.

　　这种牙齿的布局让短面熊成为地球上最可怕的掠食者之一。

　　And once it clamped down with those jaws and teeth, no prey or rival stood much of a chance against it.

　　一旦被它用双颌和牙齿咬住，没有猎物或对手能有很多逃脱的机会。

1 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

2 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。

3 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

4 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

5 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

6 slashing   

adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Slashing is the first process in which liquid treatment is involved. 浆纱是液处理的第一过程。 来自辞典例句
• He stopped slashing his horse. 他住了手，不去鞭打他的马了。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 inflict   

vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担

参考例句：

• Don't inflict your ideas on me.不要把你的想法强加于我。
• Don't inflict damage on any person.不要伤害任何人。

9 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

10 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

11 grizzly   

adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊

参考例句：

• This grizzly liked people.这只灰熊却喜欢人。
• Grizzly bears are not generally social creatures.一般说来，灰熊不是社交型动物。

12 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

13 canine   

adj.犬的，犬科的

参考例句：

• The fox is a canine animal.狐狸是犬科动物。
• Herbivorous animals have very small canine teeth,or none.食草动物的犬牙很小或者没有。

14 configuration   

n.结构，布局，形态，(计算机)配置

参考例句：

• Geographers study the configuration of the mountains.地理学家研究山脉的地形轮廓。
• Prices range from $119 to $199,depending on the particular configuration.价格因具体配置而异，从119美元至199美元不等。

15 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》