侏罗纪搏击俱乐部 第144期:地球被灭绝事件萦绕

 　　Normally, the lion would hunt at night, to help it ambush¹ its prey² and to save energy.

　　通常，拟狮在夜间狩猎，这有助于伏击其猎物并节省体力。

　　Hunger had pushed it to hunt by day when the bear is awake and hunting as well.

　　饥饿迫使它白天狩猎，这时的短面熊是醒着的也在狩猎。

　　It was the rising heat that pushed these two ferocious³ creatures to extreme behavior, the likes of which had never been seen.

　　正是因为升高的气温将这样两种凶猛的动物逼上极端行为，其程度前所未有。

　　Soaring temperatures hit on the plains.Extinction⁴ was enveloping⁵ earth.

　　热浪袭击着平原。地球被灭绝事件萦绕。

　　Few large plant eaters were left.

　　鲜有大型植食动物幸存。

　　We're coming to the end of the Pleistocene, the end of the Ice Age.

　　我们来到更新世的末期，是冰期尽头。

　　The environments are changing, and animals are pretty stressed.

　　环境在变化，而且动物们压力重重。

　　The lion is having a difficult time finding enough food to keep him alive.

　　拟狮很难找到足够食物来维生。

　　He's been very lucky that a bison wandered in close enough for him to attack, and he made a kill, vital for the lion, because the lion's literally⁶ at the end of his rope.

　　它运气不错，一头野牛游荡到它的攻击范围之内，它猎杀成功了，这对它至关重要，因为这头狮子已经到了生死边缘。

　　The lion was primarily an ambush hunter.

　　拟狮主要是伏击猎手。

　　Its great size would seem to make it hard to hide, but it was perfectly⁷ suited for its environment.

　　它巨大的体型看似很难隐藏，但是它完美地融入了环境。

　　Its coloring matched the brush.

　　颜色和灌丛一致。

　　It moved silently on padded feet and was able to remain completely motionless for hours.

　　它带垫的脚掌毫无声息，它还能几个小时一动不动。

　　When it struck, it was lightning fast.

　　当它攻击时，如闪电般迅猛。

　　The mega bear could smell its prey first.

　　熊齿兽能够先闻到猎物。

　　Once he had it in sight, he would wait for it to enter striking distance.

　　一旦猎物进入视野，它就会等猎物进入攻击范围。

　　The bear's taking advantage of the wind, he's coming from downwind.

　　这头熊利用风向，它从下风处过来。

　　The lion doesn't pick up his scent⁸, he has no idea he's being stalked.

　　拟狮闻不到它的气味，它根本不知道它已经被盯上了。

　　The bear is moving up slowly, using trees to help break up his silhouette⁹.

　　短面熊慢慢地移动，利用树木来挡住自己的身影。

　　The bear moved in short bursts. He was not built for long sprints¹⁰ in the heat.

　　短面熊开始短距离冲刺。它不能够在热浪下长距离快跑。

　　Shorter, controlled bursts allowed him to assess the situation to make sure he wasn't headed into an ambush.

　　较短的受控冲刺，让它能够评估情况，确认自己没有进入伏击圈。

　　His first option was to scare a rival predator¹¹ away and take its prey.

　　它的首选是吓走掠食者对手并抢走它的猎物。

　　The lion has to have this meal, his life depends on it.

　　拟狮必须吃到这一餐，它要活命就靠它了。

　　The bear comes bursting out of a grove¹² of trees, roaring at the top of his lungs, at a full gallop¹³, faster than a modern horse.

　　短面熊从树丛中冲了出来，声嘶力竭地吼着，它全力奔跑，比现代马都快。

　　The lion turns to face this attacker.The bear expects the lion to run, but the lion doesn't.The lion stands his ground.

　　拟狮转身面对攻击者。短面熊本期望拟狮会跑掉，但拟狮没有逃跑。 而且寸步不让。

1 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 enveloping   

v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Always the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. 那眼睛总是死死盯着你，那声音总是紧紧围着你。 来自英汉文学
• The only barrier was a mosquito net, enveloping the entire bed. 唯一的障碍是那顶蚊帐罩住整个床。 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

8 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

9 silhouette   

n.黑色半身侧面影，影子，轮廓；v.描绘成侧面影，照出影子来，仅仅显出轮廓

参考例句：

• I could see its black silhouette against the evening sky.我能看到夜幕下它黑色的轮廓。
• I could see the silhouette of the woman in the pickup.我可以见到小卡车的女人黑色半身侧面影。

10 sprints   

n.短距离的全速奔跑( sprint的名词复数 )v.短距离疾跑( sprint的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• You can run sprints only so long before you're out of breath. 你死命地跑，只能跑那么一段时间，到了喘不上气的时候，只好停下来。 来自辞典例句
• The cheetah finds the open grasslands ideal footing for its lightning-quick sprints. 非洲猎豹把开阔的草原作为它们闪电猎食的理想处所。 来自互联网

11 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。

12 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

13 gallop   

v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展

参考例句：

• They are coming at a gallop towards us.他们正朝着我们飞跑过来。
• The horse slowed to a walk after its long gallop.那匹马跑了一大阵后慢下来缓步而行。