侏罗纪搏击俱乐部 第149期:两个杀手循踪而来

 　　At one of the worst scenes of slaughter¹ ever unearthed², a top predator³, a panicked stampede, and a natural disaster converge⁴.

　　这是出土的最惨烈的大屠杀之一，一种顶级掠食者，一次恐慌奔逃，加上一次自然灾难的聚集。

　　Step by step, science expands the evidence to unravel⁵ the Arctic dinosaur⁶ mystery.

　　科学抽丝剥茧般地拓展证据揭开北极恐龙之迷。

　　They were the Earth's largest animals.

　　它们曾是地球上最大的动物。

　　New technology and forensic⁷ 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。

　　It happened about 70 million years ago.

　　故事发生在大约七千万年前。

　　At the top of the world, the first ice caps formed, reaching down to what is now modern day Canada.

　　在世界的顶端，第一次形成了冰帽，延伸到了今天的加拿大。

　　South of the Arctic Circle, the land was inhabited by dinosaurs⁸.

　　在北极圈以南，陆地上居住着恐龙。

　　Winter cloaked the terrain⁹ in total darkness.

　　寒冬让大地笼罩在一片漆黑之下。

　　Snow and ice forced dinosaurs to migrate into modern-day Canada to escape the harsh conditions.

　　冰雪迫使恐龙迁徙到了如今的加拿大，来躲避如此严酷的条件。

　　As they headed south, they were chased by two killers¹⁰.

　　随着它们南下，两个杀手循踪而来。

　　One, a predator. The other, the disintegration¹¹ of the Arctic world.

　　其一，是个掠食者。另一个，则是北极世界的瓦解。

　　In the summer of 1986, in Pipestone Creek¹², in Northwest Alberta, Canada, A team of paleontologists on a routine dig made a startling discovery:

　　1986年夏天，在加拿大阿尔伯塔西北的派泊斯通溪，一队古生物学家在例行挖掘中有了惊人的发现：

　　The remains¹³ of an entire herd¹⁴ of dinosaurs, over three and a half thousand of bones, with up to 100 bones packed in per square meter, including 14 skulls¹⁵ in total.

　　一整群恐龙的遗骸，三千五百多块骨头，平均每平方米有一百多块骨头，总共有十四个颅骨。

　　It's one of the most spectacular dinosaur finds in history.

　　这是史上最壮观的恐龙发现之一。

　　They quickly identify the dinosaurs as Pachyrhinosaurus - heavily skulled¹⁶ predecessors¹⁷ of Triceratops.

　　他们很快鉴别出这些恐龙是肿鼻角龙，是三角龙的祖先，其头骨厚重。

　　A typical adult measured about 7 meters long, stood about 2 meters tall and weighed as much as 4 tons.

　　典型的成年肿鼻角龙长约七米，站立时有两米高，重可达四吨。

　　This thing is built like a truck, but a truck with a big spike¹⁸ sticking out of the end of it.

　　这家伙就像是卡车一样，不过这辆卡车尾部还支出一个大的尖刺。

　　So if you were unfortunate enough to be in front of a charging Pachyrhinosaurus, it would be like standing¹⁹ in front of a truck that's coming at you at 25 miles an hour.

　　要是你运气不好站在猛冲的肿鼻角龙的前方，那就相当于站在一辆以时速25英里冲向你的卡车前面。

1 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

2 unearthed   

出土的（考古）

参考例句：

• Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

3 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。

4 converge   

vi.会合；聚集，集中；(思想、观点等)趋近

参考例句：

• The results converge towards this truth.其结果趋近于这个真理。
• Parallel lines converge at infinity.平行线永不相交。

5 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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》

9 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

10 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

11 disintegration   

n.分散，解体

参考例句：

• This defeat led to the disintegration of the empire.这次战败道致了帝国的瓦解。
• The incident has hastened the disintegration of the club.这一事件加速了该俱乐部的解体。

12 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

13 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。

14 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

15 skulls   

颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜

参考例句：

• One of the women's skulls found exceeds in capacity that of the average man of today. 现已发现的女性颅骨中，其中有一个的脑容量超过了今天的普通男子。
• We could make a whole plain white with skulls in the moonlight! 我们便能令月光下的平原变白，遍布白色的骷髅！

16 skulled   

使惨败，使得零分( skunk的过去式和过去分词 )； 烂醉如泥

参考例句：

• Short, squat, massive-skulled, his presence sent out alarm bells of danger. 矮的，矮胖的，巨大的脑壳，他的出现发出了危险的警铃。

17 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

19 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。