侏罗纪搏击俱乐部 第138期:神熊力大无比

 　　The bear could have pulled a door off a car with ease or crushed a steel drum like a tin can.

　　这种熊能不费力地扯下车门，或者把钢鼓踩烂就像是罐头一样。

　　But in the cave, a second, super-sized ice age monster was found.

　　不过在洞穴里，又发现了第二只超大的冰期怪兽。

　　And it would change everything we thought we knew about the time.

　　我们认为我们了解的那个时期里所有的事情都将改变。

　　The discovery of natural trap cave in Wyoming revealed more than 40,000 fossils.

　　人们在怀俄明发现的自然陷阱里，有四万多块化石。

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　　Among them, the skeleton of a mega bear called the god bear by some, for its power.

　　它们中间，有一头巨熊骨架，有些人称之为神熊，因为它力大无比。

　　But scientists found something else in the cave, something that was just as menacing.

　　不过科学家们还在洞穴里找到了别的东西，是一样危险凶残的动物。

　　A predator¹ of gigantic proportions - the Mega Lion.They are in fact the largest cats that ever lived.

　　一种庞大无比的掠食者——美洲拟狮。它们是迄今为止最大的猫科动物。

　　They are bigger than any other fossil cats.

　　要比其它化石猫科动物都大。

　　So what it means is, that you're dealing² with a lion that probably weighs seven or eight hundred pounds.

　　这就意味着，我们面对的这种狮子重量可能达到七八百磅。

　　In addition to weighing more than a third of a ton, the Mega Lion stood nearly 2 meters tall, with a body length of nearly 4 meters.

　　除了体重超过三分之一吨外，拟狮站立时有近两米高，体长接近四米。

　　And with those dimensions, the Mega Lion dwarfed³ its modern cousins.

　　这样的体型，让拟狮远比其现代亲戚庞大。

　　It was bigger than a prehistoric⁴ raptor.

　　它比史前迅猛龙还大。

　　The first thing that surprised paleontogists was its razor sharp claws.

　　首先让古生物学家们吃惊的是它剃刀般锋利的爪子。

　　The Mega Lion has five retractable⁵ claws on each foot.

　　拟狮每只脚上有五个可伸缩的爪子。

　　They're kept out of harm's way within these protective sheaths, but when he needs to use them, the Mega Lion would swing them into action, like switch-blade knives, and could slice up prey⁶.

　　它们缩回到保护性鞘膜内时不会受到损坏，不过当拟狮要使用它们时，就会把它们探出来，就像弹簧折刀一样，还能切开猎物。

　　They could cut through flesh like a hot knife through butter.

　　它们切开血肉就像热刀切过黄油一样。

　　It also had powerful teeth and jaws⁷.

　　拟狮也有有力的牙齿和双颌。

　　While a modern lion has a bite force of over 900 pounds, this lion had a bite force of over 1,800 pounds.

　　现代狮子有超过900磅的咬合力，而这种巨狮的咬合力超过1800磅。

　　As with most modern large cats, their teeth and jaws are very strong, musculature in the skull⁸ to suffocate⁹ or snap the neck of the prey items.

　　和多数现代大型猫科动物一样，它们的牙齿和双颌都非常强壮，颅骨上的肌肉系统可以让猎物窒息或折断猎物的脖子。

　　Equipped with 20 retractable claws, and a mouthful of bone crushing teeth, they were major predators¹⁰.

　　有了二十个可伸缩的爪子，加上满口能咬碎骨头的牙齿，它们是主要掠食者。

　　But paleontologists discovered something else - a weakness.These are not long distance runners.

　　不过古生物学家还发现了别的东西，它的弱点。它们不擅长长距离奔跑。

　　They're really better designed for chasing prey over a short distance.

　　它们的身体设计更适合短距离追逐猎物。

　　Their legs, although relatively¹¹ long, are not designed for a long distance chase.They're ambush¹² hunters.

　　它们的腿虽然相当长，但并不适合长距离追逐。它们是伏击猎手。

1 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。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 dwarfed   

vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The old houses were dwarfed by the huge new tower blocks. 这些旧房子在新建的高楼大厦的映衬下显得十分矮小。
• The elephant dwarfed the tortoise. 那只乌龟跟那头象相比就显得很小。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

5 retractable   

adj.可收回的；可撤消的；可缩回的；可缩进的

参考例句：

• a knife with a retractable blade 弹簧刀
• So, any thoughts of what you want for the retractable bed kid? 那么想为那个睡折叠床的小子做什么？ 来自电影对白

6 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。

7 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。

8 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

9 suffocate   

vt.使窒息，使缺氧，阻碍；vi.窒息，窒息而亡，阻碍发展

参考例句：

• If you shut all the windows,I will suffocate.如果你把窗户全部关起来，我就会闷死。
• The stale air made us suffocate.浑浊的空气使我们感到窒息。

10 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》

11 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

12 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。