纪录片《恐龙的战争》 顽强防御（4）

Its primary weapon-- is a pair of a meter long horns mounted on its skull¹.

它的主战武器就是它头上一对长约一米的犄角。

These horns make those of modern creatures look lightweight.

这对犄角让当今的动物犄角相形见绌。

A rhino's horn is made of hair. An elephant tusk², of ivory.

犀牛角是由毛发组成的。大象的长牙由象牙质组成的。

But Triceratops' horn is constructed of solid bone growing directly out of the skull.

但三角龙的角是由高密度的骨骼组成的，是直接是从头骨上长出来的。

Their horns, 30 centimeters wide at the base, are able to withstand up to 16 tons of force.

它们的角，底部最宽处达三十厘米，能够承受十六吨的冲击力。

Strong enough to rip through the body of a car.

这足以撞裂一辆小汽车的车身。

It is gonna come at you, and it can move left, and it can move right,

当它要攻击你时，它的行动会忽左忽右，

and can swing those brow horns and the nose horn at you in a great sphere of aggression³.

并向你挥舞着头上的三个犄角进行全方位的攻击。

A single blow from those horns could kill you.

被那些角轻轻一刺，你就会没命。

There's a reason Triceratops became the most successful plant eater of the Cretaceous,

这就为什么三角龙会成为白垩纪最成功的食草动物，

and why a predator⁴ thinks twice before attacking.

也是捕食者在进攻前需要再三考虑的原因。

The irony⁵ for hunting is that the hunter is often more worried about their own welfare.

捕猎最为讽刺的就是捕食者经常会对自己的猎物有所顾忌。

They're actually concerned about injuring themselves in that process.

它们很担心自己会在捕猎的过程中受伤。

Any predator puts its life at risk every time it hunts, even things like T. Rex.

食肉动物们每次都要冒着生命危险去捕猎，即便是雷克斯霸王龙也一样。

A carnivore trying to bring down a defender⁶ like this relies on a stealth approach,

食肉动物要想拿下如此强悍的防御者，就得要悄无声息地接近它

a surprise attack, and nerves of steel.

发动奇袭，还要有钢铁般的意志。

One could imagine that the conflict between Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops may have been one of the greatest combats that nature has ever had.

你可以想象雷克斯霸王龙和三角龙之间的决斗场面，这也许是自然界中最震撼的对决之一。

Here we have one of the greatest predators⁷ nature has ever produced

一方是自然界有史以来最凶猛的捕食者，

and one of the greatest defenders⁸ nature has ever produced sparring off with some truly awesome⁹ weaponry.

另一方则是自然界有史以来最顽强的防御者，利用各自的可怕利器来一决高下。

There's nothing like that in the world today.

当今世界没有哪场对决能与之相提并论。

1 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。

2 tusk   

n.獠牙，长牙，象牙

参考例句：

• The wild boar had its tusk sunk deeply into a tree and howled desperately.野猪的獠牙陷在了树里，绝望地嗥叫着。
• A huge tusk decorated the wall of his study.他书房的墙上装饰着一支巨大的象牙。

3 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

4 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。

5 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

6 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

7 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》

8 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.