纪录片《恐龙的战争》 顽强防御（13）

The crest¹ contains the animal's nasal cavity-a tube that loops around twice, creating a chamber² two and a half meters long.

头冠包含有这种动物的鼻腔——一个双循环的管道形成了一个2.5米长的腔体。

Calls, vibrations³ originating in the voice box, travel along these tubes.

来自喉部的声音和振动在这条管道中穿行。

Like the chambers⁴ of a trombone, those tubes amplify⁵ and lower that sound.

就像长号的套管一样，这些管道将声音扩大并降低频率。

The result-an extremely low-frequency hum, even deeper than a foghorn⁶.

使之变成频率极低的嗡嗡声，比船上雾角的声音还要低。

Each species has its own distinct shape. Each species would have its own distinct sound.

每个物种都有其独特的外形。也具有独特的声音。

The arrangement of the chambers inside each animal is unique.

各个物种的音室都是与众不同的。

And the sound they create like a fingerprint⁷.

因此发出的声音就像指纹一样独一无二。

These calls are Parasaurolophus' primary form of defense⁸.

这些声音就是副栉龙最主要的防御手段。

They are communicative, social beings that live in herds¹⁰.

它们是善于沟通的群居动物。

Parasaurolophus have learned there's safety in numbers.

它们知道只有群居才更安全。

An isolated¹¹ Parasaurolophus would be a dinosaur¹² in trouble.

一旦落单，副栉龙就很可能有危险。

It's gonna have to look out for predators¹⁴ on its own.

就需要独自面对捕食者的威胁。

And therefore, a lone¹⁵ individual might do its call to say, "I'm alone,"

因此落单的副栉龙就会发出"我落单了"的声音，

and wait to hear for other members of its herd⁹ to make the corresponding call.

等候族群的其它成员回复的信号。

This tactic¹⁶ is still used today on the plains of Africa.

这种策略仍被今天非洲草原上的动物沿用。

If you look at various species of plant eaters, they live together in groups,

如果你去观察各种食草动物会发现它们都是群居的，

and if one of them spots a predator¹³, they can whinny or hoot¹⁷ and let the rest of the herd know,

如果它们中的一个发现了捕食者，它们会发出不同声响警示其它成员，

so that they can keep on alert, or if the predators are right there,

所以它们可以保持警惕，就算捕食者已经很靠近，

they can all break out into a run and run away from the attacker.

它们也可以迅速逃离躲避捕食者的进攻。

Parasaurolophus' ability to communicate complex messages is a tremendous defensive¹⁸ advantage.

副栉龙这种传递复杂信息的能力是很了不起的防御手段。

Using its sensitive hearing, these creatures can detect a predator far off in the distance.

利用敏感的听觉，它们可以在很远以外就感知到捕食者的踪迹。

Then send out an alarm call to warn the herd.

然后发出信号警示族群。

Even more effective, low-frequency sounds,

更有效的是，低频声音波长较长，

with their long wavelengths¹⁹, travel much further than high frequencies.

比高频声音传播得更远。

These are kinds of sounds that can be transmitted over very long distances.

它们发出的声音可以传到非常非常远的地方。

This extremely low-frequency sound is called infrasound and can travel for miles.

这种极低频率的声音称为次声波，能传播几英里。

You can produce a noise so low and so deep not only it goes through the air,

极低频的声音不仅能在空气中传播，

it goes through the rocks and through the soil, and you pick it up in your feet.

而且能在岩石和土壤中传播，用脚就能感知到。

Elephants do that. Rhinos²⁰ do that. Hippos do that. Crocodiles do that. Alligators²¹ do it. They produce infrasound.

大象就会用次声交流，犀牛也会。还有河马，鳄鱼，短吻鳄。它们都能发出次声波。

But for a Parasaurolophus, these calls can be used for more than just communication.

但对副栉龙来说，这种声音不仅用来交流。

Low-frequency infrasound can put up an aggressive form of defense. Infrasound is a weapon.

低频次声波也是一种进攻性防御措施。次声波也是一种武器。

You can scramble²² the brains of your enemy with a blast of infrasound.

强烈的次声波能给敌人的大脑造成混乱。

If you have 100 duckbills, 1,000 duckbills, facing the same direction, producing high-decibel sounds,

比如一百只甚至一千只鸭嘴科恐龙面对同一方向发出高分贝声音，

that's a wave of energy that could knock over a predator or at least discombobulate it, scramble its brains.

这种声波的能量能击倒一个捕食者，至少让它神志不清，思维错乱。

Despite packing a deafening²³ secret weapon, a Parasaurolophus, like other plant eaters,

尽管有这种振聋发聩的秘密武器，副栉龙和其它食草动物一样，

knows that the best way to stay alive is to keep predators at a distance.

明白真正的生存之道在于与捕食者保持距离。

1 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

2 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

3 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

5 amplify   

vt.放大，增强；详述，详加解说

参考例句：

• The new manager wants to amplify the company.新经理想要扩大公司。
• Please amplify your remarks by giving us some examples.请举例详述你的话。

6 foghorn   

n..雾号（浓雾信号）

参考例句：

• The foghorn boomed out its warning.雾角鸣声示警。
• The ship foghorn boomed out.船上的浓雾号角发出呜呜声。

7 fingerprint   

n.指纹；vt.取...的指纹

参考例句：

• The fingerprint expert was asked to testify at the trial.指纹专家应邀出庭作证。
• The court heard evidence from a fingerprint expert.法院听取了指纹专家的证词。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 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。

10 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

11 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

12 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。

13 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。

14 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》

15 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

16 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

17 hoot   

n.鸟叫声，汽车的喇叭声； v.使汽车鸣喇叭

参考例句：

• The sudden hoot of a whistle broke into my thoughts.突然响起的汽笛声打断了我的思路。
• In a string of shrill hoot of the horn sound,he quickly ran to her.在一串尖声鸣叫的喇叭声中，他快速地跑向她。

18 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

19 wavelengths   

n.波长( wavelength的名词复数 )；具有相同的/不同的思路；合拍；不合拍

参考例句：

• I find him difficult to talk to—we're on completely different wavelengths. 我没法和他谈话，因为我们俩完全不对路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Sunlight consists of different wavelengths of radiation. 阳光由几种不同波长的射线组成。 来自辞典例句

20 rhinos   

n.犀牛（rhino的复数形式）

参考例句：

• There are many reports of people taming and even training Indian rhinos. 有许多关于人们驯养甚至训练印度犀牛的记载。 来自辞典例句
• The rhinos had fed during the night in the rice fields of these villagers. 犀牛夜里在这些村民的庄稼地里也已吃饱了。 来自辞典例句

21 alligators   

n.短吻鳄( alligator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Two alligators rest their snouts on the water's surface. 两只鳄鱼的大嘴栖息在水面上。 来自辞典例句
• In the movement of logs by water the lumber industry was greatly helped by alligators. 木材工业过去在水上运输木料时所十分倚重的就是鳄鱼。 来自辞典例句

22 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

23 deafening   

adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The noise of the siren was deafening her. 汽笛声震得她耳朵都快聋了。
• The noise of the machine was deafening. 机器的轰鸣声震耳欲聋。