英语听力：2013-05-26 完美捕食 Perfect Predators —11

 They are actually increasing their chance of getting a meal. 

 

It’s a strategy still used today. Working together, lions will take on prey¹ as big as a four-ton elephant, and they only have teeth and claws. Deinonychus employs an array of weaponry more powerful than any creature today. Sauroposeidon’s only defense² is its massive size, but Deinonychus have learned that nearly any defense can be breached³ with the right armaments, like recurved hand claws almost 8 centimeters long designed to grip into the bodies of prey like a mountain climber’s spikes⁴.

 

The ideal attack is to jump up, grab ahold of the prey, position the prey, and then strike. So the arms are to position your body to deliver that killing⁵ blow. 

 

It could strike very quickly, and it could, if it was attacking a larger animal, use those arms to pull itself up against it. By doing so, it could bring its other main weapon into attack, and that’s its foot claws. 

 

The name Deinonychus means “terrible claw”. It’s a reference to the hinged bone on its foot. The cutting edge is sheathed⁶ in keratin, the same substance that forms a cat’s claw. But on a Deinonychus, this claw is 10 centimeters long. This lethal⁷ weapon is sharpened to a point and can flex⁸ almost 180 degrees. To keep the knife razor-sharp, Deinonychus holds it up off the ground until the moment it’s needed. Then, in one lightning-fast swipe, this sickle⁹ can rip deep into flesh, delivering a kicking blow with 200 kilos of cutting force. 

 

The key to the Deinonychus’ killing blow is the hind¹⁰ leg. The hind leg is the strongest organ in the body by far and ends in a huge claw like a box-cutting knife. So that cutting, curved knife into your belly¹¹, into the target would cause a fatal wound.

1 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。

2 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。

3 breached   

攻破( breach的现在分词 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• These commitments have already been breached. 这些承诺已遭背弃。
• Our tanks have breached the enemy defences. 我方坦克车突破了敌人的防线。

4 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 sheathed   

adj.雕塑像下半身包在鞘中的；覆盖的；铠装的；装鞘了的v.将（刀、剑等）插入鞘( sheathe的过去式和过去分词 )；包，覆盖

参考例句：

• Bulletproof cars sheathed in armour. 防弹车护有装甲。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The effect of his mediation was so great that both parties sheathed the sword at once. 他的调停非常有效，双方立刻停战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

8 flex   

n.皮线，花线；vt.弯曲或伸展

参考例句：

• We wound off a couple of yards of wire for a new lamp flex.我们解开几码电线作为新的电灯花线。
• He gave his biceps a flex to impress the ladies.他收缩他的肱二头肌以吸引那些女士们的目光。

9 sickle   

n.镰刀

参考例句：

• The gardener was swishing off the tops of weeds with a sickle.园丁正在用镰刀嗖嗖地割掉杂草的顶端。
• There is a picture of the sickle on the flag. 旗帜上有镰刀的图案。

10 hind   

adj.后面的，后部的

参考例句：

• The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
• Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

11 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。