英语听力：2013-07-31 《恐龙的战争》3 顽强防御—20

 Probably the only way a T-Rex could successfully and safely bring down Triceratops is by having at least one other individual Tyrannosaur that would ambush¹ it from the back while the one in front is keeping the attention of the Triceratops.

 

Working as a team, the ultimate carnivore delivers a killing² blow. For the T-Rex, it’s a veritable feast. This battle plays out over and over again, sparking evolutionary³ changes in carnivores, which in turn challenges plant eaters. 

 

You can look at it as sort of almost an arms race between the herbivores and the carnivores, and the herbivores protect themselves. The carnivores changed in order to attack and be able to have enough power to kill the herbivores.

 

The arms race between predator⁴ and prey⁵ continues for millions of years. Carnivores develop some of the most effective killing tools seen in Earth’s history. Prehistoric⁶ plant eaters evolved defenses simply unmatched today. 

 

Parasaurolophus, with a call so powerful it’s a dangerous weapon. Sauroposeidon, bigger than any land creature we’ll ever see. Ankylosaurus, with a club for a tail and armor built like a bulletproof vest. And Triceratops, the big bruiser with a skull⁷ strong enough to stop the jaws⁸ of a T-Rex. 

 

All these Cretaceous plant eaters, with their complicated apparatus⁹, they’re all much more sophisticated. So we’re beginning to understand that we woefully underestimated the inner and outer life of the veggiesaur. 

 

Plant-eating dinosaurs¹⁰ became incredibly tough to survive from the Jurassic Period to the Cretaceous more than 165 million years. Even today, the battle between herbivores and carnivores rages on. But it’s this brutal¹¹ war for survival and constant adaptation that has created the incredible natural world that we live in today.

1 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。

2 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。

3 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

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 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。

9 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

10 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》

11 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。