侏罗纪搏击俱乐部 第125期:躺下等待猎物

 　　Like all raptors, Utahraptor was one of the top predators² of its time.

　　和所有迅猛龙一样，犹他盗龙是当时的顶级掠食者之一。

　　But unlike its cousins, this raptor was not built for speed.

　　不过跟它的亲戚们不同，这种迅猛龙的构造不是为了速度。

　　His short but robust³ legs made him a heavyweight.

　　它短而粗壮的腿使它成为重量级选手。

　　Because of Utahraptors's large size and proportion of the leg bones, it's pretty safe to assume that it was slower than what we think of as Velociraptor and Deinonychus.

　　因为犹他盗龙较大的体型以及腿骨所占的比例，可以比较确定地推测它的速度比伶盗龙和恐爪龙要慢一些。

　　Utahraptor may have been more of an ambush⁴ predator¹.

　　犹他盗龙可能更像是伏击性掠食者。

　　In other words, we might say that a Velociraptor was a cheetah⁵ running things down, that Utahraptor may have been the equivalent of a lion in the sense that it may have laid and waited for prey⁶.

　　换一句话说的话，我们可能会说伶盗龙像猎豹一样奔袭猎物，而犹他盗龙可能更像狮子同样会躺下等待猎物。

　　Utahraptor would normally have preyed⁷ on less well armored herbivores, ones less likely to cause injury, but the fact that the skeleton of Gastonia was found nearby proves that they did share the same terrain⁸.

　　犹他盗龙通常会攻击没那么多护甲的植食动物，那些不那么容易带来伤害的，但是在它附近发现的加斯顿龙骨架证明它们分享同一地域。

　　The area where they found the skeleton of Utahraptor and Gastonia looks a lot different today than it did when they were alive.

　　人们发现犹他盗龙和加斯顿龙骨架的地区如今和它们当年生活的时候已经大不相同。

　　Although there were large conifer trees, this particular part of the state was a bit more open and dry.

　　虽然那时有很多巨大的针叶树，该州的这个特别部分更开阔而且干燥一些。

　　It sort of resembled a savanna⁹ but without grass.

　　这就像是一个没有草的大草原。

　　Utahraptor hunted this area because it allowed him to see prey over greater distances.

　　犹他盗龙在这里狩猎是因为它能在远处就看到猎物。

　　Gastonia was attracted to the area because of the amount of low growing vegetation, something you don't find in the big dense¹⁰ forest.

　　加斯顿龙被吸引来的原因则是这里有很多生长得很低的植物，这在又大又密的森林里可找不到。

　　Scientists believe that for most of the year, life flourished on the ancient Savanna.

　　科学家们相信在一年中的大部分时间里，这片古老的草原里欣欣向荣。

　　But during the dry season, the environment could be harsh.

　　但是在旱季里，环境可能会变得很严酷。

　　We have a number of fossil soils preserved that suggest there were periods of extreme aridity¹¹, perhaps extensive drought.

　　我们有一些保存下来的土壤化石，表明这里有些时候极度干燥，可能彻底干旱。

　　In fact, some of these extensive drought intervals¹² might be responsible for some of the fossil sites that we found.

　　其实，这些彻底干旱时期可能就是我们发现的一些化石场的成因。

　　Drought conditions meant that herbivores would have less to eat.

　　干旱条件意味着植食动物食物变少。

　　The weaker ones would either migrate or die.

　　变弱的动物要么迁徙要么死亡。

　　This probably forced the predators to attack whatever they could find, no matter how well defended.

　　这很可能迫使掠食者攻击任何找得到的猎物，不管它们防护得有多好。

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 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》

3 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

4 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。

5 cheetah   

n.(动物)猎豹

参考例句：

• The cheetah is generally credited as the world's fastest animal.猎豹被公认是世界上跑得最快的动物。
• The distribution of the cheetah ranges from Africa to Central Asia.印度豹的足迹遍及从非洲到中亚的广大地区。

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 preyed   

v.掠食( prey的过去式和过去分词 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生

参考例句：

• Remorse preyed upon his mind. 悔恨使他内心痛苦。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He had been unwise and it preyed on his conscience. 他做得不太明智，这一直让他良心不安。 来自辞典例句

8 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

9 savanna   

n.大草原

参考例句：

• The savanna is also the home of meat-eaters--the lion,leopard,and hyena who feed on the grasseaters.大草原也是食肉动物的家乡--狮子、豹、鬣狗--它们都是以草食动物维持生命的。
• They sped upon velvet wheels across an exhilarant savanna.他们的马车轻捷地穿过一片令人赏心悦目的大草原。

10 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

11 aridity   

n.干旱，乏味；干燥性；荒芜

参考例句：

• The name Sahara conjures up images of a desert of aridity. "撒哈拉"这个名字使人想起干旱的沙漠情景。 来自辞典例句
• The name conjures up images of a desert of aridity. “撒哈拉”这个名字使人想起“干旱”的沙漠情景。 来自互联网

12 intervals   

n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息

参考例句：

• The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。
• Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。