纪录片《恐龙的战争》 完美捕食（18）

Living as a hunter was not easy.

作为一个猎手并不容易。

The irony¹ for many predators³ is they're very concerned about injuring themselves.

对许多捕食者来说最讽刺的是怕在捕猎时伤到自己。

Even the toughest, most well-armed meat eaters regularly come face-to-face with prey⁴ that can kill them.

即使最凶狠的，装备最精良的肉食者也会经常碰到能于它们抗衡的猎物。

Whether you have the jaws⁵ of Tyrannosaurus Rex or are armed to the teeth like a raptor,

无论你有雷克斯霸王龙一般强悍的双颚，还是有猛禽一样锋利的牙齿，

every hunt might just be your last.

每次捕猎都可能是最后一次。

The thing about predation is it's very dangerous, both for the prey and for the predator².

捕猎的过程非常危险，对于猎物和捕猎者都如此。

There are many specimens⁶ that had puncture⁷ wounds and open sores when they died.

许多标本上都有临死时被刺穿的或撕裂的伤口。

An injury, even a minor⁸ one, can stop a predator from hunting,

哪怕受到极小的一个伤都会影响捕猎，

a virtual guarantee of death by starvation.

随之而来的必然是饥饿致死。

The life of the carnivore was so hard.

食肉动物的一生如此艰辛。

They were beat up. They were all beat to hell before they became a fossil.

它们搏斗得很惨。在成为化石之前它们往往死得非常惨。

It's not like Africa or Asia today, where you have lots of smaller animals

不像现在的亚洲或非洲，有很多小型动物，

and there's one or two big things like elephants or rhinos⁹.

只有一两种像大象或犀牛这样的大型动物。

We're talking about an entire landscape that's filled with herds¹⁰ of multi-ton herbivores.

我们所说的是整个地球都遍布身重数吨的食肉动物的时期。

For carnivores today, just as during the Cretaceous, staying alive is no mean feat¹¹.

对于今天的食肉动物来说，与白垩纪时期一样，生存是一大考验。

If we look at lives of living predators today, they're pretty short lives.

如果我们来看，现在的食肉动物它们寿命都非常短。

Each individual life does not span its potential.

每一个生命都逃不出命运的掌控。

Whenever they become older and weaker, they're more susceptible¹² to injury,

一旦它们年老体弱就非常易受伤害，

and every time you hunt, you're putting your life on the line.

每次猎食都是对生命的考验。

In the world of dinosaurs¹³, predators stop at nothing to survive.

在恐龙的世界里，捕食者要使尽浑身解数求得生存。

They use every tool in their arsenal¹⁴, brains, eagle eyes, stealth flight, superhearing,

它们利用自身的所有优势，智慧的大脑，敏锐的双眼，诡秘的飞行，超强的听力

and an advanced sense of smell.

以及灵敏的嗅觉。

But in the end, those who live by the claw sometimes die by the claw.

但到最后，这些靠利爪生存的动物有时也会死在利爪之下。

1 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。

2 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。

3 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》

4 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。

5 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。

6 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 puncture   

n.刺孔，穿孔；v.刺穿，刺破

参考例句：

• Failure did not puncture my confidence.失败并没有挫伤我的信心。
• My bicycle had a puncture and needed patching up.我的自行车胎扎了个洞，需要修补。

8 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

9 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

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 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

12 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

13 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》

14 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。