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Walking with Dinosaurs 与恐龙共舞

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

Imagine you have traveled back 220 million years to the Triassic Period. There are no continents, just one giant land mass called Pangaea – a land largely covered with deserts. Many species of reptiles have come and gone, but now, a new group of reptiles are ready to take center stage. These animals will dominate the planet for the next 160 million years.

想象一下自己回到两亿两千万年前的三迭纪时代，当时没有现今各大洲，只有一处大部分为沙漠所覆盖的巨大陆块，称为盘古大陆。许多爬虫类出现又消失，但就在此时，一群新的爬虫类即将登场，这些动物将在接下来的一亿六千万年主宰地球。

During the Triassic Period, life was pushed to its limits. Back then, the dry season lasted for nine months. Only reptiles that could conserve precious water survived. The placerias, ancient reptiles that ruled the Earth before the dinosaurs, could not cope and became extinct. Slowly the large lizards – dinosaurs – began to populate the land.

在三迭纪时代，生物的生存环境极为严苛。当时旱季长达九个月，唯有体内能够保存珍贵水分的爬虫类才有本事存活。扁肯氏兽，一种在恐龙之前主宰地球的爬虫类，由于无法适应干旱而绝种。慢慢地，恐龙这类大型蜥蜴开始在全世界繁衍。

For many dinosaurs, it was their large size that kept them safe from any potential predators. During the Jurassic Period, around 152 million years ago, the 25-ton diplodocus reigned supreme. They would strategically lay football-sized eggs at the edge of forests. After hatching, the babies could immediately head for the safety and cover of the dense trees. There, they would feast on leaves, gaining two to three kilograms per day. After a few years, they would grow large enough to roam the fern prairies without fear of being attacked.

对许多恐龙而言，正是巨大的体型让牠们没有天敌。在侏罗纪时代，大约一亿五千两百万年前，廿五吨的梁龙称霸地球。牠们会故意将足球大小的蛋下在森林边缘，当蛋孵化后，小梁龙便能立即躲入浓密的树林，藉此得到安全的庇护。在那儿，小梁龙以树叶为食，一天可以增加二到三公斤。数年之后，牠们的体型大到可以在蕨原上漫游，而不必担心遭到任何攻击。

Vocabulary

单词发音

dominate [ˋdɑmə͵net] v. 统治，控制

extinct [ɪkˋstɪŋkt] adj. 绝种的，灭绝的

predator [ˋprɛdətɚ] n. 食肉动物；掠夺者

reign [ren] supreme 占绝对优势; 称霸  Someone or something that reigns supreme is the most important or powerful element in a situation or period of time.

roam [rom] v. 漫步；漫游

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单词发音

Triassic [traɪˋæsɪk] adj.【地】三迭纪的

pangaea [pænˈdʒiə] n. 原始大陆（约在三亿年前，主要的陆块聚集在一起，变成一大块单一的「超级陆块」，称为原始大陆或盘古大陆）

reptile [ˋrɛpt!] n. 爬行动物；爬虫类

take center stage  成为瞩目的焦点

be pushed to its limits  被推到极限

conserve [kənˋsɝv] v. 保存

Jurassic [dʒʊˋræsɪk] adj.【地】侏罗纪的；侏罗系的

diplodocus [dɪˋplɑdəkəs] n.【古生】粱龙

head for 向...走去 to aim for or move toward

feast [fist] v. 尽情地吃[（+on/upon）]

fern [fɝn] n. 蕨，蕨类植物

prairie [ˋprɛrɪ] n. 大草原

课文朗读

课文讲解

During the age of the dinosaurs, predators stalked the land, the sea and the sky. In the sea, during the late Jurassic Period, the liopleurodon was the most feared predator of them all. At 150 tons in weight and 25 meters in length, it was the largest carnivore ever to live on Earth. Not even sharks, which began to roam the sea long before the liopleurodon came along, were safe from its massive jaws.

在恐龙的时代，陆、海、空都有掠食者。海洋中，滑齿龙是侏罗纪晚期最可怕的掠食者。牠们身长廿五公尺，重达一百五十吨，是地球上存在过的最大型肉食动物。即使是比滑齿龙更早出现于海底的鲨鱼，也难逃滑齿龙的血盆大口。

In the sky, at the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, giant pterosaur glided effortlessly on the breeze. One pterosaur in particular dwarfed all others. Ornithocheirus was 12-meters from wingtip to wingtip, with a body bigger than a man’s. Every year, they would fly from one side of the world to the other in search of a mate.

在白垩纪初期期的空中，巨大的翼龙随风恣意遨翔。其中有一种翼龙体型超群，鸟爪翼龙的双翅展幅达十二公尺，身体比男人的体型还大。每一年，牠们会从世界的一端飞到另一端去寻找配偶。

Perhaps the most famous land predator of all was the Tyrannosaurus Rex. It was a relative latecomer, emerging at the end of the Cretaceous Period, about 65 million years ago. Its huge jaws could rip off 70 kilograms of meat in a single bite. However, not even the T-Rex was safe from what was about to happen. Around this time, a giant comet struck the Gulf of Mexico with the force of 10 million nuclear bombs. The ensuing climate change brought about by this catastrophic event would kill 65 percent of all life on Earth, and signaled the end of the age of the dinosaurs.

也许在所有陆上的掠食者中，暴龙算是最负盛名的了。暴龙与其他恐龙相较之下出现得较晚，大约是在六千五百万年前的白垩纪末期。牠巨大的双颚能一口撕咬下七十公斤的肉。不过，即使是暴龙也逃不过即将发生的浩劫。大约在这个时期，一颗巨大的彗星撞击墨西哥湾，威力相当于一千万颗核子弹。巨灾过后所带来的气候变化，摧毁了地球上65%的生命，也宣告恐龙时代的结束。

−by Joe Henley

Vocabulary

单词发音

stalk [stɔk] v. 高视阔步地走过

glide [glaɪd] v. 滑翔

dwarf [dwɔrf] v. 使..显得矮小

relative [ˋrɛlətɪv] adj. 比较下的﹐相对的

emerge [ɪˋmɝdʒ] v. 出现

catastrophic [͵kætəˋstrɑfɪk] adj. 灾难的

More Information

单词发音

liopleurodon  滑齿龙

feared [fɪrd] adj. 令人畏惧的

carnivore [ˋkɑrnə͵vɔr] n. 食肉动物；食虫植物

come along  出现  to show up; appear

Cretaceous [krɪˋteʃəs] n.【古生】白垩纪（一亿三千六百万年以前）

pterosaur [ˋtɛrə͵sɔr] n.【古生】翼龙

in particular 特别地；尤其  particularly; especially

Ornithocheirus  鸟掌翼龙属

wingtip [`wɪŋtɪp] n.〔鸟﹑飞机的〕翼尖

Tyrannosaurus [taɪ͵rænəˋsɔrəs] n.【古生】暴龙

latecomer [ˋlet͵kʌmɚ] n. 新来者

rip  off  撕掉; 扯掉

comet [ˋkɑmɪt] n.【天】彗星

Gulf of Mexico  墨西哥湾

ensuing  [ɛnˋsjuɪŋ] adj.（只用于名词前）接着发生的；接踵而至的

bring about 引起, 造成  to cause to happen

Reading Questions

1.   What did the Earth look like in the Triassic Period?

A. There was one ocean and one land mass.

B. There was a dense jungle with many lizards.

C. Dinosaurs populated the seven continents.

D. The entire world was totally covered by desert.

2.   Which is NOT something that helped the diplodocus defend itself?

A. It would hide in the forest while young.

B. It would lay its eggs near the forest.

C. It would make its eggs as big as footballs.

D. It would grow larger than other dinosaurs.

3.   Which is true about the ornithocheirus?

A. It lived during the Jurassic Period.

B. It was 25 meters from wingtip to wingtip.

C. It had huge jaws that could rip a shark apart.

D. It took a long journey to find a mate.

4.   What is the main purpose of this article?

A. To describe the most frightening dinosaurs.

B. To prove how the dinosaurs died out.

C. To give a brief history of the dinosaurs.

D. To explore the impact of giant comets on the dinosaurs.

Dinosaur Supremacy - BBC

Walking With Dinosaurs: The Age of the Dinosaur Dawns

Diplodocus Hunting

T-Rex - attack of the dinosaur

 Answer