恐龙到底长什么样？：英语精读讲义

The past is a vast and mysterious land that begins at the Big Bang and ends in the present,

过去是一片广阔而神秘的土地，始于大爆炸，终于现在，

expanding with each passing moment. 短語搭配

随着每一刻的流逝而不断扩张。

It's the home of everything that came before,

它是所有过往事物的家园，

the key to understanding our present.

也是理解我们现在的钥匙。

Here, we find the most amazing creatures to ever roam our planet.

在这里，我们找到了曾在地球上漫步的最奇妙的生物。

Hundreds of millions of species so diverse that our imagination cannot do them justice. 習語

数以亿计的物种如此多样，以至于我们的想象力都难以企及。

Unfortunately,

不幸的是，

the past carefully guards its secrets. 習語

过去小心翼翼地保守着它的秘密。

While there are a lot of things about the past we know,

虽然我们对过去有很多了解，

there are way more things we know we don't know. 用詞

但我们知道自己不了解的事情要多得多。

And worse,

更糟糕的是，

there are probably even more things we don't even know that we don't know about. 表達脈絡

可能还有更多我们甚至不知道自己不知道的事情。

Think of the wonder of life.

想想生命的奇迹吧。

We now recognize about 1.5 million eukaryotic species,

我们现在认识了大约150万种真核生物，

but there may be as many as 10 million alive today. 語法

但今天存活的可能多达1000万种。

And although we are adding some 15,000 new species to our collective knowledge each year,

尽管我们每年都在为人类共同的知识库新增约15000个新物种，

the vast majority of life on Earth is still undiscovered.

但地球上绝大多数生命仍未被发现。

This is just what is around today.

这还仅仅是现存的生物。

An estimated 4 billion species emerged on our planet in past eons.

据估计，在过去的漫长岁月中，地球上曾出现过40亿个物种。

But at least 99% of them died out way before humans spoke the first words. 短語動詞

但至少99%的物种在人类说出第一句话之前就已灭绝。

The vast majority of all the different species that ever existed are so utterly deleted

绝大多数曾经存在过的不同物种都被彻底抹去了痕迹，

that they have become part of the unknown unknown part of the past, 用詞

以至于它们成为了过去那部分“未知的未知”，

lost to us forever.

永远离我们远去。

Or are they? 表達脈絡

真的是这样吗？

Could we use science and imagination to glimpse a shadow of the unreachable past?

我们能否利用科学和想象力，一窥遥不可及的过去的影子？

Let's start with what we do know. 表達脈絡

让我们从已知的事物开始。

To learn about creatures of the past,

要了解过去的生物，

we need fossils,

我们需要化石，

any sort of remains preserved from past geological ages,

任何从过去地质时代保存下来的遗骸，

bones or shells,

骨骼或贝壳，

impressions or imprints,

印痕或压痕，

things preserved in amber.

保存在琥珀中的东西。

The totality of all fossils on Earth is called the fossil record, 用詞

地球上所有化石的总和被称为化石记录，

and it's the most important window on the past we'll ever have. 習語

它是我们了解过去的最重要窗口。

For a dead animal to fossilize, 語法

要让一只死去的动物形成化石，

a number of things must go just right. 短語搭配

许多条件必须恰到好处。

The right environment, timing, and conditions.

合适的环境、时机和条件。

And then the fossil needs to survive for millions or hundreds of millions of years,

然后化石需要存活几百万或数亿年，

and then get back to the surface,

然后重新回到地表，

and then be discovered before natural processes dissolve it.

并在被自然过程溶解之前被发现。

So it is kind of a miracle that we have what we have 語氣意圖

所以，我们能拥有现在拥有的一切

and know what we know.

并知道现在知道的一切，简直是个奇迹。

Take the dinosaurs, 表達脈絡

以恐龙为例，

since they were one of the largest and most successful groups of animals

因为它们是规模最大、最成功的动物群体之一，

for some 165 million years

统治了地球大约1.65亿年，

and are also a lot of fun to animate.

而且制作它们的动画也非常有趣。

What were they really like,

它们到底长什么样？

and what are we missing?

我们错过了什么？

In the last 200 years,

在过去的200年里，

we've found tens of thousands of fossils from over 1,000 dinosaur species.

我们发现了1000多种恐龙的数万块化石。

Lately, we've entered a golden era of discovery 習語

最近，我们进入了一个发现的黄金时代，

and about 50 new dinosaur species are discovered each year,

每年大约发现50个新的恐龙物种，

expanding what we know and what we know that we don't know about them,

扩展了我们对它们的了解，以及我们知道自己对它们所不了解的部分，

which is amazing.

这是非常了不起的。

But it also makes us aware of all the things lost to the past forever. 短語搭配

但这同样让我们意识到所有那些永远消失在过去的事物。

Imagine if we took all the animals that lived in the last 50 million years 語法

想象一下，如果我们把过去5000万年里生活的所有动物

and randomly chose 10,000 individuals from 1,000 species to fossilize.

从1000个物种中随机挑选出10000个个体变成化石。

Think about all the things that would be missed or that seem too weird to be true. 短語搭配

想一想所有会被遗漏或看起来太离奇而不真实的事物。

Like the giraffe,

比如长颈鹿，

a yellow animal with brown patterns

一种有着棕色斑纹的黄色动物，

that looks like a horse and an antelope had a baby 習語

看起来就像是马和羚羊生下的孩子，

with a long neck and two tiny hairy horns.

有着长长的脖子和两只长满毛的微小角。

How many dinosaur giraffes were there?

曾经有多少种恐龙长颈鹿？

Animals so weird and selected for ecological niches

有些动物如此奇特，它们被选入特定的生态位，

so specific that evolution molded their bodies very absurdly. 習語

如此特别，以至于进化以非常荒谬的方式塑造了它们的身体。

Today, they might seem made up to us. 短語動詞

今天，它们在我们看来可能像是虚构的。

We know a lot of species are lost forever

我们知道很多物种因为它们生活的环境，

just because of the environment they lived in.

而永远地消失了。

For example, lush jungles basically prevent fossilization

例如，茂密的丛林基本上阻止了化石的形成，

as the chances that an animal will be buried here are low. 語法

因为动物被掩埋在这里的机会很低。

Countless scavengers of all sizes break down freshly deceased animals extremely quickly, 短語動詞

无数各种大小的食腐动物会极快地分解刚死去的动物，

and the soil is often so acidic that bones are dissolved. 語法

而且土壤通常酸性太强，以至于骨头都被溶解了。

And so fossils of dinosaurs from jungles are practically non-existent.

因此，丛林中实际上不存在恐龙化石。

Today, half of all known species live in the few remaining rain forests

今天，所有已知物种中有一半生活在仅存的热带雨林中，

that only cover 2% of Earth's landmass.

而这些雨林只占地球陆地面积的2%。

Millions of years ago, when dinosaurs roamed Earth,

数百万年前，当恐龙在地球上漫步时，

jungles covered much more of the planet.

丛林覆盖了地球的大部分地区。

So, besides some insects and other small animals trapped in amber,

因此，除了少量被困在琥珀里的昆虫和其他小动物外，

there should be millions of species that emerged and vanished

应该有数以百万计的物种出现又消失，

without leaving any trace, 短語搭配

没有留下任何痕迹，

trapped deep inside the unknown unknown.

深陷在“未知的未知”之中。

But just in general, biology trips us up. 短語動詞

但总体而言，生物学也给我们带来了阻碍。

Look at your body.

看看你的身体。

It's mainly squishy, gooey, soft stuff,

它主要是由黏糊糊、软乎乎的组织构成的，

which does not preserve well.

这些东西很难保存。

What remains the longest are the crystallized parts of your bones, 語法

留存最久的是骨骼的结晶部分，

and so most dinosaur fossils are bones or teeth,

因此大多数恐龙化石都是骨头或牙齿，

usually fragments, not entire skeletons.

通常是碎片，而不是完整的骨架。

This means that almost all boneless or shellless animals

这意味着几乎所有的无骨或无壳动物

are practically wiped from the fossil record.

实际上都被从化石记录中抹去了。

If we take a look at the stunning diversity of weird animals like worms, jellyfish, and slugs alive today,

如果我们看看今天活着的蠕虫、水母和鼻涕虫等奇怪动物惊人的多样性，

we can only speculate what we are missing. 短語搭配

我们只能推测自己错过了什么。

Although thankfully,

不过值得庆幸的是，

many mostly soft and gooey species

许多大多柔软黏糊的物种

also left us an incredible diversity of shells

也给我们留下了令人难以置信的各种各样的贝壳，

that tell us an amazing amount about our past,

它们告诉了我们关于过去的大量信息，

so at least we have that. 語氣意圖

所以至少我们还有这些。

Still, when we think about all the boneless species that may have existed in the last half billion years,

即便如此，当我们想到在过去五亿年里可能存在过的所有无骨物种时，

even our best attempt at imagining them falls short. 短語動詞

即使我们竭尽全力去想象也显得力不从心。

But it's not like reimagining something based on its bones is straightforward, 語氣意圖

但是，根据骨骼来重新构想一些东西并不容易，

and so the way we envisage what dinosaurs actually looked like

因此，我们在过去几年中对恐龙真实面貌的设想

has changed a lot in the last few years.

发生了很大变化。

In the past,

在过去，

many illustrations had a bony, minimalistic look

许多插图都有着骨感、极简的外观，

with a toothy grin to signify fierceness and danger.

带着露出牙齿的咧嘴笑，象征着凶猛和危险。

But if we draw today's animals in a similar way,

但是，如果我们以类似的方式绘制今天的动物，

based on their skeletons,

仅仅为了好玩，

just for the fun of it, 短語搭配

根据它们的骨骼，

we get the most bizarre creatures.

我们会得到最奇异的生物。

Elephants, swans, and baboons

大象、天鹅和狒狒

that look like monsters right out of nightmares. 習語

看起来就像是噩梦里跑出来的怪物。

So, similar to animals today,

因此，与今天的动物相似，

we should imagine dinosaurs with much more soft tissue,

我们应该把恐龙想象成有着更多的软组织，

fat bellies, or chests,

肥胖的肚子或胸部，

weird soft parts like skin flaps, lips, and gums,

奇怪的柔软部分，如皮瓣、嘴唇和牙龈，

and just more pronounced features

以及更加明显的特征，

that would make them seem like much more pleasant fellows. 語法

使它们看起来更像是讨人喜欢的家伙。

Some soft features actually leave distinctive traces on bones 短語搭配

一些柔软的特征实际上会在骨骼上留下明显的痕迹，

that we can look for in the skeletons of extinct animals,

我们可以在灭绝动物的骨骼中寻找这些痕迹，

which is where today's animals with similar features are really helpful.

这就是今天具有类似特征的动物真正能提供帮助的地方。

It's a similar story with colors. 表達脈絡

颜色也是同样的情况。

Because we know what the feathers of living birds look like,

因为我们知道现存鸟类的羽毛是什么样子，

modern technology combined with the exceedingly rare fossils 用詞

现代技术与极其罕见的、

with preserved remains of fuzzy feathers

保存了毛茸茸羽毛残骸的化石相结合，

give us a glimpse of the real colors of extinct dinosaurs. 短語搭配

让我们得以一窥灭绝恐龙的真实颜色。

We know that tiny Sinosauropteryx had a striped tail,

我们知道微小的中华龙鸟有着条纹状的尾巴，

and its tiny dino buddy Anchiornis huxleyi was white and black

而它的小恐龙伙伴赫氏近鸟龙是黑白相间的，

with gorgeous red feathers around its head.

头部周围有着绚丽的红色羽毛。

Still, for the vast majority of really any ancient extinct species,

尽管如此，对于绝大多数古老的灭绝物种而言，

we have no real clue what color they were. 短語搭配

我们实际上不知道它们到底是什么颜色。

But we know what modern dinosaurs, birds, look like, 文化背景

但我们知道现代恐龙——鸟类长什么样，

and here we find the most amazing variety.

在这里我们发现了最惊人的多样性。

So, some dinosaurs will have tried to blend into the background, 講解

因此，一些恐龙会试图融入背景中，

while others might have fielded aggressive color schemes 用詞

而另一些可能会使用具有攻击性的颜色搭配

to attract mates or to appear dangerous.

来吸引配偶或让自己显得危险。

Some might have had impressive decorations or colorful beaks.

有些可能有令人印象深刻的装饰或五颜六色的喙。

Some may have been striped or patterned.

有些可能是条纹或带图案的。

Similarly, we don't know that much about dinosaur behavior,

同样地，我们对恐龙的行为也不甚了解，

although once again, we can draw conclusions from existing animals. 短語搭配

虽然我们又一次可以从现存动物身上得出结论。

For example, even apex predators like lions

例如，即使是狮子这样的顶级掠食者，

spend a lot of their time lying around 講解

也会花很多时间躺着，

and cuddling and licking each other and playing.

互相拥抱、舔舐和玩耍。

Why would dinosaurs be so different? 表達脈絡

恐龙怎么会有那么不同呢？

When we first found the skull of T. rex with its mighty teeth

当我们第一次发现霸王龙的头骨，看到它巨大牙齿

and probably the strongest bite of any land animal ever, 語法

以及可能是有史以来所有陆地动物中最强的咬合力时，

we imagined a fierce and stupid beast.

我们想象它是一只凶猛而愚蠢的野兽。

But modern scanning technology has revealed that T. rex had a larger brain-to-body ratio

但现代扫描技术显示，霸王龙的脑体比

than some earlier giant meat-eaters.

大于一些更早期的巨型食肉动物。

And it probably had very sharp hearing, vision, and a sense of smell,

它可能有非常敏锐的听觉、视觉和嗅觉，

and was in all likelihood not a stupid animal. 短語搭配

并且极有可能不是一种愚蠢的动物。

So, maybe T. rex was a cuddly fellow

所以，也许霸王龙是个惹人喜爱的小家伙，

that spent a lot of time playing around

在不饿的时候，会花很多时间玩耍

or impressing potential mates when it was not hungry.

或者在潜在配偶面前表现自己。

Likewise, while their horns and shields might have made ceratopsids appear to be natural-born fighters, 用詞

同样，虽然角龙科的角和颈盾可能让它们看起来天生就是战士，

they were probably much more than that.

但它们的作用可能远不止于此。

Based on the behavior of modern animals

基于现代动物的行为

and the complex dances some have to go through to mate, 短語動詞

以及一些动物在交配时必须进行的复杂舞蹈，

maybe their shields were amazingly colorful.

也许它们的颈盾非常色彩鲜艳。

Maybe it danced for its mates like many birds do today.

也许它像今天的许多鸟类一样为配偶跳舞。

How intensely amazing these creatures must have been. 語法

这些生物一定是多么令人惊叹啊。

And what a loss it is to us that we don't get to experience them first-hand. 講解

我们无法亲身体验它们，对我们来说是多么大的损失。

What an even greater loss that there is so much we will never know about them,

还有那么多我们永远无法了解它们的事情，这是更大的损失，

and even more tragic,

而更可悲的是，

all the absurd and beautiful beings that disappeared without a trace.

所有那些荒诞而美丽的生灵都消失得无影无踪了。

But such is life. 習語

但生活就是如此。

Time marches on without any concern for our feelings, 習語

时间并不关心我们的感受而继续前行，

and the past expands with every moment that passes.

过去随着逝去的每一刻而不断膨胀。

Most wild animals alive today will in all likelihood not leave fossils behind

今天活着的大多数野生动物十有八九不会留下化石，

and also just disappear forever.

也会永远消失。

We can do something about that, though. 短語搭配

不过，我们可以做点什么。

Instead of accelerating the extinction we are witnessing, 語法

我们可以成为生命的守护者，在我们发现生命的地方保护它，

we could become the guardians of life and preserve it where we find it. 習語

而不是加速我们正在目睹的灭绝。

If possible in the wild, 語法

如果可能的话在野外，

if not then in museums, movies, and in our minds.

如果不可以，就在博物馆、电影和我们的思想中。

Because as amazing as our imagination is, 語法

因为尽管我们的想象力令人惊叹，

and as fascinating to think about the animals that are part of the unknown unknown,

思考那些属于未知的未知动物是多么迷人，

it is even better to witness them in the present.

但在当下亲眼见证它们会更好。

The land that we actually inhabit,

这片我们实际居住的土地，

where we get to experience life as it happens. 講解

在这里我们能够体验生命的发生。