恐龍到底長什麼樣子？：英語精讀講義

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

過去是一片廣袤而神秘的土地，始於大爆炸，終於現在，

expanding with each passing moment. 片語搭配

隨著每一刻的流逝而不斷擴張。

It's the home of everything that came before,

它是所有過往事物的家園，

the key to understanding our present.

也是理解我們現在的鑰匙。

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

在這裡，我們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. 慣用語

數以億計的物種如此多樣，以至於我們的想像力都難以企及。

Unfortunately,

不幸的是，

the past carefully guards its secrets. 慣用語

過去小心翼翼地保守著它的秘密。

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

雖然我們對過去有很多了解，

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

但我們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

可能還有更多我們甚至不知道自己不知道的事情。

Think of the wonder of life.

想想生命的奇蹟吧。

We now recognize about 1.5 million eukaryotic species,

我們現在認識了大約150萬種真核生物，

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

但今天存活的可能多達1000萬種。

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

儘管我們每年都在為人類共同的知識庫新增約15000個新物種，

the vast majority of life on Earth is still undiscovered.

但地球上絕大多數生命仍未被發現。

This is just what is around today.

這還僅僅是現存的生物。

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

據估計，在過去的漫長歲月中，地球上曾出現過40億個物種。

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

但至少99%的物種在人類說出第一句話之前就已滅絕。

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

絕大多數曾經存在過的不同物種都被徹底抹去了痕跡，

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

以至於牠們成為了過去那部分「未知的未知」，

lost to us forever.

永遠離我們遠去。

Or are they? 表達脈絡

真的是這樣嗎？

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

我們能否利用科學和想像力，一窺遙不可及的過去的影子？

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

讓我們從已知的事物開始。

To learn about creatures of the past,

要了解過去的生物，

we need fossils,

我們需要化石，

any sort of remains preserved from past geological ages,

任何從過去地質時代保存下來的遺骸，

bones or shells,

骨骼或貝殼，

impressions or imprints,

印痕或壓痕，

things preserved in amber.

保存在琥珀中的東西。

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

地球上所有化石的總和被稱為化石紀錄，

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

它是我們了解過去的最重要窗口。

For a dead animal to fossilize, 文法

要讓一隻死去的動物形成化石，

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

許多條件必須恰到好處。

The right environment, timing, and conditions.

合適的環境、時機和條件。

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

然後化石需要存活幾百萬或數億年，

and then get back to the surface,

然後重新回到地表，

and then be discovered before natural processes dissolve it.

並在被自然過程溶解之前被發現。

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

所以，我們能擁有現在擁有的一切

and know what we know.

並知道現在知道的一切，簡直是個奇蹟。

Take the dinosaurs, 表達脈絡

以恐龍為例，

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

因為牠們是規模最大、最成功的動物群體之一，

for some 165 million years

統治了地球大約1.65億年，

and are also a lot of fun to animate.

而且製作牠們的動畫也非常有趣。

What were they really like,

牠們到底長什麼樣？

and what are we missing?

我們錯過了什麼？

In the last 200 years,

在過去的200年裡，

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

我們發現了1000多種恐龍的數萬塊化石。

Lately, we've entered a golden era of discovery 慣用語

最近，我們進入了一個發現的黃金時代，

and about 50 new dinosaur species are discovered each year,

每年大約發現50個新的恐龍物種，

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

擴展了我們對牠們的了解，以及我們知道自己對牠們所不了解的部分，

which is amazing.

這是非常了不起的。

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

但這同樣讓我們意識到所有那些永遠消失在過去的事物。

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

想像一下，如果我們把過去5000萬年裡生活的所有動物

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

從1000個物種中隨機挑選出10000個個體變成化石。

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

想一想所有會被遺漏或看起來太離奇而不真實的事物。

Like the giraffe,

比如長頸鹿，

a yellow animal with brown patterns

一種有著棕色斑紋的黃色動物，

that looks like a horse and an antelope had a baby 慣用語

看起來就像是馬和羚羊生下的孩子，

with a long neck and two tiny hairy horns.

有著長長的脖子和兩隻長滿毛的微小角。

How many dinosaur giraffes were there?

曾經有多少種恐龍長頸鹿？

Animals so weird and selected for ecological niches

有些動物如此奇特，牠們被選入特定的生態位，

so specific that evolution molded their bodies very absurdly. 慣用語

如此特別，以至於演化以非常荒謬的方式塑造了牠們的身體。

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

今天，牠們在我們看來可能像是虛構的。

We know a lot of species are lost forever

我們知道很多物種因為牠們生活的環境，

just because of the environment they lived in.

而永遠地消失了。

For example, lush jungles basically prevent fossilization

例如，茂密的叢林基本上阻止了化石的形成，

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

因為動物被掩埋在這裡的機會很低。

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

無數各種大小的食腐動物會極快地分解剛死去的動物，

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

而且土壤通常酸性太強，以至於骨頭都被溶解了。

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

因此，叢林中實際上不存在恐龍化石。

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

今天，所有已知物種中有一半生活在僅存的热带雨林中，

that only cover 2% of Earth's landmass.

而這些雨林只佔地球陸地面積的2%。

Millions of years ago, when dinosaurs roamed Earth,

數百萬年前，當恐龍在地球上漫步時，

jungles covered much more of the planet.

叢林覆蓋了地球的大部分地區。

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

因此，除了少量被困在琥珀裡的昆蟲和其他小動物外，

there should be millions of species that emerged and vanished

應該有數以百萬計的物種出現又消失，

without leaving any trace, 片語搭配

沒有留下任何痕跡，

trapped deep inside the unknown unknown.

深陷在「未知的未知」之中。

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

但總體而言，生物學也給我們帶來了阻礙。

Look at your body.

看看你的身體。

It's mainly squishy, gooey, soft stuff,

它主要是由黏糊糊、軟乎乎的組織構成的，

which does not preserve well.

這些東西很難保存。

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

留存最久的是骨骼的結晶部分，

and so most dinosaur fossils are bones or teeth,

因此大多數恐龍化石都是骨頭或牙齒，

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

這意味著幾乎所有的無骨或無殼動物

are practically wiped from the fossil record.

實際上都被從化石紀錄中抹去了。

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

如果我們看看今天活著的蠕蟲、水母和蛞蝓等奇怪動物驚人的多樣性，

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

我們只能推測自己錯過了什麼。

Although thankfully,

不過值得慶幸的是，

many mostly soft and gooey species

許多大多柔軟黏糊的物種

also left us an incredible diversity of shells

也給我們留下了令人難以置信的各種各樣的貝殼，

that tell us an amazing amount about our past,

它們告訴了我們關於過去的大量資訊，

so at least we have that. 語氣意圖

所以至少我們還有這些。

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

即便如此，當我們想到在過去五億年裡可能存在過的所有無骨物種時，

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

即使我們竭盡全力去想像也顯得力不從心。

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

但是，根據骨骼來重新構想一些東西並不容易，

and so the way we envisage what dinosaurs actually looked like

因此，我們在過去幾年中對恐龍真實面貌的設想

has changed a lot in the last few years.

發生了很大變化。

In the past,

在過去，

many illustrations had a bony, minimalistic look

許多插圖都有著骨感、極簡的外觀，

with a toothy grin to signify fierceness and danger.

帶著露出牙齒的咧嘴笑，象徵著兇猛和危險。

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

但是，如果我們以類似的方式繪製今天的動物，

based on their skeletons,

僅僅為了好玩，

just for the fun of it, 片語搭配

根據牠們的骨骼，

we get the most bizarre creatures.

我們會得到最奇異的生物。

Elephants, swans, and baboons

大象、天鵝和狒狒

that look like monsters right out of nightmares. 慣用語

看起來就像是噩夢裡跑出來的怪物。

So, similar to animals today,

因此，與今天的動物相似，

we should imagine dinosaurs with much more soft tissue,

我們應該把恐龍想像成有著更多的軟組織，

fat bellies, or chests,

肥胖的肚子或胸部，

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

奇怪的柔軟部分，如皮瓣、嘴唇和牙齦，

and just more pronounced features

以及更加明顯的特徵，

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

使牠們看起來更像是討人喜歡的傢伙。

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

一些柔軟的特徵實際上會在骨骼上留下明顯的痕跡，

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

我們可以在滅絕動物的骨骼中尋找這些痕跡，

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

這就是今天具有類似特徵的動物真正能提供幫助的地方。

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

顏色也是同樣的情況。

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

因為我們知道現存鳥類的羽毛是什麼樣子，

modern technology combined with the exceedingly rare fossils 用詞

現代技術與極其罕見的、

with preserved remains of fuzzy feathers

保存了毛茸茸羽毛殘骸的化石相結合，

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

讓我們得以一窺滅絕恐龍的真實顏色。

We know that tiny Sinosauropteryx had a striped tail,

我們知道微小的中華龍鳥有著條紋狀的尾巴，

and its tiny dino buddy Anchiornis huxleyi was white and black

而牠的小恐龍夥伴赫氏近鳥龍是黑白相間的，

with gorgeous red feathers around its head.

頭部周圍有著絢麗的紅色羽毛。

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

儘管如此，對於絕大多數古老的滅絕物種而言，

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

我們實際上不知道牠們到底是什麼顏色。

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

但我們知道現代恐龍——鳥類長什麼樣，

and here we find the most amazing variety.

在這裡我們發現了最驚人的多樣性。

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

因此，一些恐龍會試圖融入背景中，

while others might have fielded aggressive color schemes 用詞

而另一些可能會使用具有攻擊性的顏色搭配

to attract mates or to appear dangerous.

來吸引配偶或讓自己顯得危險。

Some might have had impressive decorations or colorful beaks.

有些可能有令人印象深刻的裝飾或五顏六色的喙。

Some may have been striped or patterned.

有些可能是條紋或帶圖案的。

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

同樣地，我們對恐龍的行為也不甚了解，

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

雖然我們又一次可以從現存動物身上得出結論。

For example, even apex predators like lions

例如，即使是獅子這樣的頂級掠食者，

spend a lot of their time lying around 講解

也會花很多時間躺著，

and cuddling and licking each other and playing.

互相擁抱、舔舐和玩耍。

Why would dinosaurs be so different? 表達脈絡

恐龍怎麼會有那麼不同呢？

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

當我們第一次發現霸王龍的頭骨，看到牠巨大牙齒

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

以及可能是有史以來所有陸地動物中最強的咬合力時，

we imagined a fierce and stupid beast.

我們想像牠是一隻兇猛而愚蠢的野獸。

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

但現代掃描技術顯示，霸王龍的腦體比

than some earlier giant meat-eaters.

大於一些更早期的巨型食肉動物。

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

牠可能有非常敏銳的聽覺、視覺和嗅覺，

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

並且極有可能不是一種愚蠢的動物。

So, maybe T. rex was a cuddly fellow

所以，也許霸王龍是個惹人喜愛的小傢伙，

that spent a lot of time playing around

在不餓的時候，會花很多時間玩耍

or impressing potential mates when it was not hungry.

或者在潛在配偶面前表現自己。

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

同樣，雖然角龍科的角和頸盾可能讓牠們看起來天生就是戰士，

they were probably much more than that.

但牠們的作用可能遠不止於此。

Based on the behavior of modern animals

基於現代動物的行為

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

以及一些動物在交配時必須進行的複雜舞蹈，

maybe their shields were amazingly colorful.

也許牠們的頸盾非常色彩鮮豔。

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

也許牠像今天的許多鳥類一樣為配偶跳舞。

How intensely amazing these creatures must have been. 文法

這些生物一定是多麼令人驚嘆啊。

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

我們無法親身體驗牠們，對我們來說是多麼大的損失。

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

還有那麼多我們永遠無法了解牠們的事情，這是更大的損失，

and even more tragic,

而更可悲的是，

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

所有那些荒誕而美麗的生靈都消失得無影無蹤了。

But such is life. 慣用語

但生活就是如此。

Time marches on without any concern for our feelings, 慣用語

時間並不關心我們的感受而繼續前行，

and the past expands with every moment that passes.

過去隨著逝去的每一刻而不斷膨脹。

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

今天活著的大多數野生動物十之八九不會留下化石，

and also just disappear forever.

也會永遠消失。

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

不過，我們可以做點什麼。

Instead of accelerating the extinction we are witnessing, 文法

我們可以成為生命的守護者，在我們發現生命的地方保護它，

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

而不是加速我們正在目睹的滅絕。

If possible in the wild, 文法

如果可能的話在野外，

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

如果不可以，就在博物館、電影和我們的思想中。

Because as amazing as our imagination is, 文法

因為儘管我們的想像力令人驚嘆，

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

思考那些屬於未知的未知動物是多麼迷人，

it is even better to witness them in the present.

但在當下親眼見證牠們會更好。

The land that we actually inhabit,

這片我們實際居住的土地，

where we get to experience life as it happens. 講解

在這裡我們能夠體驗生命的發生。