听力文本

In many ways the late Jurassic is really the golden age of dinosaurs.
从许多方面来讲，晚侏罗世都可以算是恐龙的黄金时期
We have a tremendous diversity of different kinds of dinosaurs, meat-eaters and plant-eaters, forms with armour.
各种各样的恐龙种类非常之多，食肉恐龙、植食恐龙、有盔甲的恐龙
All around the world we see these dinosaurs.
世界各地都能见到这些恐龙
But it wasn't just the variety of dinosaurs that made this their golden age.
可是它成为恐龙的黄金时代并不只是因为种类繁多
The late Jurassic was also the era of the giants.
晚侏罗世还是巨龙的时代
We have dinosaurs of tremendous size, we have plant-eaters 40ft tall,
我们发现了体型极其庞大的恐龙，有40英尺高的植食恐龙
we have animals that must have weighed 50 or 60 tons,
有重达50～60吨的恐龙
so these are immense animals and they're everywhere.
所以那时有许多巨型恐龙，它们遍布世界各地

But the dinosaurs didn't start off like this.
不过恐龙刚登场时可不是这样
50 million years earlier in the early Jurassic they were very different.
在5亿年前的早侏罗世，它们非常不同
We have many fewer different kinds of dinosaurs, they're relatively primitive looking dinosaurs
恐龙的种类数非常少，它们是长相比较原始的恐龙
and compared to what we see in the late Jurassic, they're much less spectacular animals.
与晚侏罗世的那些恐龙相比，这些动物就相形见绌了
We don't see the sizes and shapes and diversities that we see at that time.
我们没有见到与这个时期一样的体型、模样和多样性
They're relatively dull looking animals compared to what we see later.
与我们后来见到的那些相比，这些动物显得很不起眼
And there was nothing to suggest that these early dinosaurs would grow and diversify to so completely dominate the planet for so long.
没有什么能解释这些早期恐龙如何壮大并多样化，成为长久以来地球上的霸主。

词汇解析

1.the variety of ……的多样性
The rise of monocultures has reduced the variety of their diets.
单一栽培的兴起减少了他们的饮食的多样性。

2.the era of ……的时代
The era of global computing is near. The change that it brings is going to be unbelievable.
全球计算的时代即将到来，而它带给世人的也将是难以置信的寰世之变。

3.for so long 长久以来
But it has been on my mind for so long, and I apologise if it is irrelevant to some readers.
但是它占据我的内心很久了。 如果它与一些读者没有关系，我向你们道歉。

视频及简介

没有哪种生物能像恐龙那样统治地球，但是恐龙的故事中却包藏着一个巨大的谜团，那就是它们如何称霸世界。