英语听力：2013-03-24 恐龙之战之极限生存 Extreme Survivors—3

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If you say Tyrannosaurus Rex, I think of gentleness. I think of superb motherhood and a struggle to raise one’s chicks. 

 

The dreaded¹ Tyrannosaurus Rex, it turns out, is one of the most nurturing² of all dinosaur³ parents.

 

It means taking care of the eggs, sticking around the nest, defending the nest and keeping track of its progress. 

 

Tyrannosaurus Rex means tyrant⁴ lizard⁵ king and this beast rules a world where physical traits more than intelligence determine winners and losers. But T-Rex has both superb biomechanics and by dinosaur standards, a sharp intellect.

 

It was the result of many, many millions of years of specialization for large body size, for focus on prey⁶, for sensory⁷ apparatus⁸ and for the ability to dispatch a large herbivore. 

 

With things like Tyrannosaur Rex, you have bigger brains; you have the option for a more complex behaviors, especially when it comes to parental⁹ care. 

 

For three month, an adult delicately guards the nest to ensure the survival of their youngsters and a continuation of their genes¹⁰. 

 

You’ve got to have somebody that’s very, very attentive¹¹ when these little things hatch. 

 

Inside the egg, the embryo¹² breathes in oxygen and exhales¹³ carbon-dioxide. The CO2 dissolves in fluid, making carbonic acid which will slowly weaken the shell. Before long, a meter-long T-Rex chick breaks free. 

 

You can imagine a T-Rex helping¹⁴ its young out of the shell, even with those big giant jaws¹⁵. 

 

The hatchling is tiny compared to its gigantic parents and it’s immediately under threat.

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