在人类出现以前，恐龙就灭绝了，所以没人吃过恐龙肉。但是科学家可以从恐龙的后代和近亲入手，推测出恐龙肉的味道。
What dinosaur meat tasted like
by Lauren Kent
Humans never walked the Earth alongside dinosaurs – but if we had, undoubtedly we would have tried to barbecue a velociraptor（迅猛龙）. Or perhaps roast some T. rex.
alongside /əˌlɒŋˈsaɪd/ prep. 和…一起
dinosaur /ˈdaɪnəsɔː(r)/ n. 恐龙
undoubtedly /ʌnˈdaʊtɪdli/ adv. 毫无疑问地
barbecue /ˈbɑːbɪkjuː/ v. （在烤架上）烧烤
T. rex 霸王龙（这里指霸王龙的肉）
Of course we have no way of knowing if dinosaurs would have been a delicacy（美味佳肴） or a disgusting dish to be served to unwelcome dinner guests. But scientists do know that modern-day birds are descendants of dinosaurs – evolving over millions of years to lose their teeth and grow beaks.
disgusting /dɪsˈɡʌstɪŋ/ adj. 令人厌恶的
modern-day 当今的
descendant /dɪˈsend(ə)nt/ n. 后代
evolve /ɪˈvɒlv/ v. 进化
beak /biːk/ n. 鸟嘴、喙
In one study, scientists at Yale and Harvard were actually able to alter chicken embryos to grow the snouts（口鼻部） of velociraptors rather than beaks. That prompted us to wonder: If it's possible to create a dinosaur-chicken in a lab, would dinosaurs have tasted like chicken?
Yale 指耶鲁大学
Harvard 指哈佛大学
alter /ˈɒltə(r)/ v. 修改
embryo /ˈembriəʊ/ n. 胚胎
prompt /prɒmpt/ v. 促使
Well, not exactly. Dinosaurs were strong, formidable animals, explains Bhart-Anjan Bhullar, assistant professor of Vertebrate Paleontology and Zoology at Yale. Based on the velociraptor claw（脚爪） specimens that scientists have preserved, Bhullar speculates they would taste more like birds of prey, such as hawks or eagles.
formidable /fɔːˈmɪdəb(ə)l/ adj. 令人生畏的
assistant professor 助理教授（比副教授低一级）
based on 基于
specimen /ˈspesɪmɪn/ n. 样本
preserve /prɪˈzɜːv/ v. 妥善保存
speculate /ˈspekjuleɪt/ v. 推测
prey /preɪ/ n. 猎物（bird of prey意思是捕食猎物的鸟）
hawk /hɔːk/ n. 鹰
eagle /ˈiːɡ(ə)l/ n. 鹰（hawk和eagle是不同种类的鹰）
So what would a hawk taste like? Exotic meat enthusiasts（爱好者） say it would be similar to turkey, but more gamey（有野味的） because hawks are carnivores（食肉动物）.
exotic /ɪɡˈzɒtɪk/ adj. 稀奇古怪的
turkey /ˈtɜːki/ n. 火鸡
Of course, the taste of any meat is affected by the animal's muscle composition and what it eats. A swift-moving velociraptor needs fast-twitch muscle fibers, which are associated with white meat. But not all dinosaurs were similar to velociraptors – some were herbivores（食草动物）, some were land-dwelling and some looked far less frightening.
affect /əˈfekt/ v. 影响
muscle /ˈmʌs(ə)l/ n. 肌肉
composition /ˌkɒmpəˈzɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 成分
swift /swɪft/ adj. 迅速的
twitch /twɪtʃ/ v. 抽搐（这里指肌肉收缩）
fiber /ˈfaɪbə(r)/ n. 纤维
associate /əˈsəʊsieɪt/ v. 相关、关联
dwell /dwel/ v. 居住、栖息
frightening /ˈfraɪt(ə)nɪŋ/ adj. 吓人的
Since dinosaurs are reptiles, Bhullar suggests that other primitive dinosaurs might taste similar to crocodiles, which share a common ancestor with dinosaurs.
reptile /ˈreptaɪl/ n. 爬行动物
suggest /səˈdʒest/ v. 提出
primitive /ˈprɪmɪtɪv/ adj. 原始的、早期的
crocodile /ˈkrɒkədaɪl/ n. 鳄鱼
ancestor /ˈænsestə(r)/ n. 祖先
As far as the flavor of crocodile is concerned, Paul Cook, the owner of exotic meat company Osgrow, said it looks and tastes like a pork chop. "It's got that golden brown color on the outside. And you'd need a proper knife and fork to eat it," Cook said. "People think it will taste like fish because it's been in water. It's more like pork, but you sort of know it's been in water. It's definitely not chicken."
as far as something is concerned 就某事物而言
flavor /ˈfleɪvə(r)/ n. 滋味、风味
pork /pɔːk/ n. 猪肉
chop /tʃɒp/ n. 排骨
sort of 有点儿
But the meat of dinosaurs' more simple evolutionary descendants – chickens and other small birds like pigeons and ground dwelling fowl（家禽） – shouldn't be discounted. "The things that survived the great extinction were these tiny creatures – similar to a chicken," Bhullar explained. In fact, a 2007 study in the journal Science revealed that some protein sequences from a T. rex fossil closely resembled the protein sequences found in a chicken.
evolutionary /ˌiːvəˈluːʃ(ə)n(ə)ri/ adj. 进化的（由evolution加后缀-ary变成形容词）
pigeon /ˈpɪdʒən/ n. 鸽子
discount /dɪˈskaʊnt/ v. 认为…不重要、低估
survive /səˈvaɪv/ v. 生存、存活
extinction /ɪkˈstɪŋkʃ(ə)n/ n. 灭绝
creature /ˈkriːtʃə(r)/ n. 生物
journal /ˈdʒɜːn(ə)l/ n. 期刊
reveal /rɪˈviːl/ v. 揭示
protein /ˈprəʊtiːn/ n. 蛋白质
sequence /ˈsiːkwəns/ n. 序列
fossil /ˈfɒs(ə)l/ n. 化石
resemble /rɪˈzemb(ə)l/ v. 跟…很像
So depending on the dinosaur, maybe it would make for a delicious BBQ after all. And Cook is sure the meat would fly off the shelves. "If anyone could produce dinosaur meat, I'm sure I could sell that," Cook said. "People will buy it just to try it."
depend on 取决于
delicious /dɪˈlɪʃəs/ adj. 好吃的、美味的
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