4 Pterosaur terror

Chapter Four PTEROSAUR TERROR The wind blew, shaking the conifer. The egg wobbled, but stayed tucked into the crook of the branch. It was a little smaller than a hen's egg. "This isn't good," Tamiko said. She scanned the sky. "If the mother doesn't come back, the egg will be in trouble." The Allosauruses prowled on through the

风吹着，把针叶树吹得摇摇晃晃。 蛋摇晃了一下，但仍然塞在树枝的弯曲处。 它比鸡蛋还小一点。 “这可不妙，”多美子说。 她扫视天空。“如果妈妈不回来，蛋就有麻烦了。” 异特龙在树林中徘徊

conifers. Tamiko and Cheng listened as the sound of cracking branches grew quieter. When the Allosauruses were far enough away, they settled close to the mouth of the cave to keep watch for the Archaeopteryx. The cave went completely dark as a huge leathery wing blocked out the light. Tamiko and Cheng drew back. It was Ramphorynchus, another type of pterosaur –a massive one! It landed on a branch in front of the cave mouth, which groaned and buckled beneath its weight. It flapped its gigantic wings to keep its balance.

松柏。多美子和程听着树枝折断的声音渐渐安静下来。 当异特龙离得足够远时，它们就在靠近洞口的地方安顿下来，监视始祖鸟。 一个巨大的革质翅膀挡住了光线，山洞里一片漆黑。 多美子和程退了回去。 这是另一种翼龙——巨大的翼龙！它落在洞口前的一根树枝上，洞口在它的重压下呻吟着弯曲了。 它拍打着巨大的翅膀保持平衡。

Tamiko laughed at the astonished look on Cheng's face. "It's… so… huge," he said. "The biggest pterosaur fossil ever found was from an animal called Quetzalcoatlus. It had a wingspan of eleven metres from tip to tip," she said. "Quetzalcoatlus was the largest flying creature ever!" EVER… EVER… EVER echoed the cave. The pterosaur's head swung round towards the noise. It stared into the cave mouth – straight at Tamiko and Cheng. "It's seen us," said Cheng, shuffling backwards as quickly as he could. The large pterosaur swooped down from the branch and dive-bombed the cave mouth, snapping its long

多美子看着程脸上惊讶的表情笑了起来。 “这……太……大了，”他说。 “迄今为止发现的最大的翼龙化石来自一种叫做风神翼龙的动物。 它的翼展有11米，”她说。 “风神翼龙是有史以来最大的飞行生物！”永远……永远……永远回荡在山洞里。 那只翼龙的头朝着声音的方向一转。 它盯着洞口——直盯着多美子和程。 “它看到我们了，”程说着，尽可能快地向后挪动。 那只大翼龙从树枝上猛扑下来，向洞口俯冲，咬断了长长的

beak. Tamiko felt the brush of a leathery wing tip against her leg as she scrambled back into the cave. "Whoa!" she gasped. The pterosaur screeched and swooped again. Its massive wings clattered against the rockface as it tried to fit inside the cave. Tamiko and Cheng huddled at the back. Tamiko's heart was racing, but she couldn't help gazing at the pterosaur in awe. I can't believe I'm this close to an actual living one! she thought. Inside its long, snapping beak she could see teeth.

喙。当她爬回洞穴时，多美子感觉到一只皮革状的翅膀尖擦过她的腿。 “哇！”她喘着气说。翼龙尖叫着再次俯冲。 当它试图钻进洞穴时，巨大的翅膀拍打着岩石表面。 多美子和程挤在后面。 多美子的心跳加速，但她还是忍不住敬畏地盯着那只翼龙。 真不敢相信我离一只活生生的狼就这么近了！她想。 在它那又长又脆的喙里，她可以看到它的牙齿。

"We've got to make it go away," Cheng said. "Otherwise we'll be stuck in this stinky cave forever!" Tamiko sniffed. "You're right, it does stink. And it's not just the Allosaurus poo…" Then she remembered! She put her hand into her pocket and pulled out a handful of ginkgo fruits. "I've got an idea…" Pulling back her arm, Tamiko lobbed the yellow fruit as far as she could. It sailed away into the conifers. With a shriek, the pterosaur soared after the fruit and disappeared into the trees.

“我们必须让它消失，”程说。 “否则我们就永远被困在这个臭洞里了！”Tamiko闻了闻。 “你说得对，确实很臭。 而且不只是异特龙的便便……”然后她想起来了！她把手伸进口袋，掏出一把银杏。 “我有个主意……”多美子把手臂往后一拉，把黄色的水果扔到尽可能远的地方。 它飘进针叶树里去了。 随着一声尖叫，翼龙追着果实飞了起来，消失在树林里。

"Nice one," said Cheng, sounding a little shaky. "Let's take a closer look at the egg." They hurried over to the Archaeopteryx's conifer. The egg was still sitting safely on its branch. Cheng shaded his eyes as he looked up at the sky. "I can't see the mother anywhere," he said. The egg gave a funny shiver. Tamiko peered more closely at it. Maybe it's about to hatch, she thought with a rush of excitement.

“不错，”程说，声音有些颤抖。 “让我们仔细看看这只蛋。” 他们急忙跑到始祖鸟的针叶树那里。 蛋还安然地躺在树枝上。 程抬头望着天空，遮住了眼睛。 “我哪儿都找不到孩子的妈妈，”他说。 蛋滑稽地颤抖了一下。 多美子更仔细地看了看。 也许它就要孵化了，她兴奋地想。