人類獨特的“恐龍情結”

導讀：電影《侏羅紀世界2》的熱映再次掀起了一股恐龍熱。多年來，影視劇恐龍主題經久不衰。那么，為什么我們會對這一滅絕已久的遠古生物如此著迷呢？

Its no secret that kids love dinosaurs. Many of them have even gone through whats called a “dinosaur phase”—a period of time when they cant stop talking about dinosaurs， cant sleep without hearing a dinosaur bedtime story， and use a backpack with a dinosaur pattern on it.

眾所周知，孩子們都喜歡恐龍。許多孩子甚至還經歷過一段“恐龍時期”。在那段時間里，他們三句話不離恐龍，不聽恐龍的故事就睡不著覺，還要背印有恐龍圖案的書包。

Adults may have long grown out of their dinosaur phase， but somehow the appeal is still there.

對于成年人來說，那段恐龍時期可能已經很遙遠了，但恐龍的吸引力仍然以某種方式存在。

The proof is in the success of Steven Spielbergs 1993 film Jurassic Park， and every following installment of the series. And in Jurassic World： Fallen Kingdom these ancient beasts are taking over the modern world once again.

1993年由史蒂文·斯皮爾伯格執導的電影《侏羅紀公園》，以及后來的每部續集都大獲成功，就是最好的證明。而在《侏羅紀世界2：失落王國》中，這些遠古巨獸再一次席卷了現代世界。

National Geographic has an explanation behind the animals popularity： Dinosaurs are “where science and imagination meet”， which is probably what makes them so appealing， to kids and adults alike.

《國家地理》雜志解釋了恐龍大受歡迎的原因：恐龍處在“科學和想象的交匯處”，或許這便是它們對于男女老少都極具吸引力的原因。

Dinosaurs are often compared to dragons， but are seen as cooler because theyre real. The huge skeletons in museums prove their existence millions of years ago on the same Earth that we now live on. Meanwhile， new discoveries have been made in different parts of the world that open up a bigger picture of these ancient species. And how they went extinct is also a popular subject of scientific studies.

恐龍常常被拿來與龍作比較，但人們覺得恐龍更酷，因為它們曾真實存在。博物館里的巨型骨架證實了它們在數百萬年前就生活在我們當今居住的地球上。與此同時，全球各地關于這些遠古物種的新發現向人們展現了一幅更大的圖景。而它們如何滅絕也是科學研究中的一大熱門主題。

However， we still seem to know so little about dinosaurs， and have to rely on our imagination when it comes to questions like “How did they live？” “What did they sound like？” and “How fast could they run？”. Its this sense of mystery that adds to dinosaurs attraction compared to other fierce animals like lions and tigers—animals that can easily be seen in todays zoos.

然而，我們似乎仍對恐龍知之甚少，在面對諸如“它們如何生活？”“它們的叫聲是什么樣的？”以及“它們能跑多快？”這些問題時，我們只能依賴于想象力。和獅子、老虎等其他在動物園里輕易可見的猛獸相比，正是這種神秘感增加了恐龍的吸引力。

But theres more to this dinosaur appeal.

但恐龍的吸引力遠不止于此。

According to Guardian reporter Brian Switek， humans are fascinated by dinosaurs not just because were interested in their history， but also because were trying to have a better understanding of human history.

《衛報》記者布萊恩·斯維特克表示，人們對恐龍著迷的原因不光在于我們對它們的歷史感興趣，還因為我們設法更好地了解人類的歷史。

“Dinosaurs can be Hollywood monsters， objects of scientific fascination and everything in between， but at the root of it， our fascination with them stems from wanting to know more about the prehistory we share，” he wrote.

“恐龍可以是好萊塢式的怪獸，科幻魅力的主題，或者居于兩者之間的任何事物，但究其根源，我們對恐龍的著迷源于想更多地了解我們與恐龍共享的史前時代。”他寫道。

“The dinosaur story is part of our own.”

“恐龍的故事也是我們自己故事的一部分。”