人类独特的“恐龙情结”

导读：电影《侏罗纪世界2》的热映再次掀起了一股恐龙热。多年来，影视剧恐龙主题经久不衰。那么，为什么我们会对这一灭绝已久的远古生物如此着迷呢？

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.

众所周知，孩子们都喜欢恐龙。许多孩子甚至还经历过一段“恐龙时期”。在那段时间里，他们三句话不离恐龙，不听恐龙的故事就睡不着觉，还要背印有恐龙图案的书包。

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

对于成年人来说，那段恐龙时期可能已经很遥远了，但恐龙的吸引力仍然以某种方式存在。

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·斯皮尔伯格执导的电影《侏罗纪公园》，以及后来的每部续集都大获成功，就是最好的证明。而在《侏罗纪世界2：失落王国》中，这些远古巨兽再一次席卷了现代世界。

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.

《国家地理》杂志解释了恐龙大受欢迎的原因：恐龙处在“科学和想象的交汇处”，或许这便是它们对于男女老少都极具吸引力的原因。

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.

恐龙常常被拿来与龙作比较，但人们觉得恐龙更酷，因为它们曾真实存在。博物馆里的巨型骨架证实了它们在数百万年前就生活在我们当今居住的地球上。与此同时，全球各地关于这些远古物种的新发现向人们展现了一幅更大的图景。而它们如何灭绝也是科学研究中的一大热门主题。

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，我們似乎仍对恐龙知之甚少，在面对诸如“它们如何生活？”“它们的叫声是什么样的？”以及“它们能跑多快？”这些问题时，我们只能依赖于想象力。和狮子、老虎等其他在动物园里轻易可见的猛兽相比，正是这种神秘感增加了恐龙的吸引力。

But theres more to this dinosaur appeal.

但恐龙的吸引力远不止于此。

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.

《卫报》记者布莱恩·斯维特克表示，人们对恐龙着迷的原因不光在于我们对它们的历史感兴趣，还因为我们设法更好地了解人类的历史。

“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.

“恐龙可以是好莱坞式的怪兽，科幻魅力的主题，或者居于两者之间的任何事物，但究其根源，我们对恐龙的着迷源于想更多地了解我们与恐龙共享的史前时代。”他写道。

“The dinosaur story is part of our own.”

“恐龙的故事也是我们自己故事的一部分。”