Chat attack

footprint/ 脚印/ (jiǎo yìn)

A: I heard you like dinosaurs. Have you seen the news that came out of Zigong in Sichuan Province recently?

听说你是恐龙爱好者,你看最近发生在四川自贡的新闻了吗？

(tīnɡshuō nǐ shì kǒnɡlónɡ àihǎozhě, nǐkàn zuìjìn fāshēnɡ zài sìchuān zìɡònɡ de xīnwén le ma?)

B: I'm not clear on the details, but I do know that Zigong in Sichuan is the home to dinosaurs. Hurry up and tell me about it. 

我不清楚,但知道四川自贡是恐龙之乡,快讲给我听听吧。

(wǒ bù qīnɡchǔ, dàn zhīdào sìchuān zìɡònɡ shì kǒnɡlónɡ zhīxiānɡ, kuài jiǎnɡɡěi wǒ tīnɡtīnɡ bā.)

A: Recently they found a bunch of well-preserved dinosaur footprints there. Among them was a small dinosaur footprint only 10.2 millimeters in size.

最近在那里发现了一批保存良好的恐龙足迹,其中包括一个长仅10.2毫米的微小恐龙脚印。

(zuìjìn zài nàlǐ fāxiànle yīpī bǎocún liánɡhǎode kǒnɡlónɡ zújì, qízhōnɡ bāokuò yīɡè chánɡjǐn shidianer háomǐ de wēixiǎo kǒnɡlónɡ jiǎoyìn.)

B: So small? That's really hard to imagine. 

这么小？真是难以想象。

(zhèmexiǎo? zhēnshì nányǐ xiǎnɡxiànɡ.)

A: According to expert analysis these small footprints may reveal the early growth or very early growth trends of theropod dinosaurs. 

据专家分析,这些小脚印可能揭示了兽脚类恐龙的早成或超早成发育倾向。

(jù zhuānjiā fēnxī, zhèxiē xiǎo jiǎoyìn kěnénɡ jiēshìle shòujiǎolèi kǒnɡlónɡ de zǎochénɡ huò chāozǎochénɡ fāyù qīnɡxiànɡ.)

B: Really? I never heard of that. 

是吗？这我还真没听说过呢。

(shìma? zhè wǒhái zhēnméi tīnɡshuō ɡuò ne.)

Illustration: Liu Xidan/GT