Scientists recently announced the discovery of a small, bird-like dinosaur from China which had unusual, colorful feathers.
最近，一些科學家宣布，他們發現了一種來自中國的小型類鳥恐龍，羽毛罕見，色彩斑斕。
The scientists named the dinosaur Caihong, the Mandarin word for rainbow.They discovered the nearly complete and almost entirely undamaged fossil in Hebei Province.
他們給這種恐龍取名為彩虹(Caihong)，與普通話的彩虹兩字同音。他們在河北省發現了這種幾乎毫髮未傷的完整化石。
Microscopic structures in the fossil suggest that the creature had wide, shiny feathers.The feathers mostly covered the dinosaur’s head and upper body.The colors of those feather would have appeared to change depending on how the light hit them.
通過對該化石在顯微鏡下的觀察發現，這種恐龍的羽毛又寬又有光澤。這種恐龍的頭部和身體上部的大部分地方都長有這種羽毛。其羽毛的顏色會隨著照在他們身上的光的顏色而變換。
The colorful dinosaur lived 161 million years ago during the Jurassic Period of earth’s history.
這種彩虹龍生活在地球史上侏羅紀時期的1.61億年前。
Chad Eliason is an evolutionary biologist with the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois.He helped write the study announcing the discovery in the scientific publication Nature Communications.Eliason told the Reuters news service that the discovery 「suggests a more colorful Jurassic World than we previously imagined.」
查德·埃利亞松是伊利諾斯州菲爾德博物館的一名進化生物學家。他助力撰寫了這篇發現彩虹龍的研究，發表在科技出版物《自然通訊》上。埃利亞松在接受路透社採訪時表示，這次的發現「表明侏羅紀世界比我們之前想像的更加色彩斑斕。」
The scientists used powerful microscopes to identify the remains of the cell structures responsible for the apparent color of the feathers.The shape of those structures appears to have influenced what color the feathers would have.Round-shaped structures in the Caihong fossil show that it had feathers similar to that of a modern day hummingbird.
這些科學家用高倍顯微鏡找到了哪部分殘留的細胞結構是負責顯現羽毛顏色的。這些結構的形狀看起來影響了羽毛的顏色。這種彩虹龍中圓形的結構中含有與現代蜂鳥相似的羽毛。
Much of Caihong’s body had dark feathers.The shiny, color-changing feathers covered its head and neck.The dinosaur had many bird-like qualities.But researchers doubt that it could actually fly.
彩虹龍的身體上有很多地方都有深色的羽毛。這種色澤閃亮、顏色變換的羽毛在頭上和頸部都有。彩虹龍有很多特質與鳥類很像。但研究人員猜測，彩虹龍實際上是能飛的。
Its feathers could have served the purpose of gaining the attention of sexual partners while also providing protection from heat and cold.
它羽毛的作用可能是吸引性伴侶的注意，同時幫助他們抵禦炎熱和寒冷。
Caihong was two-legged and had a long, narrow head with sharp teeth.It had boney crests above its eyes, and it hunted other, smaller animals for food.
這種兩腳獸的頭又長又細，牙齒尖尖的。眼睛上面的嵴部很瘦，這種恐龍以捕獵其他小型動物為食。
Scientists say many dinosaurs had feathers.Birds evolved from small feathered dinosaurs near the end of the Jurassic Period.
一些科學家表示，很多恐龍都有羽毛。鳥類就是從侏羅紀末期一些有羽毛的小型恐龍進化來的。
Caihong had two kinds of feathers.It also is the earliest-known creature with feathers that did not have the same shape on both sides.This is a physical quality that modern birds have and use to direct themselves while flying.
彩虹龍有兩種羽毛，它也是目前所知最早出現的一種兩側羽毛不對稱的物種。這是一種現代鳥類才有的體徵，這種體徵有助於指引他們飛行。
The unevenly shaped feathers on Caihong were on its tail.This suggests that tail feathers, not arm feathers, were first used to improve movement through the air in flying dinosaurs, scientists said.
這種不對稱的羽毛長在彩虹龍的尾部。這表明，尾部的羽毛並非用於戰鬥的羽毛，其最初是用來提升恐龍的飛行情況，科學家這樣解釋道。
Xing Xu is a paleontologist with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.Xing Xu said, 「It is extremely similar to some early birds such as Archaeopteryx.」Archaeopteryx is the earliest known bird.It is believed to have lived 150 million years ago.
邢旭是中國科學院的一名古生物學家。他表示，「彩虹龍與一些早期的鳥類十分相似，比如始祖鳥。」始祖鳥是目前所知的最早出現的鳥類，據猜測生活在1.5億年前。
「To be honest, I am not sure what function the feathers have,」 Xing Xu added.「And I don’t think that you can completely exclude the possibility that the feathers helped the animal to get in the air.」
「說實話，我不是十分確定這些羽毛的功用，」邢旭補充道。「而且我覺得人類也無法完全排除羽毛可以幫助鳥類飛行的可能。」
The dinosaur’s full scientific name is Caihong juji, which means 「rainbow with a big crest.」
彩虹龍的完整學名是巨嵴彩虹龍，意思是「嵴部大大的彩虹龍。」
I’m Pete Musto.
皮特·馬斯託為您播報。