Running into a Tyrannosaurus rex in the wild would have been a truly frightening thing for just about any animal that roamed the Earth between 65 million and 80 million years ago, and for an obvious reason. The mighty meat-eater was huge and had a mouth built to turn bones into powder. If it snagged you with its jaws, you were probably going to have a bad time, but nobody was afraid of its puny little arms … or were they?

　　对于任何生活在6500万到8000万年前的地球上的动物来说，在野外遇到霸王龙是一件非常可怕的事情，原因很明显：这只巨大的食肉动物体形庞大，它的嘴巴能把骨头变成粉末。如果它用下颚咬住了你，你可能会很痛苦，但没人会害怕它的小胳膊……真的是这样吗?

　　As Live Science reports, a new study presented at a recent meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology took a close look at how T-Rex’s arms would have functioned, and it makes some bold predictions.

　　正如《生活科学》报道的，在最近一次脊椎动物古生物学会议上陈述的一项新研究仔细观察了霸王龙的手臂是如何工作的，并做出了一些大胆的预测。

　　Just how T-Rex used its arms and for what purpose has been hotly debated for years. Some believe the arms didn’t do much of anything, while others have suggested that the tiny limbs flailed wildly with sharp claws that could have seriously injured prey or foes.

　　霸王龙是如何使用它的手臂的，出于什么目的，这一直是人们多年热议的话题。一些人认为手臂没有什么作用，而另一些人则认为这些细小的前肢疯狂地挥舞着锋利的爪子时，会严重伤害猎物或敌人。

　　This latest round of research approaches things from a different angle, seeking to determine the range of movement of the arms as a clue to their usefulness. The researchers studied the limbs of two distant modern relatives, the alligator and the turkey, for hints. What the team concluded is that the T-Rex could likely have turned its hands inward if it wanted to and it may have used its arms to hold prey in place or pull it closer

　　最新一轮的研究从一个不同的角度来研究真相，试图确定手臂的运动范围，作为手臂有用的线索。研究人员研究了鳄鱼和火鸡这两种霸王龙现代远亲的四肢，以寻找线索。研究小组得出的结论是，如果霸王龙愿意的话，它的手很可能会向内弯曲，它可能会用手臂将猎物固定在适当的位置或将猎物拉得更近。

　　The idea here is that the T-Rex knew its jaws were its most potent weapon and so it used its arms to keep prey at the perfect biting distance. We’ll of course never know for sure unless we could somehow watch a T-Rex or similar upright carnivore find a meal, but the researchers are confident in what the fossils and modern animals tell them about how the dinosaur could move its limbs.

　　这儿的看法是霸王龙知道它的下颚是最有力的武器，所以它用手臂将猎物固定在完美的撕咬距离。当然，除非我们能以某种方式观察到霸王龙或类似直立食肉动物这样捕食的，否则我们永远无法确定。但研究人员通过对化石和现代动物的研究，很确信恐龙就是这样使用前肢的。