史前的霸主

有人问我：“你最喜欢的动物是什么？”的话，我的回答就是“猫”。不过八九岁的我就会斩钉截铁地回答“恐龙”。和大多数男孩子一样，在我看来，恐龙很有气派，酷极了。它们确实是天下的霸主。简而言之，恐龙给我留下了深刻印象。不过随着我年龄的增长，对恐龙的钦佩被学业、工作、金钱、爱情和健康等的追求取代了。我没空沉溺于恐龙周围的神秘事物。它们从我的世界中消失了。可以说，它们仿佛第二次灭绝了。

几天前，我看了一段讲述恐龙末日的视频。我一直以为恐龙的灭绝是由不断的流星雨引起的，然而根据那段视频，状况并没有那么简单。新的研究指出，第一颗流星砸在地球之前，恐龙们已经遭受了大量的灾害。比如，火山爆发释放出的熔岩和有毒气体、极端不稳定的气候和浮游生物数量减少导致海洋食物链中断。流星就是决定性的打击而已。

看完视频后，我感到郁郁闷闷。这个世界对我曾经最爱的动物太残酷了。不过在视频里有让我感到安慰的句话：恐龙已征服了地球超过 1.5 亿年，是地球的最成功的动物之一。称号《天下的霸主》它们当之无愧。

The Prehistoric Rulers

If someone asks me, "What is your favorite animal?" my answer would be "cats". However, if I was eight or nine, I would firmly answer, "dinosaurs". Like most boys, I thought dinosaurs were grand and super cool. They were truly the rulers of the world. To put it simply, dinosaurs left a deep impression on me. However, as I grew older, my admiration for them was replaced by pursuits like academics, work, money, love, and health. I no longer had the time to indulge in the mysteries surrounding dinosaurs. They disappeared from my world. You could say it was as if they went extinct a second time.

A few days ago, I watched a video about the extinction of dinosaurs. I had always thought that their demise was primarily due to a relentless barrage of meteors. However, according to the video, the situation was more complex. New research suggests that before the first meteor hit Earth, dinosaurs had already suffered a series of catastrophes. For example, toxic gasses and lava released by volcanic eruptions, extremely unstable climate, and disruption of the marine food chain due to the dwindling population of plankton. The meteors were just the final blow.

After watching the video, I felt a bit depressed. The world was very cruel to the animals I once loved the most. Nevertheless, there was one comforting line in the video: Dinosaurs had conquered the world for over 150 million years, making them one of the most successful animals on Earth. The title "Rulers of the World" is well deserved for them.