Vocabulary from the first part of Jurassic Park:
1. archaeobiology: the study of ancient living things
2. a dig: an sectioned off area where archaeologists dig for fossils
3. velociraptor: a dinosaur that was very fast and vicious
4. a pack hunter: an animal that hunts in packs, cooperating with the other members of the group to capture and kill the prey.
5. 6-inch retractable claw: 6 inches = 15.5 cm ; a retractable claw is a pointed, usually curved claw on an animal’s paw; the claw can be retracted or drawn back into the structure of the paw. For example, cats have retractable claws but dogs do not.
6. paleobotanist: a scientist who studies ancient plant material
7. biological preserve: a zoo; a protected area set aside to preserve different species of animals.
8. outside opinions: opinions from people who are not part of the organization seeking the opinions. external opinions
9. the top minds: the best thinkers; the best scientists
10. to sign off (on something): to give formal, written approval to or permission to do something. “If you could sign off on the park” means “if you could give written approval for us to go ahead with plans for opening the park.”
11. right up your alley: perfectly suited to you
12. to stand by: to be ready; to have someone standing by means to have someone ready to do something
13. chaos theory: a scientific theory that states that all things finally will be reduced to chaos.
14. a crazy son of a bitch (slang; usually considered rude): a crazy person
15. T-rex: Tyrannosaurus Rex; a large carnivorous dinosaur; the name means King of the Terrible Lizards
16. a herd: a group of animals (e.g., a herd of cows)
17. living biological attractions: exhibits or attractions at the park that are actually alive
18. DNA: dioxyribosenucleic acid; the building blocks of life
19. fossilized tree sap: the liquid from the inside of a tree that has turned hard and become a fossil
20. amber: fossilized tree sap, usually a yellow, green, or light brown colour
21. sophisticated: high-level (sophisticated techniques)
22. unfertilized egg: an egg that has not been fertilized, that is, will not grow a new individual of the species
23. life will not be contained: life will always find a way to get out and reproduce
24. raptors: velociraptors
25. 50-60 miles an hour: 80-92 kilometres an hour
26. problem-solving abilities: abilities to solve problems; here, the velociraptors are said to have the ability to work together to figure things out and to solve problems.
27. to spare no expense: to not be concerned about how much something costs; to spend as much as is necessary.
28. lack of humility before nature: arrogance or pride of people in dealing with nature, which is very powerful
29. inherent: inborn; natural
30. stood on the shoulders of geniuses: to stand on the shoulders of geniuses means to use the knowledge and discoveries that other people have made.
31. condors: a large bird of prey native to warm climates
32. nature selected them for extinction: if an animal is not strong enough or fast enough to survive, then eventually it will die out and become extinct.
33. we’re all running to catch up: to run to catch up implies that we are not quite up-to-date on a situation and so we have to make an extra hard effort to find out the situation.
34. blood-sucking lawyer: this is a metaphor; the lawyer is compared to a leech, a type of small water animal that attaches to other animals or humans in the water and sucks their blood, that is, kills them.
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