万物简史 第281期:砰!(16)

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　　even while conceding in a newspaper interview that he had no actual evidence of it. 即使他在一次记者采访中承认，他拿不出真凭实据。

　　As late as 1988 more than half of all American paleontologists contacted in a survey 直到1988年，在接受一次调查的美国古生物学家当中，

　　continued to believe that the extinction² of the dinosaurs³ was in no way related to an asteroid⁴ or cometary impact. 半数以上依然认为恐龙的灭绝跟小行星或彗星撞击毫无关系。

　　The one thing that would most obviously support the Alvarezes' theory was the one thing they didn't have—an impact site. 有一样最明显地可以支持阿尔瓦雷斯父子理论的东西，正是反对者们缺少的一样东西──一个撞击现场。

　　Enter Eugene Shoemaker. 尤金·苏梅克出场了。

　　Shoemaker had an Iowa connection—his daughter-in-law taught at the University of Iowa, 苏梅克在艾奥瓦有个关系──他的儿媳在艾奥瓦大学任教，

　　and he was familiar with the Manson crater⁵ from his own studies. 他通过自己的研究很熟悉曼森大坑。

　　Thanks to him, all eyes now turned to Iowa. 多亏了他，大家的目光现在转向艾奥瓦。

　　Geology is a profession that varies from place to place. 地质学这个职业各地不一样。

　　In Iowa, a state that is flat and stratigraphically uneventful, it tends to be comparatively serene⁶. 艾奥瓦是个地势平坦、地层毫无特色的州。因此，相对而言，艾奥瓦的地质工作往往风平浪静。

　　There are no Alpine⁷ peaks or grinding glaciers⁸, no great deposits of oil or precious metals, not a hint of a pyroclastic flow. 这里没有高耸的山峰或滑动的冰河，没有石油或贵重金属的大量储备，没有岩浆奔流的迹象。

　　If you are a geologist⁹ employed by the state of Iowa, 如果你是艾奥瓦州聘用的一名地质学家，

　　a big part of the work you do is to evaluate Manure¹⁰ Management Plans, which all the state's "animal confinement¹¹ operators", 你的大部分工作是评估全州的“幽禁动物工作者”，

　　hog¹² farmers to the rest of us—are required to file periodically. 即猪场主──被要求定期提供的“肥料管理计划”。

　　There are fifteen million hogs¹³ in Iowa, so a lot of manure to manage.  艾奥瓦州养了1500万头猪，因此有大量的肥料需要管理。

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