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 extinction of the dinosaurs was in no way related to an asteroid 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 crater 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 serene. 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 Alpine peaks or grinding glaciers, 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 geologist 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 Manure Management Plans, which all the state's "animal confinement operators", 你的大部分工作是评估全州的“幽禁动物工作者”，

　　hog 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 hogs 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。