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People had been looking for this in a way ever since Darwin, ever since 1859.
可以说自从1859年，从达尔文开始，人们一直都在寻找这只动物
This transition is the one that so intrigued everybody going from the water to the land and no evidence of it
这种演化使所有人都很感兴趣，从水里到陆地上，但是没有一点证据
and then boom, they found it. Terribly, terribly exciting, really very, very important.
后来他们找到它了，就像一声惊雷，真的非常非常兴奋，非常非常重要
It fell to Jarvik to analyse and describe the new discovery.
Jarvik打算分析和详述这一新的发现
This meant years of digging the fossilised bones out of the rock
这意味着需要花上数年把骨骼化石从岩石中清理出来
and then trying to reconstruct the anatomy of this strange creature.
然后再尽可能重现这只奇怪生物的解剖结构
Jarvik was a brilliant anatomist, but he was also painstaking.
Jarvik是出色的解剖学家，可是他还是干得十分辛苦
He started in 1948, but did not finish until 1996.
他的工作开始于1948年，但直到1996年仍未结束
In those 48 years no one else was able to analyse the fossil.
在这整整48年中，其他人都没能研究这块化石
To be honest it shouldn't take that long I mean frankly.
老实说，他不应该拖得这么久，我是实话实说
I mean you have to be really sort of anal to take that long to describe anything,
花这么长时间分析一样东西的确有点说不过去，
especially when the world is just hanging on this.
尤其是全世界都在期盼。
But Jarvik did produce two preliminary papers. These did confirm that existing theory.
不过Jarvik还是发表了两篇初级论文，它们也证实了现行的理论
Ichthyostega was an Identikit land walking tetrapod with five fingers and toes.
鱼石螈被指认为一种具有四肢和五趾的陆行动物
The mystery of how we got our legs was solved.
我们如何长出腿的谜团终于解开了
After eusthenopteron the fish had struggled on its fins onto land.
真掌鳍鱼用鳍挣扎着爬上陆地后，
It had evolved into ichthyostega, the first tetrapod with legs.
它们进化成了鱼石螈，一种有腿的四足动物。
It was just as science had predicted.
这和科学家们的推测完全一致。
