When the ancestors of giraffes acquired mutations that made their necks longer, for instance, they did not have to evolve a whole new blueprint for making necks.

例如，长颈鹿的祖先获得了使脖子增长的突变，并非说它们针对脖子发育制定了新蓝图。

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In making this transition, animals hung on to the same switch arrangement and the same sets of regulators used by the ancestors, but they added a splendid additional idea.

在这个变化过程中，动物继续选择祖先使用开关排列和调控器，但是他们加入了一个非常好的创意。

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Standing up on their hind legs allowed our ancestors to fight with the strength of their forelimbs, making punching much more dangerous.

此外，专家还说，我们祖先在进化到二足动物时期的时候，凭借着“后肢动物”的优势更容易打败“前肢动物”，因为从上至下出拳力量会更大。

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The book will displease the noisy revisionists who want to play down the role of Europe in making us what we are -- even if our ancestors came from Africa or Asia.

FORBES: A chat with J.M. Roberts