正确答案:
【参考译文】
The compass was invented in China.
Two thousand years ago, during the Warring States Period (475 B.C.—221 B.C.) in China, the Chinese invented “Sinan”, an embryonic form of compass, which made use of the magnet’s property that it always orients itself north and South in the magnetic field of the earth. It was made of natural magnetic lodestone and it looked like a spoon with a hardness of 5.5—6.5. Its bottom was round and so it could spin freely on the tray on which it was placed. When the revolving spoon slowed down and came to a stop, its handle pointed to the south.
Nine hundred years ago, in the Northern Song Dynasty (960 A.D.—1127 A.D.), the Chinese made a thin iron sheet shaped like a fish, which was 7 cm in length and l.5 cm in breadth. It was heated red hot in a charcoal fire. The fish head was then gripped with a pair of tongs and the fish tail was turned to the direction of the magnetic field of the earth. The moving magnetic domain inside the hot fish was thus aligned in the same direction as the magnetic field of the earth. The magnetized fish was then put suddenly into cold water, thus fixing the magnetic field in the fish. Therefore, when the fish was floated on still water in a bowl, the head of the fish pointed to the south and the tail to the north. Over years, this fish-shaped device gradually evolved into the more simple and convenient form of an iron needle. To make it, a small needle was repeatedly rubbed on a piece of magnetite till it was magnetized. The more advanced compass was invented on the basis of it afterwards.
The compass was first invented and used by men who help people to determine whether the layout and the position of their homes and offices are in good relation to the environment. In the Northern Song Dynasty, it was used in navigation, therefore gaining a lasting life. Before that time, navigators determined directions by looking at the positions of the sun, the moon and the stars. This method was useful when the sky was clear. It was, however, difficult to ensure a navigator's destiny when the sky was overcast or rainy.
Ever since the use of the compass, navigation became much easier and for the navigators, it became indispensable. For example, Zheng He, the famous Chinese navigator in the Ming Dynasty, went seven times (1405 A.D.—1433 A.D.) to more than 30 countries in Asia and Africa by sea. Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas, and Ferdinand Magellan made a voyage around the world by sea. All of these voyages would not have been successful without making use of the compass.
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