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Who Circled the World First 是谁首度环绕世界？

课文朗读

课文讲解 

繁體中文譯本

In 1421: The Year China Discovered America, the popular history by retired British submarine commander Gavin Menzies, the author suggests that it was Admiral Zheng He’s Ming Dynasty fleet which first circumnavigated the world – seventy years before Columbus. To boot, Zheng He’s expeditions alleged mapped the Americas, Antarctica, and the precise locations of the North and South Poles.

英国退休潜艇指挥官葛文孟西士在他的通俗历史著作「1421：中国发现美洲【注】中指出，明朝的郑和舰队首度环绕世界──比哥伦布还早70年。而且，宣称郑和远征队在地图上画出美洲、南极洲、以及北极南极的精确位置。

Menzies’s primary evidence for this extraordinary theory rests on his interpretation of a world map purportedly obtained by a Portuguese prince in 1428 that may have been based on a Chinese map. Given this and many other tenuous chains of evidence supporting Menzies’s theory, most scholars have rejected his claims as unfounded. An Oxford professor of history quipped: “He’s put five gallons in a half-pint pot.”

孟西士这项惊人理论的主要证据来自于他对一份地图的解读，这份地图据称是改绘自中国人的地图而由葡萄牙王子在1428年取得。即使孟西士的理论有前述论点及其他一连串尚待求证的证据来支撑，大部分的学者认为他的论述基础薄弱。一位牛津历史教授嘲讽说：「他把五加仑的东西装到半品脱的罐子里。」

Despite scholarly skepticism, Menzies’s book has become a best-seller worldwide. Its popularity is due partly to the public’s love of a great comeuppance, but also rests on a great deal of accepted archeological evidence that does suggest pre-Columbian contact between the New World and Old World.

尽管学者持怀疑态度，孟西士的书热销全世界。这本书的热卖除了部分是因为大众喜欢看到强势西方得到报应，主要也是有许多的考古证据显示早于哥伦布之前新旧世界已有交流。

When considered in light of Helge Ingstad – Norwegian amateur who, in 1961, discovered an eleventh-century Viking settlement in Newfoundland, Canada – we must accept that amateurs sometimes rewrite the history books. Nevertheless, Menzies may still well be a kook.

以赫吉英格斯泰德的例子来看──他是挪威籍的业余人士，于1961年在加拿大的纽芬兰发现11世纪的维京人殖民地──我们不得不接受业余人士有时会改写历史书。然而，孟西士仍可说是个奇人。

【注】：本书在不同国家有不同的名称，在台湾出版的书名为1421：The Year China Discovered the World，中文书名为「1421：中国发现世界」。

Vocabulary

单词发音

admiral [ˋædmərəl] n. 舰队司令

circumnavigate [͵sɝkəmˋnævə͵get] v. 绕一周；环航

to boot 【古】除此以外; 再者 in addition; besides; in view of

expedition [͵ɛkspɪˋdɪʃən] n. 远征队；探险队；考察队

purportedly [pɝˋpɔrtɪdlɪ] adv. 据称地

tenuous [ˋtɛnjʊəs] adj. 薄弱的; 无力的

unfounded [ʌnˋfaʊndɪd] adj. 没有事实根据的，无理由的

skepticism [ˋskɛptəsɪzəm] n. 怀疑的态度

comeuppance [kʌmˋʌpəns] n.【口】报应，罪有应得

archeological [͵ɑrkɪəˋlɑdʒɪk!] adj. 考古学的

in light of preposition  按照,根据  because of, considering,

amateur [ˋæmə͵tʃʊr] n.（科学，艺术，运动等的）业余从事者

kook [kuk] n.【美】【口】怪人；疯子；傻瓜

Sentence of the Day

Menzies’s book is rocking the boat.

孟西士的书提出历史新解，动摇历史学者的地位。

rock the boat【口】(做某事从而)使局面失去平衡

课文讲解

Janet meets her friend Andrew, who’s reading 1421, in a library coffee shop:  珍奈特和她正在读「1421」的朋友安渚在图书馆的咖啡店碰面：

J: What do you think of that book? I was online recently looking at Menzies’s website. He’s trying to collate scattered evidence to prove his case.

你觉得这本书怎样？我最近上了孟西士的网站【注】看看。他正试着校勘散落的证据来证明他的论述。

A: Well, the burden of proof certainly rests with Menzies – and he’s still carrying that weight. At the very least, it’s an entertaining description of life on Chinese ships.

嗯，他的确有责任提出证据──直到现在他的责任还是很重。至少，他对中国船舰上的生活所做的描述是满有趣的。

J: From The Washington Post review I read, Menzies’s scholarship is questionable. He wrote that Zheng He’s fleet used flat-bottomed boats; if he’d read any primary Chinese accounts, he’d have known that’s untrue.

我在华顿邮报所读到的书评说，孟西士的学术地位令人质疑。他写说郑和舰队用平底船；如果他有读过主要的中国历史说法，就会知道那是不正确的。

A: Sure, his evidence is patchy. But the early fifteenth century maps he presents do appear to show that European cartographers knew about islands along the east coast of North America.

的确，他的证据东拼西凑。不过他提出的十五世纪初的地图的确显示出，欧洲制图师知道沿着北美洲东岸的一些岛屿。

J: Europeans were dreaming about faraway islands in the Atlantic long before they found any, and early mapmakers often embellished their works based solely on imagination. Recall the sixth –century legends of Saint Brendan.

欧洲人早在他们有任何发现之前，就一直梦想着遥远大西洋上的岛屿，而早期的制图者纯以想象来装饰他们的地图。还记得第六世纪修士圣布伦丹的传说吧。

A: Menzies isn’t alone, though. A loose-knit movement called diffusionism suggests there was extensive New World contact before Columbus.

不过，孟西士并不孤单。一个称为传播主义而组织不很严谨的运动指出，在哥伦布之前已有许多接触过新世界的事例。

J: That’s true. But Viking settlements aside, many scholars believe Europeans or Asians might have visited the Americas before Columbus, but no solid evidence exists.

没错。但撇开维京人的殖民地不谈，很多学者相信欧洲人或亚洲人或许在哥伦布之前就到访过南北美洲，只不过没有确凿的证据。

A: We’ll have to wait and see what turns up.

我们得等看看有什么新发现。

【注】：目前绝大多数的书评与读者响应支持「1421」这本书作者的胆识与前瞻性。有关本书、作者、以及最新考据的网站，请上http://www.1421.tv

－by Charles Leary & Iain Ferguson

Vocabulary

单词发音

collate [kəˋlet] v. 校对，核对

burden of proof【律】提供证据之责任

account [əˋkaʊnt] n. 记述，描述；报导

patchy [ˋpætʃɪ] adj. 不完整的﹐零零碎碎的

cartographer [kɑrˋtɑgrəfɚ] n. 制图师

faraway [ˋfɑrəˋwe] adj. 遥远的，远方的

embellish [ɪmˋbɛlɪʃ] v. 美化；装饰

loose-knit [ˌlusˈnɪt] adj. 松散的

diffusionism [dɪf'fjuʒənɪzəm] n. 扩散主义; 传播论

turn up 出现, 被发现  to happen unexpectedly

Sentence of the Day

It’s not plain sailing yet for Menzies’s bold theory.

孟西士的大胆理论尚不能一帆风顺。

plain sailing  一帆风顺

'Zheng He' - The Great Voyager 1405-1433 AD