Page 120 - 高职英语口语大赛辅导及教学创新

Tutoring and Teaching Innovation for Vocational English Speaking Competition
高职英语口语大赛辅导及教学创新

forerunner( 先驱者 )of the compass. Si Nan was a ladle-like magnet( 磁铁 )0n a plate
with the handle of the ladle pointing to the south. In the 11th century, tiny needles made
of magnetized steel were invented. One end of the needle( 指针 ) points north while the

other points south. The compass was created.
◇阅读参考：战国时期，一种叫“司南”的小装置成为了后来指南针的前身。
司南是一种把长柄汤勺似的磁铁放在一个光滑的盘子上而形成的小装置，利用磁
铁指南的作用，辨别方向。在 11 世纪，人们能够制作微型磁铁针了。用细小的

磁铁针做成的装置指针的一端指向北方，另一端则指向南方。此时，真正意义上
的罗盘被制造出来了。
Gunpowder 火药
In Chinese, gunpowder is called huoyao, meaning flaming medicine. Unlike

paper and printing, the birth of gunpowder was quite accidental( 偶然的 ).It was first
invented inadvertently by alchemists( 炼金术士 )while attempting to make an elixir
of immortality( 不朽、永生 ).It was a mixture of sulphur, saltpeter, and charcoal. At
the end of the Tang Dynasty, gunpowder was being used in military affairs. During the

Song and Yuan Dynasties, frequent wars spurred the development of cannons( 大炮 )，
and fire-arrows shot from bamboo tubes. In the 12th and 13th centuries, gunpowder
spread to the Arab countries, then Greece, other European countries, and finally all over
the world.

◇阅读参考：在中国，火药叫“huoyao"，意思是“燃烧的药品”。与造纸
术和印刷术不同，火药的发明是偶然的。炼丹师在尝试炼制长生不老药时，无意
间发明了火药。火药是硫磺、硝石和木炭的混合物。在唐朝末期，火药被用于军
事战争。宋元时期，连年战乱促进大炮的发明。12 至 13 世纪，火药被传到阿拉

伯国家、希腊及欧洲其他国家，最后传遍世界。
（十）中国故事·十二生肖 Chinese Zodiac Signs
十二生肖，又叫十二属相，是中国用来代表年份的十二种动物，即鼠、牛、
虎、兔、龙、蛇、马、羊、猴、鸡、狗、猪。生肖是悠久的民俗传统文化符号。

Shengxiao, better known as Chinese Zodiac signs in English, is a scheme, which
uses Twelve Earthly Branches and 12 animals to symbolize ( 象征 ) the year when a
person is born. The cycle of the Chinese Zodiac signs is every 12 years.

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