ABOUT this same time that Marc Pl returned frm his travels， peple in Eurpe began t hear and talk abut a magic needle and a magic pwder that did remarkable things， and sme said that Marc brught them back frm Cathay， but nw we knw that it was Arab sailrs wh carried manyf the wndrus things frm China t the Mediterranean， where Eurpeans learnedf them.
nef these wnderful things was a little magic needle. The little magic needle， when flatedn a strawr held upnly at its middle， wuld always turn twards the nrth n matter hw much yu twisted it. Such a needle put in a case was called a cmpass.
Now， yu may nt see why such a little thing was s remarkable. But strange as it may seem， this little thing really made it pssible t discver a new wrld.
Perhaps yu have played the game in which a child is blindflded， twisted arund several times in the centerf the rm， and then tld t g tward the drr the windwr smether pint in the rm. Yu knw hw impssible it is frne wh has been s turned rund t tell which way t g， and yu knw hw absurdne lks wh ges in quite theppsite directin when he thinks he is ging straight.
Well， the sailr at sea was smething like such a blind-flded child.f curse， if the weather were fine， he culd tell by the sunr the stars which way he shuld g. But when the weather was cludy and bad， there was nthing fr him t g by. He was then like the blindflded child. He might easily becme cnfused and sail in just theppsite directin frm the way he wanted t g withut knwing the difference.
This was perhapsnef the chief reasns why mst sailrs， befre the cmpass was used， had nt gne farutf sightf land. They were afraid they might nt be able t find their way back. S mst sailrs travelednly t that partf the wrld that culd be reached withut ging farutf sightf land.
But， with the cmpass， sailrs culd sailn andn thrugh strms and cludy weather and keep always in the directin they wanted t g. They simply had t fllw the little magnetic needle suspended in its bx. N matter hw much the bat turnedr twistedr tssed， the little needle always pintedt the nrth.f curse sailrs did nt always want t g nrth， but it was very easy t tell anyther directin if they knew which was nrth. Suth was exactlyppsite， east was t the right， and west was t the left. All they had t d was t steer the batn the curse in whatever directin they wished.
It was a lng while， hwever， befre sailrs wuld use a cmpass. They thught it was bewitched by sme magic， and they were afraid t have anything t d with such a thing. Sailrs are likely t be superstitius， and they were afraid that if they tk the cmpassn bard it might bewitch their ship and bring them bad luck.
Thether magic thing was gunpwder.
Never befre 1300 had there been such things in Eurpe as gunsr cannnsr pistls. All fighting had been dne with bws and arrwsr swrdsr spearsr with sme such weapns. A swrd cannly be usedn a man a few feet away， but with guns an enemy may be killed and walls battered dwn miles away. After gunpwder was invented， the armr that theld knights wre wasf curse n lngerf any use， fr it culd nt prtect them frm sht and shell. Gunpwder has changed fighting cmpletely and made war the terrible thing it has becme.
Althugh Marc Pl was suppsed t have tld abut gunpwder and its use in cannns as he had seen it in the East， mst peple think it was the Arabs wh brught the knwledge t Eurpe. Hwever it happened， we"re sure it was in Asia that peple first discvered hw t put certain ingredients tgether that resulted in an explsive. It was quite a while， hwever， befre gunpwder was made strng enugh t d much damage. In fact， it wasver a hundred years befre fighting with guns entirely tk the placef fighting with bws and arrws in Eurpe.
【中文阅读】
差不多在马可 波罗游历后回到祖国的同一时期，欧洲人开始听说和谈论起魔 针和魔粉，这两件东西能做出不寻常的事情。有人说是马可 波罗从中国把这些东西 带回来的，但是现在我们知道是阿拉伯水手把许多奇妙的东西从中国带到了地中海， 这样欧洲人才知道了这些东西。
其中一个奇妙的玩意儿就是一根小小的魔针。这根小魔针，一旦放在一根稻草 上或托住它的中间部分，那么无论你怎样旋转这根针，针都会永远指向北方。把它 装进盒子里，就叫做"罗盘"。
好吧，也许你看不出为什么这个小玩意有多么神奇。可是不管事情看上去多么 奇怪，这个小东西真的让发现新世界成为可能。
或许你玩过这样的游戏，蒙住一个小朋友的眼睛，让他在屋子中央转几圈，然 后让他走向门、窗或屋子的其他地方。你知道让一个人转几圈，再分辨朝哪个方向 走是不可能的。你也知道当一个人以为自己是直接走向目标，其实却是朝着相反的59 A Magic Needle and A Magic Pwder 293方向走去，那时他显得多么滑稽可笑啊！ 其实，出海航行的水手就有点像被蒙住双眼的孩子。当然，天气晴朗的时候，他能通过太阳或星星的方位判断出该朝哪个方向航行。但是当阴云密布，下雨或下 雪的时候，他就无法判断了。这时他就像被蒙住双眼的孩子，很容易迷失方向，朝 着与目的地相反的方向航行，而毫无觉察。
在使用罗盘之前，大多数水手都不去太远的地方，海岸线总在视野之内。这样 做的主要原因之一，是担心可能找不到回去的路。所以大多数水手在世界上航行的 区域仅限于在视线能看到岸边的范围内。
但是有了罗盘，水手即使在雷雨和乌云密布的天气里也能继续一直航行，而且 始终保持朝着他们要去的方向。他们只要按照悬在盒子里的那根小魔针所指的方向 航行就可以了。无论船只怎样打转、扭动或颠簸，小针总是指向北方。当然水手们 不总是要去北方，但是如果知道了哪个方向是北，他们就很容易辨别其他方向。南 方就正是相反的方向，东方就是朝右，西方就是朝左。他们所要做的就是掌好舵， 让船保持在航线上。
不过水手们过了很久以后才用罗盘。他们认为这个东西被施了魔法，沾不得， 害怕有不好的后果。水手都很迷信，他们担心如果把罗盘带上船，罗盘也许会对他 们的船大施魔法，给他们带来厄运。
另一件有魔力的东西是火药。
公元 1300 年以前欧洲一直没有枪、炮或手枪这类东西。战争中使用的都是弓 箭、刀剑、长矛或其他类似的兵器。一把剑只能刺中几尺以内的敌人，但是用枪炮 却可以在几里以外杀死敌人，轰塌围墙。火药发明以后，古代骑士穿的盔甲显然就 毫无用处了，因为盔甲根本挡不住炮弹和子弹。火药彻底改变了战争，让战争变成 现在这样狰狞可怖。
虽然据推测马可 波罗讲述过他在东方见过火药和使用火药的大炮，但是大多 数人认为是阿拉伯人把这种知识传到了欧洲。无论事情到底是怎样发生的，我们都 可以确定，是亚洲人最早发现怎样把某些成分放在一起调制成炸药。不过，经过相 当长的时间以后，火药才被制成威力十足、可以造成巨大伤害的武器。事实上，在 欧洲，一百多年以后，枪炮才彻底代替弓箭，成为作战的武器。
公元 1300 年