Famous Explorers Whose Discoveries Changed the World改變世界的著名探險家

The story of human exploration is as old as the story of civilization， and many of the stories of these explorers have become legends over the centuries. From Marco Polo， Zheng He to Christopher Columbus， let’s take a look at these celebrated explorers who made groundbreaking discoveries across the globe.

人類探險的歷史與人類文明發展的歷史一樣久，幾個世紀以來，這些探險家的許多故事已經成為傳奇。從馬可·波羅、鄭和到克里斯托弗·哥倫布，讓我們來了解世界各地有開創性發現的著名探險家。

Marco Polo （1254—1324）

馬可·波羅

Marco Polo was a Venetian explorer known for the book The Travels of Marco Polo， which describes his voyage to and experiences in Asia. Polo traveled extensively with his family， journeying from Europe to Asia from 1271 to 1295， remaining in China for 17 of those years.

So much of what he claimed to have seen has been verified by researchers， academics and other explorers. Polo’s story has inspired countless other adventurers to set off and see the world.

馬可·波羅是一位威尼斯探險家，以《馬可·波羅游記》著稱，這本書描寫了他東行亞洲的見聞。自1271年至1295年，馬可·波羅和家人從歐洲一路行至亞洲，游歷各地，其中有17年在中國居留。

研究人員、學者和其他探險家證實了馬可·波羅著述中自稱看到的很多事物。他的著述激勵了無數探險家開啟探索世界之旅。

Zheng He （1371—1433）

鄭和

Known as the three-jeweled eunuch Admiral， Zheng He was China’s greatest explorer. Commanding the world’s mightiest fleet of 300 ships and as many as 30，000 troops， Admiral Zheng made 7 epic voyages to southeast Asia， south Asia， the Middle East and Africa between 1405 and 1433. The voyages helped spread China’s culture and influence throughout southeast Asia， Arabia， and eastern Africa.

鄭和是中國最偉大的探險家，世稱“三寶太監”海軍統帥。1405年到1433年間，鄭和率領當時世界上最強大的艦隊——海船300艘，水師人數多達3萬——完成了七下西洋的航海壯舉，航行至東南亞、南亞、中東和非洲。這七次遠航在東南亞、阿拉伯和東非傳播了中國文化，增強了中國在這些地區的影響力。

Christopher Columbus （1451—1506）

克里斯托弗·哥倫布

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator. Columbus first went to sea as a teenager， participating in several trading voyages in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas. One such voyage， to the island of Khios， in modern-day Greece， brought him the closest he would ever come to Asia.

Under the patronage of the Spanish Crown， Columbus made four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean between 1492 and 1502， successfully reaching the Americas. Columbus’ voyages brought about the first sustained contact between Europe and the Americas， ushering in a great era of European exploration and colonization of overseas territories that lasted for centuries and had an immeasurable impact on the historical development of the modern western world.

克里斯托弗·哥倫布是意大利探險家、航海家，他在十幾歲時第一次出海，參與了幾次在地中海和愛琴海的貿易航行，其中有一次到了希俄斯島（今希臘），這是他離亞洲最近的一次。

在西班牙王室的贊助下，哥倫布于1492年到1502年間四次橫渡大西洋，成功抵達美洲。哥倫布的數次遠航促使歐洲與美洲第一次有了持續的接觸，開辟了延續幾個世紀的歐洲探險和殖民海外侵略、領土擴張的大時代，對現代西方世界的歷史發展有著無可估量的影響。

Amerigo Vespucci （1454—1512）

阿美利哥·韋斯普奇

America was named after Amerigo Vespucci， a Florentine navigator and explorer who played a prominent role in exploring the New World.

On May 10， 1497， Vespucci embarked on his first voyage， departing from Cadiz with a fleet of Spanish ships. In May 1499， sailing under the Spanish flag， Vespucci embarked on his next expedition， as a navigator under the command of Alonzo de Ojeda. Crossing the equator， they traveled to the coast of what is now Guyana. On his third and most successful voyage， he discovered present-day Rio de Janeiro and Rio de la Plata. Believing he had discovered a new continent， he called South America the New World. In 1507， America was named after him.

美洲是以佛羅倫薩航海家、探險家阿美利哥·韋斯普奇的名字命名的，他在探索新大陸的過程中發揮了重要作用。

1497年5月10日，韋斯普奇隨一支西班牙船隊駛離加的斯，開始了他的第一次航行。1499年5月，韋斯普奇在西班牙人阿隆索·德·奧赫達率領的探險隊擔任領航員，又一次啟航。他們穿過赤道，到了如今的圭亞那海岸。韋斯普奇第三次航行是最成功的一次，發現了如今的里約熱內盧和拉普拉塔河。他認為自己發現了一片新大陸，便把南美洲命名為New World（新世界）。1507年，美洲以他的名字命名。

Ferdinand Magellan （1480—1521）

斐迪南·麥哲倫

The Portuguese explorer Magellan， who participated in Almeida’s expedition and gained experience in navigation， guessed that the east side of the sea was America and believed that the earth was round. So he organized a fleet of ships and prepared to sail around the world. He later crossed the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans， traveled through America and reached Asia， and played a pioneering role in the navigation of future generations. Toward the end of his travels， he died in the Philippines.

Magellan was the first person to sail across the Pacific Ocean from east to west. His circumnavigation of the globe proved in practice that the earth is a round body. But he also contributed to colonial overseas aggression and territorial expansion.

葡萄牙探險家麥哲倫參加阿爾梅達的遠征隊，積累了航海經驗。他猜測大海東邊是美洲，認為地球是圓的，于是組織船隊，準備環球航行。后來，他橫渡大西洋、太平洋，穿越美洲，最后抵達亞洲，為后人的航海事業起到了開路先鋒的作用。航行快結束時，麥哲倫死于菲律賓。

麥哲倫是從東向西跨太平洋航行的第一人。他的環球航行，用實踐證明了地球是一個球體；但他也助推了殖民海外侵略和領土擴張。

James Cook （1728—1779）

詹姆斯·庫克

James Cook was a naval captain， navigator and explorer. After serving as an apprentice， Cook eventually joined the British Navy and， at age 29， was promoted to ship’s master. In 1768， he took command of the first scientific expedition to the Pacific.

In 1770， on his ship the HMB Endeavour， Cook charted New Zealand and the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. This area has since been credited as one of the world’s most dangerous areas to navigate. He later disproved the existence of Terra Australis， a fabled southern continent. Cook’s voyages provided the first accurate map of the Pacific and helped guide generations of explorers.

詹姆斯·庫克是一位海軍上校、航海家和探險家。完成見習學徒訓練后，庫克最終加入英國海軍，29歲時晉升船長。1768年，他率領遠航隊第一次南下太平洋進行科學考察。

1770年，庫克在“奮進”號上繪制了新西蘭和澳大利亞大堡礁的海圖。從那時起，該地區被認為是世界上最危險的航行區域之一。庫克后來還指出傳說中的“南方大陸”并不存在，他還繪制出首張精準的太平洋海圖。庫克的幾次遠航給數代探險家指引了方向。

Word Bank

legend /'led??nd/ n. 傳說；傳奇故事

voyage /'v???d?/ n. 航行

embark /?m'bɑ?k/ v. 上船；裝船

promote /pr?'m??t/ v. 提升；晉升

She worked hard and was soon promoted.