双语有声阅读:Why Are Maps Drawn with North at the Top? 为

Now it is hard to visualize¹ a map that does not feature north at the top, but this was not always so.

The oldest known map in the accepted sense of the word was drawn² about 3,800 BC, and represents the river Euphrates flowing through northern Mesopotamia, Iraq. This, and others that followed it, were little more than rough sketches³ of localized features; it was not until many centuries later that the ancient Greeks placed the science of map-making on a sound footing.

At the fore⁴ front of the pioneers in the field was the Greek mathematician⁵ and philosopher Claudius Ptolemaeus (c. AD 90~168), more popularly known to history as Ptolemy. The last great scientist of the classical period, he was the first to draw a map that was based on all available knowledge, rather than guess or imagination. Earlier, the Babylonians had attempted to map the world, but they presented it in the form of a flattened⁶ disc rather than a sphere, which was the form adopted by Ptolemy.

Given the state of knowledge of those times, he got things wrong; for example, his estimate of China and the Atlantic Ocean was far from being accurate. Nevertheless, it was a useful effort, and the map remained a word of reference for over a thousand years. In fact, Christopher Columbus used a version of it when he set sail in search of the New World - which caused him some navigational problems, since Ptolemy had calculated wrongly the size of the Atlantic and was unaware⁷ that the Pacific Ocean existed.

The really important thing about Ptolemy's map was that north was at the top. The reason for this was that he decided⁸ to orientate⁹ the map in the direction of the Pole Star since Polaris was the immovable guiding light in which the voyagers of that era placed their trust.

North at the top remained the accepted arrangement until the early Middle Ages, when the Church began to interfere¹⁰ seriously with the advance of science. In accordance with the orders of the Church, maps were still produced in accordance with Ptolemy's principles - but now Jerusalem was the central feature, as it was held to be the center of the Christian¹¹ faith, and east was moved to the top.

These maps are often called "T" Maps because they show only three continents - Europe, Asia and Africa - separated by the "T" formed by the Mediterranean¹² Sea and the River Nile. From a navigational point of view, they were almost useless.

More accurate maps began to appear in the 14th century, with the spread of trade and increasing reliance on the compass. Once again, north assumed its rightful place at the top of maps.

现在很难设想，若绘制地图不以北方作为地图的上方。可是过去可并不总是这样绘制的。

现在已知的被公认为世上最古老的地图绘制于公元前3800年，这幅地图描绘的是流经伊拉克北部的美索不达米亚平原的幼发拉底河。这张地图，以及从这以后绘制的一些地图，最多也只不过算做是一些局部地区的很粗略的一些草图而已；直到很多世纪以后，古希腊人才把绘制地图这门科学置于坚实合理的基础之上。

在绘制地图这一专业先驱者当中，处于最前列最古的地位的就是古希腊的数学家兼哲学家克劳迪o托勒密尤斯，即历史上广为人知的托勒密。他，作为古典时期的最后一位伟大的科学家，以当时的知识水平为基础，而不是凭猜测或想象，是绘制出地图的第一个人。在这以前更早的时候，巴比伦人曾经企图绘制世界地图，但是巴比伦人绘制成一个扁平的圆盘形，而不是绘制像托勒密所绘制的球形。

由于那个时代的知识水平有限，所以他把一些情况搞错了，例如：他对中国和大西洋的看法，远远不够精确。尽管如此，他努力绘制的地图还是很有用处的。他所绘制的地图在从那时起的一千多年的时间内仍不失为一份重要参考资料。事实上，克里斯托佛o哥伦布在扬帆前去寻找新世界的时候，所用过的就正是托勒密所绘制的地图版本--这就是造成了哥伦布在航海中产生了一些问题的那个版本。因为托勒密对大西洋的范围有多大计算错了。再加上他就不知道还有个太平洋。

托勒密所绘制的地图有一点是十分重要的，那就是他把北方置于地图的上方。他之所以要这样做就是因为他决定以北极星的方向来确定地图的方位。因为北极星是一盏不动的导航灯，那个时代的航海家们主要依靠北极星来导航。

直到中世纪初期为止基督教会开始严重地干涉科学的进步和发展。在中世纪初期以前一致公认的依然是把北方置于地图的上方。依照教会的命令，地图的绘制依然要遵循托勒密的原则原理--但当时耶路撒冷具有中心的特征，因为基督教的信仰认为耶路撒冷是中心，结果就把东方移成了地图的上方。

这种地图通常被叫做"丁"字形地图，因为这些地图上只表明了三大洲--欧洲、亚洲和非洲--的情况，这三大洲被地中海和尼罗河所形成的"丁"字隔开了。从航海的观点看来，这种地图几乎是没有用处的。

随着贸易的扩张及越来越依靠罗盘，在14世纪开始出现了更加精确的地图。北方再一次被摆放到地图上的正确的位置--地图的上方
 

1 visualize   

vt.使看得见，使具体化，想象，设想

参考例句：

• I remember meeting the man before but I can't visualize him.我记得以前见过那个人，但他的样子我想不起来了。
• She couldn't visualize flying through space.她无法想像在太空中飞行的景象。

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 sketches   

n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概

参考例句：

• The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
• You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 fore   

adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部

参考例句：

• Your seat is in the fore part of the aircraft.你的座位在飞机的前部。
• I have the gift of fore knowledge.我能够未卜先知。

5 mathematician   

n.数学家

参考例句：

• The man with his back to the camera is a mathematician.背对着照相机的人是位数学家。
• The mathematician analyzed his figures again.这位数学家再次分析研究了他的这些数字。

6 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

7 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 orientate   

v.给…定位；使适应

参考例句：

• The explorer climbed a tree in order to orientate himself.那位勘探者为了确定他所在的地点爬到了一颗树上。
• The mountaineers found it difficult to orientate themselves in the fog.登山的人在浓雾中难以确定自己的方位。

10 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

11 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

12 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。