A compass,zhǐ nán zhēn,indicates north and south.

指南針可以指示南北。

It was invented by Chinese 2,000 years ago.

2000 多年前，中國人發(fā)明了它。

The ancient zhǐ nán zhēn looked like a spoon. ?

古代的指南針就像一把湯勺。

When the spoon was put on the plate,its handle could point to the south using magnetic fields.

把它放在平滑的盤子上，依靠磁鐵的原理，當(dāng)它靜止的時(shí)候，勺柄就會(huì)指向南方。

Then Chinese used a little steel needle to replace the spoon. This made the zhǐ nán zhēn easier to carry.

后來，中國人用小鋼針代替了湯勺，指南針就更輕便了。

Six hundred years ago,Zheng He,a famous eunuch of the Ming Dynasty,traveled to Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean seven times. Zheng even reached the Red Sea with the help of the zhǐ nán zhēn.

600 多年前，鄭和先后七下西洋，最遠(yuǎn)到達(dá)紅海沿岸與非洲東海岸，便是依靠指南針的導(dǎo)航。

The invention boosted the development of navigation.

指南針的出現(xiàn)促進(jìn)了世界航海時(shí)代的發(fā)展。