In the opinion of many Americans and Europeans, we only began to really explore our world in the sixteenth century. According to them, the travelers of the ancient world did not explore distant parts of the world; they did not have the necessary knowledge or skills for long sea journeys. However, the people who have this opinion are forgetting two important facts of history. First, sometimes early scientists have an idea which is correct, but scientists in later centuries do not believe it. For example, about 270 B. C., a Greek scientist had an idea which we believe today: The earth moves around the sun. But for the following 1,600 years scientists did not believe this. In their opinion, the sun clearly moved around the earth. They discovered the truth again only in the fifteenth century!
The second fact of history that many people forget is that the ancient people often traveled very long distances. For example, the people of the Phoenician culture traveled from the Mediterranean Sea to Africa and even to Britain. They used ships and sailing skills to find new lands and trade goods. In addition, the Vikings from Scandinavia traveled to Iceland, Greenland, and North America. They built boats that could sail in rough seas and navigate using the stars and the sun. These travels show that the ancient people had the skills and knowledge to explore distant places.
The ancient people also had a great deal of scientific knowledge. They knew about astronomy, geography, and navigation. For example, the ancient Egyptians knew how to predict the flooding of the Nile River using their knowledge of astronomy. The ancient Greeks made maps of the world that were surprisingly accurate for their time. They also developed mathematical formulas to calculate distances and angles.
The ancient people had skills which equaled the skills of today. For example, 1,300 years ago and before, fishermen in Ireland built their boats of wood and leather. Today some fishermen in Ireland still make boats of the same design. They use tools and materials which are not very different from the tools and materials which their ancestors used. Why? The ancient design of the boats was good, and with skillful sailors, these boats can sail in all kinds of weather.
Clearly long before the sixteenth century, people had the skill, the knowledge, and the equipment which were necessary for long journeys by sea. The world did not have to wait until the sixteenth century for its first explorers!
Questions:
5. Which of the following statements is consistent with the passage?
[A] According to many Americans and Europeans, the ancient people had the necessary knowledge and skills for long sea journeys.
[B] In the history of science, people sometimes have to discover a fact a second time.
[C] The ancient people had no scientific knowledge about the stars.
[D] The writer agrees with many Americans and Europeans because of the two facts mentioned in the passage.
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