The invention of rockets is linked inextricably with the invention of ‘black powder’. Most historians of technology credit the Chinese with its discovery. They base their belief on studies of Chinese writings or on the notebooks of early Europeans who settled in or made long visits to China to study its history and civilization. It is probable that, some time in the tenth century, black powder was first compounded from its basic ingredients of saltpeter, charcoal and sulphur. But this does not mean that it was immediately used to propel rockets. By the thirteenth century, powder-propelled fire arrows had become rather common. The Chinese relied on this type of technological development to produce incendiary projectiles of many sorts, explosive grenades and possibly cannons to repel their enemies. One such weapon was the ‘basket of fire’ or, as directly translated from Chinese, the ‘arrows like flying leopards’. The 0.8 metre-long arrows, each with a long tube of gunpowder attached near the point of each arrow, could be fired from a long, octagonal-shaped basket at the same time and had a range of 400 paces. Another weapon was the ‘arrow as a flying sabre’, which could be fired from crossbows. The rocket, placed in a similar position to other rocket-propelled arrows, was designed to increase the range. A small iron weight was attached to the 1.5m bamboo shaft, just below the feathers to increase the arrow’s stability by moving the centre of gravity to a position below the rocket. At a similar time, the Arabs had developed the ‘egg which moves and burns’. This ‘egg’ was apparently full of gunpowder and stabilized by a 1.5m tail. It was fired using two rockets attached to either side of this tail.

　　段落大意

　　本段介绍了火箭弹的相关发明黑火药，以及与其相似的中国和阿拉伯的火箭弹。

　　阅读笔记

　　Relevant invention: black powder.

　　Black powder: invented by Chinese, first compounded from basic ingredients of saltpeter, charcoal and sulphur.

　　Similar invention:

　　Chinese ‘arrows like flying leopards’ + ‘arrow as a flying sabre’;

　　Arabic ‘egg which moves and burns’.

　　逻辑关系

　　并列(逻辑连接词: ONE …ANOTHER, AT A SIMILAR TIME)

　　one such weapon was the ‘basket of fire’ or as directly translated from Chinese, the ‘arrows like flying leopards’

　　the ‘arrow as a flying sabre’, which could be fired from crossbows

　　the Arabs had developed the ‘egg which moves and burns’