▶ Your Answer : The reading passage argues that the Chinese had
visited America prior to Columbus who arrived in America in 1492. However, the
lecturer directly contradicts the author’s claim in reading the passage on several
grounds.
First and foremost, the author contends
that the old Chinese map which depicted the world in 1418 indicates that
Chinese had been to America. On the contrary, the lecturer counters the
author’s assertion by suggesting that the map was made much later. To be
specific, two hemispheres in the map were originally European and it did not
exist in China. Also, the text on the map was translated into Chinese in 17
centuries.
On top of that, the author asserts that some
pre-Columbian Chinese artifacts show that the Chinese found North America before Columbus.
On the other hand, the lecturer refutes the author’s claim on the ground that there
are no certain remains of Chinese in America, compared to other remains. For
example, Vikings were really in America 1000 years ago, and their remains still
survive in Native American accounts. In this regard, ancient Chinese coins and
Native American beads which are said as evidence are flimsy.
Lastly, the author remains that a
traditional Chinese lacquering technique which is virtually the same as those of
Mexico but older than Mexican. In contrast, the lecturer rebuts the author’s argument
by saying that it is a coincidence since there are a lot of identical things
between America and other countries without past contact. For instance, ancient
Pyramids are in both Egypt and America, even though there was not any touch between
them. Thus, it is possible that similar building styles exist in other countries
with no contact. |