Ours truly is a small world. Almost every inch of our planet has been mapped in fine detail. Crowds of travelers constantly circle the globe—and can do so in about 24 hours. Newscasts2 report the latest events from continents thousands of miles away. Companies in Asia and Africa do business daily with their partners in America and Europe.
The world hasn't always been this connected, this small. In fact, the world was once infinitely3 huge. No one knew where, or even if, it ended.
A trip from Asia to Europe took six long, difficult months. Most people, however, never traveled more than a few miles from their villages. They know little about other cultures, and what they knew was usually mere4 rumor and myth.
So what made the world shrink? In a word: technology. The process began about 500 years ago, but has sped up tremendously5 in the last century. Hundreds of different technologies have helped in the process. But let's take a look at the five most important inventions that have shrunk our world.
Movable Type6
This is arguably7 mankind's most important invention. By using movable type in a printing press, books could be printed cheaply and easily.
Bi Sheng invented movable type in China in the 11th century. In Europe, Johann Gutenberg independently came up with8 the same idea in 1455. This invention made books available to common people for the first time. More and more people became educated. This led to the Age of Science and many of the inventions that followed. Without movable type, most of humanity would more than likely still be illiterate9. Telephone
Telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell made the first phone call in 1876. “Come here, Watson, I want you,” he said to his assistant over the phone line.
And with those famous words, the world was about to get a lot smaller. Today, millions of telephone calls are made each day, connecting all parts of the globe.
Airplane
The Wright brothers made the first powered flight in 1903. Within two decades, commercial10 airline flights were routine11. Air travel has redefined12 the meaning of distance. Faraway places suddenly became a lot closer.
Satellite13
The Soviet Union launched the world's first satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957. Thus began the Space Age. Today it enhances other technologies like radio and TV, making them global.
Satellites have helped scientists map and study the earth. Much of our knowledge of the world has come from the information recorded by satellites. Satellites also play a crucial14 role in helping us navigate15 the globe. Today's transportation16 systems rely heavily on satellites to help guide ships and planes. Some cars now even use this technology!
Internet
When the Internet was created in 1969, only a few people knew about it. That's because it came into existence as a secret U.S. government project.
But there's nothing secret about the Internet nowadays. More than 650 million people use the Internet, according to 2003 statistics17.
The Internet has made information about anything available to just about anyone. It's uncertain just how great an impact this technology will have on society. In time, the Internet may prove to be the most significant18 invention since movable type.
我们的世界真的很小。几乎地球上每一寸土地都被精确地登录在地图中。经常有为数众多的旅客在环游世界——而且能在大约24小时内完成。新闻广播可以报道数千英里外各大洲的最新消息。位于亚洲和非洲的公司，每天都在与美洲和欧洲的合作伙伴洽谈业务。
但是这个世界并非一直如此紧密相连，如此之小。事实上，这个世界曾经是无穷大的。没人知道它是否有尽头，又终止于何处。
以前，从亚洲到欧洲一趟，得花漫长的6个月，而且路途艰辛。大部分人从未踏出居住地几英里以外的范围。他们对其他文化了解甚少；即使有所知，通常也只是传闻或神话。
那到底是什么让世界变小了呢？一言概之：科技。这个过程从大约500年前就开始了，但是在上个世纪突飞猛进。数以百计的各种技术成就促成了这个过程。让我们来一窥让世界缩小的五项最重要的发明吧。
活字印刷
这可以说是人类最重要的发明。印刷厂使用活字版印刷，印制书刊变得既廉价又简单。
11世纪毕升在中国发明活字印刷术。欧洲的约翰·古登堡于1455年也独自想出相同的点子。这项发明让普通人首度有书可读。越来越多的人接受教育。因此开启了科技时代，许多发明也接踵而至。如果没用活字印刷，大部分人很可能仍然是文盲。电话
电话发明人亚力山大·格兰·贝尔于1876年打了有史以来的第一个电话。他对电话线另一端的助手说：“华生，到这里来，我需要你。”
伴随着这句名言，世界也随之大幅度缩小。现在，每天人们打几百万个电话，将全球每个角落连接起来。
飞机
莱特兄弟于1903年制造出第一架动力飞机。不到20年，商务航行司空见惯。航空旅行将距离重新定义。远方突然近在咫尺。
人造卫星
1957年，前苏联发射世界第一颗人造卫星——人造卫星一号——开启了太空时代。今天，人造卫星还强化了其他技术如广播和电视，使全球收播变为现实。
人造卫星也能帮助科学家绘制地球地图，并研究地球科学。我们对世界的许多认知，都来自人造卫星所做的记录。人造卫星也在协助人类全球导航上扮演了关键性的角色。今日的交通系统，相当依赖人造卫星来为船只或飞机导航。现在甚至有些汽车也使用这项技术。
互联网
当互联网在1969年发明时，只有少数人知道它。因为它来自美国政府的一个机密计划。
但是今日，互联网已没有任何机密可言。根据2003年的统计数字，超过6.5亿人在使用互联网。
互联网几乎让任何人可以获得任何信息。现在还不能确定，这项科技将会为社会带来多大的冲击。假以时日，互联网将可能成为自活字印刷以来最重要的发明。
1． shrink v． 缩小，变小
2． newscast n． （美）新闻广播
3． infinitely adv． 无限地
4． mere adv． 仅仅
5． tremendously adv． 极大地
6． movable type 活字印刷
7． arguably adv． 可以认为
8． come up with 提出
9． illiterate adj． 文盲的
10． commercial adj． 商业的
11． routine n． 常规
12． redefine v． 重新定义
13． satellite n． 人造卫星
14． crucial adj． 至关重要的
15． navigate v． 航行于
16． transportation n． 运输
17． statistics n． 统计数据
18． significant adj． 意义重大的