历史小径·世界史英语30篇（2）
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The Age of Exploration and the Columbian Exchange
大航海时代与物种交换
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Starting in the late 1400s, European sailors crossed oceans using improved maps, compasses, and stronger ships.从15世纪晚期起，欧洲航海家凭借改良的地图、罗盘和更坚固的船只横渡大洋。
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Columbus’s 1492 voyage accidentally linked the Americas with Europe, Africa, and Asia—starting a global transfer of plants, animals, and diseases.哥伦布1492年的航行意外地将美洲与欧洲、非洲和亚洲连接起来，开启了全球范围的动植物及疾病大交换。
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Wheat, horses, and cattle traveled westward, changing farming and transportation for Indigenous peoples across the Americas.小麦、马匹和牛群西传，改变了美洲原住民的农业方式和交通运输。
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Meanwhile, potatoes, maize, tomatoes, and chili peppers spread eastward, boosting diets and populations in Europe and Asia.与此同时，马铃薯、玉米、番茄和辣椒东传，丰富了欧洲和亚洲的饮食结构，推动人口增长。
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Smallpox and measles, carried unknowingly by Europeans, killed up to 90% of some Native American communities within decades.欧洲人无意携带的天花和麻疹，在数十年内导致部分美洲原住民社群人口锐减高达90%。
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Sugar plantations in the Caribbean relied on enslaved Africans, whose knowledge of tropical crops helped reshape global agriculture.加勒比地区的甘蔗种植园依赖非洲奴隶劳力，他们对热带作物的耕作知识重塑了全球农业格局。
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This exchange did not happen evenly—it favored colonizers’ interests while disrupting ecosystems and societies worldwide.这场交换并不均衡——它偏向殖民者的利益，同时扰乱了全球的生态系统与社会结构。
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Still, it marked the beginning of truly interconnected food systems that continue shaping health and trade today.但它标志着真正互联互通的全球食物体系的开端，至今仍在影响人类健康与国际贸易。