新奇事件簿 数字符号零可追溯至三世纪

Scientists from Oxford¹ University in England have discovered that the written use of the zero is 500 years older than previously² thought. The scientists used carbon dating to trace the symbol's origins to a famous ancient Indian scroll³ called the Bakhshali Manuscript. Scientists found the scroll dates back to the third century, which makes it the oldest script using the symbol. Before the carbon dating of the scroll, scientists believed the manuscript was created in the eighth century. It was found in the village of Bakhshali in 1881. The zero symbol that we use today evolved from a round dot frequently used in India. This symbol can be seen several times on the manuscript.

来自英格兰牛津大学的科学家发现，“0”的书写方式比此前认为的历史还要悠久500年。科学家使用碳元素追踪了“0”这个符号的起源至著名的印度《巴赫沙里手稿》。科学家发现，该画卷追溯至三世纪，是使用这个符号的最古老的文稿。对该文稿进行碳元素追踪之前，科学家认为该手稿是八世纪的。这份文稿是1881年在巴赫沙利村发现的。我们今天使用的“0”这个字符是从印度经常使用的圆点演变来的。这份文稿中几次用到这个符号。

Marcus Du Santoy, a mathematics professor at Oxford University, explained the significance of the zero in our lives. He told Britain's 'Guardian⁴' newspaper that: "Today, we take it for granted that the concept of zero is used across the globe and is a key building block of the digital world. But the creation of zero as a number in its own right, which evolved from the placeholder dot symbol found in the Bakhshali manuscript, was one of the greatest breakthroughs in the history of mathematics." Zero has many names in English, including nought⁵, nil⁶ (in football) and love (in tennis). It is often said as "oh" in the context of telephone numbers. Informal or slang terms for zero include nowt, nada, zilch and zip.

牛津大学数学教授Marcus Du Santoy解释了“0”在我们生活中的重要性。她告诉英国《卫报》：“今天，0在全球广泛使用，是数字化世界的关键组成要素，我们认为这是天经地义，理所当然的。但是0作为一个数字的出现，从巴赫沙里手稿里一个占位符不断计划发展，在数学界的历史上是最伟大的突破。”“0”在英语中有很多名字，零，在足球中叫nil，在网球中叫love。在电话号码中通常被读作“oh”。非正式的或俚语中的“0”包括nowt, nada, zilch和zip。

1 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

2 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

3 scroll   

n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡

参考例句：

• As I opened the scroll,a panorama of the Yellow River unfolded.我打开卷轴时，黄河的景象展现在眼前。
• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements.他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。

4 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

5 nought   

n.／adj.无，零

参考例句：

• We must bring their schemes to nought.我们必须使他们的阴谋彻底破产。
• One minus one leaves nought.一减一等于零。

6 nil   

n.无，全无，零

参考例句：

• My knowledge of the subject is practically nil.我在这方面的知识几乎等于零。
• Their legal rights are virtually nil.他们实际上毫无法律权利。