TPO17,第一篇文章 Europe's Early Sea Trade with Asia, 第2段,困惑句子见highlight部分
The chief problem was technological: How were the Europeans to reach the East? Europe's maritime tradition had developed in the context of easily navigable seas—the Mediterranean, the Baltic, and to a lesser extent, the North Sea between England and the Continent—not of vast oceans. New types of ships were needed, new methods of finding one's way, new techniques for financing so vast a scheme.