简答题 阅读以下以下英文材料然后回答问题: By the year 1900 the Chinese Empire had been in existence for over 2000 years, and during this time the Chinese had become extremely clever at astronomy, mathematics, engineering and medicine. They were the first people to use paper and had invented printing, and had been using paper and porcelain long before they had been invented in the West. They had also invented silk weaving, gunpowder, reading glasses, the magnetic compass and the suspension bridge. By 1900 the empire had grown weak. Western powers like Britain, France as well as Japan had gained great influence through trade and the use of force during the nineteenth century, and the Manchu dynasty seemed paralysed and unable to modernise and accept the changes that were happening, or react in a proper way to the challenges. Between 1839 and 1842 the British fought an "Opium War" against China to force the Chinese to keep buying the drug opium from British India, although opium use was banned in China. One of the results of this war was that Hong Kong was signed over to Britain. During a second war in 1860 a combined British French army attacked Beijing and burned down government buildings. In 1894-95 Japan attacked and annexed Korea, Formosa (Taiwan) and Port Arthur. After each of these wars the foreigners forced the rulers to sign "unequal treaties" giving the foreign powers control of China's sea ports and allowing them special trading rights. China was also divided up into spheres of influence, each falling under one or another foreign power.附:小词典Astronomy:天文学Porcelain:瓷器suspension bridge:吊桥 Annex:占领问题:1、英译汉.2、联系材料说明"鸦片战争是中国近代史的起点"