When a geography lesson became a puzzle
拼图曾经是一堂可以动手的地理课
把散开的碎片拼成一幅画，是许多人熟悉的游戏。
Assembling scattered pieces into a picture is a familiar game.
但现代拼图的前身之一，曾经有很明确的学习任务：把地图重新拼好。
One predecessor of the modern jigsaw puzzle had a clear educational task: put a map back together.
伦敦博物馆收藏的一件约1860年的地图拼图，保留了这种做法。
A map puzzle from around 1860 in London Museum’s collection preserves this approach.
制作时，先把印好的地图贴在木板上，再切成可以互相拼接的片。
The printed map was mounted on wood and then cut into pieces that fitted together.
这件藏品的制作者购买现成的地图来加工，并不是所有步骤都由自己完成。
The maker of this object bought ready-printed maps to work with rather than performing every stage himself.
对学习者来说，地图不再只能挂着看，还可以拆开、寻找位置，再重新组合。
For learners, a map was no longer just something to look at: it could be taken apart, its positions explored and its pieces reassembled.
博物馆认为，这类地图游戏很可能由伦敦版画商约翰·斯皮尔斯伯里发明，用来教孩子地理。
The museum considers London printseller John Spilsbury the probable inventor of these map games for teaching children geography.
不过，约1860年的这件藏品，是后来制作的实例，不能当成最初那一套。
The object dated around 1860 is a later example, however, not the original set.
后来，拼图的内容又扩展到图画、儿歌等题材。
Puzzle subjects later expanded to pictures, nursery rhymes and other themes.
今天看似单纯的找位置游戏，曾经把一门知识变成了手上能操作的东西。
What now looks like a simple game of finding positions once turned a subject of study into something hands could work with.
