The idea of sailing west to reach the riches of the East Indies and the Asian mainland was much in fashion with cultured Europeans during the late fifteenth century. Learned people agreed that the earth was round: their only questions were how long and how dangerous would be a trip to reach the Orient. Christopher Columbus, the son of an unknown weaver, and himself a weaver of ambitious dreams, made his historic voyage to the New World in 1492. He didn't go to school very much, but be learned to read and write Spanish during his travels. He also taught himself Latin because all the geography books were written in Latin. Sailing with a tiny fleet of three ships, the Santa Maria and two smaller ships, the Pinta and the Nina and a crew of ninety sailors, be found the thirty-three-day crossing easier than his nearly-decade-long effort to find royal sponsors willing to support it. The trip drew not only on his own skills as an expert ship's captain, but also on his ability to plan such an expedition, obtain governmental approval and financing, and finally, demonstrate its success so that such explorations could continue. He tried for years to get King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to supply him with ships and money. Finally they agreed, but he made more demands. He wanted to be made a knight, admiral of the Ocean Sea. He wanted to be the viceroy(总督)and governor general of all lands he would discover. Also he wanted one-tenth of everything he found of value in the new lands. The explorations that followed Columbus-those of Cabot, Verrazano, Cartier, and many others-benefited from a new maritime technology borrowed from Arab sailors and from a variety of new vessels (船，舰) such as the light-weight caravels employed by Columbus. Sailors also perfected sails and various types of riggings that gave ships added stability and greater maneuverability(可操作性)on the open seas. And when leaving sight of the coast, new navigational aids-charts, compasses, and astrolabes-permitted them to determine their position with some, though not perfect, accuracy. Columbus himself made a total of four voyages to the New World but he did not become rich as he had hoped. At the end of his life he only had a pension the king and queen had given him because he was the first to reach the New World. He spent the last few months of his life in bed because of the pain of arthritis(关)． Columbus not only discovered a New World, but led the way for other explorers.

1.What was the dream destination of Europeans in the late fifteenth century?

2.What preparations did Columbus make for his first voyage to the New World?

①He planned the expedition thoroughly.

②He spent almost ten years in looking for sponsors.

③He gathered a great many ships.

④He hired 90 sailors.

⑤He demonstrated his success of former far-reaching explorations.

3.We can learn from the passage that ________.

4.What equipment aided the sailors in locating relatively more accurately?

5.In the passage, the author mainly tells us ________.

Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy. He was the oldest of five children in his family. His father was a wool weaver. He helped his father with the weaving, but he always wanted to sail the seas.

He didn’t get to school very much, but he learned to read and write Spanish during his travels. He also taught himself Latin because all the geography books were written in Latin. Some people thought he was trying to prove the world was round, but this is not true. He wanted to find a short way to get to the Indies by ship.

He was a Christian and wanted to tell the story of Christ to the people he would find in the far-away lands. He also wanted wealth for himself and for Spain, and he wanted to be famous. He tried for eight years to get King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to supply him with ships and money.

They left Spain on August 3, 1492 and sailed toward the west. After many days, the sailors had covered a long distance on the sea and were ready to turn around for home when they saw land, an island Columbus named San Salvador. He thought he had found the Indies and called the people he saw there “Indians”. When they got to Cuba, he thought he was in Japan. The world was a lot larger than he thought.

On Christmas Eve, the Santa Maria was wrecked near Haiti. Columbus built a fort(城堡) and left 40 men to hunt for gold. Then he returned to Spain on the Nina. The people of Spain welcomed him as a hero. He made three more voyages across the ocean. His 13-year-old son, Ferdinand, went with him on the fourth voyage.

Columbus did not become rich as he had hoped. At the end of his life he only had a pension the king and the queen had given him because he was the first to reach the New World. He spent the last few months of his life in bed because of the pain of arthritis(关节炎). Columbus not only discovered a New World, but he led the way for other explorers.

1.Columbus taught himself Latin because _______.

2.How was Columbus able to make his voyage to the west?

3.Why did Columbus call the local people in Salvador “Indians”?

4.From the fifth paragraph we can infer that “Santa Maria” and “Nina” must be the names of_________.

5.From the text we know that ________.

The idea of sailing west to reach the riches of the East Indies and the Asian mainland was much in fashion with cultured Europeans during the late fifteenth century. Learned people agreed that the earth was round: their only questions were how long and how dangerous would be a trip to reach the Orient. Christopher Columbus, the son of an unknown weaver, and himself a weaver of ambitious dreams, made his historic voyage to the New World in 1492. He didn't go to school very much, but be learned to read and write Spanish during his travels. He also taught himself Latin because all the geography books were written in Latin. Sailing with a tiny fleet of three ships, the Santa Maria and two smaller ships, the Pinta and the Nina and a crew of ninety sailors, be found the thirty-three-day crossing easier than his nearly-decade-long effort to find royal sponsors willing to support it. The trip drew not only on his own skills as an expert ship's captain, but also on his ability to plan such an expedition, obtain governmental approval and financing, and finally, demonstrate its success so that such explorations could continue. He tried for years to get King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to supply him with ships and money. Finally they agreed, but he made more demands. He wanted to be made a knight, admiral of the Ocean Sea. He wanted to be the viceroy(总督)and governor general of all lands he would discover. Also he wanted one-tenth of everything he found of value in the new lands. The explorations that followed Columbus-those of Cabot, Verrazano, Cartier, and many others-benefited from a new maritime technology borrowed from Arab sailors and from a variety of new vessels (船，舰) such as the light-weight caravels employed by Columbus. Sailors also perfected sails and various types of riggings that gave ships added stability and greater maneuverability(可操作性)on the open seas. And when leaving sight of the coast, new navigational aids-charts, compasses, and astrolabes-permitted them to determine their position with some, though not perfect, accuracy. Columbus himself made a total of four voyages to the New World but he did not become rich as he had hoped. At the end of his life he only had a pension the king and queen had given him because he was the first to reach the New World. He spent the last few months of his life in bed because of the pain of arthritis(关)． Columbus not only discovered a New World, but led the way for other explorers.
【小题1】What was the dream destination of Europeans in the late fifteenth century?

In a city of south India lived a young man who was always dreaming of becoming rich. He often heard about some traders in his city who gathered a great deal of   1   in the course of their travels across the world. He believed he could also make a great achievement although he didn’t have any   2   in business at all. So, one fine day, the young man set out on a long   3
in search of trade opportunities.
4    though, he did not become as rich as he had thought he would. Worse, he spent more money on his travels than he   5    in the course of his trade. All this made him feel confused and   6   , but he refused to return home without   7   .
One day, while he was wandering on the shore in a seaside town, his eyes   8    on　an object which he thought should be a large ship at a distance.
“When I become rich, I shall buy a ship just like that one and   9    around the world,” he said ambitiously. Then he waited to see the ship enter the harbor. As the ship got closer, it lost its   10    dimensions(规模) and looked more like a small boat. When the boat reached the   11   , the young man let out a big heavy sigh because he discovered that it was only a bunch of logs tied together. He was terribly   12   to see such a raft(木筏).
Finally he understood. Just as he   13    a lot of time on fruitless speculation(猜想) about the “ship”, his expectations of getting   14    was also without any real basis. Therefore, he decided to return home and    15    up a more practical job.
1. A. energy              B. knowledge          C. resource                D. fortune
2. A. expectation       B. experience           C. interest                  D. ambition
3. A. journey            B. partnership          C. vacation                D. period
4. A. Unreasonably     B. Unbelievably        C. Unconsciously        D. Unfortunately
5. A. begged            B. borrowed           C. earned                 D. adopted
6. A. uncertain           B. excited               C. patient                   D. indifferent
7. A. hesitation          B. success               C. problem                D. income
8. A. depended         B. focused               C. insisted               D. lived
9. A. show                B. turn                    C. sail                 D. fly
10. A. correct        B. formal              C. real                    D. grand
11. A. bank             B. shore                  C. ocean                D. bottom
12. A. disappointed    B. pleased               C. puzzled              D. astonished
13. A. saved              B. valued              C. wasted                     D. created
14. A. rich             B. learned               C. smart              D. strong
15. A. set              B. gave                   C. made                    D. took

Rich as he is, he is not particular about____________he eats and drinks.