Unit 2Sailing the oceans,WHO WAS ZHENG HE? (Li HuayingLH, Celia MainCM) LH：The most famous Chinese navigator was Zheng He. He lived from 1371 to 1433 and made seven voyages around the South China Sea, across to India and even as far as the eastern coast of Africa. It was the 600th anniversary of these voyages in 2005. CM：Are there other famous Chinese navigators or is he the only one? LH：He is the only one weve got evidence for.,CM：So there may have been others? LH：We dont know. Thats because a later Emperor may have destroyed a lot of evidence of other voyages. CM：I see. Where did Zheng He go? LH：The documents tell us that he was born in Yunnan. He built a pillar to record his achievements. It states that he made seven voyages and visited more than thirty countries. He said that the Emperor ordered him to show the strength of Chinese power and meet “foreigners from beyond the seas”. So he went to unknown places and set up trade. CM：Tell me about his voyages.,LH：Well, on his first voyage he visited Calicut in India. The people there were very impressed and a little frightened when they saw so many large ships. So the ruler wisely decided to make friends with these strangers. He gave Zheng He many scarves made of gold and decorated with jewels. Then he entertained him and his men with music and songs. CM：Did he go to other places? LH：Yes, on other voyages he visited Champa, and Sumatra near China, Hormuz, and Aden in the Persian Gulf and Mogadishu in Africa. Zheng He opened diplomatic relations with them and gave them presents.,CM：What did the Chinese offer as gifts? LH：Zheng He found that foreign kings particularly admired Chinese porcelain and silk. So thats why his ships were filled with those things. CM：I see. Is that why they say his ships were so large? LH：Yes, I suppose so. When he returned from India he brought a giraffe for the Emperor as a present. So his ships must have been large. CM：Some writers say that the ships could carry as many as 20,000 people altogether.,LH：And other writers say Zheng He was eight feet tall! We shouldnt believe everything writers tell us. Obviously they wanted to show how important Zheng He was. Undoubtedly the ships were largebut perhaps not that large! CM：I see. That makes sense. Well, thank you for telling me about Zheng He. He sounds a fascinating man.,阅读短文，判断正(T)误(F) 1He is the only 16th century Chinese navigator we know. () 2He came from Yunnan Province. () 3The Emperor wanted to demonstrate Chinese power abroad so he sent Zheng He with a large fleet of ships to visit new places in neighbouring countries. () 4Zheng He wanted people to know the important voyages he made so he put up a pillar describing all his achievements. () 5Foreign kings liked Chinese porcelain and salt. (),答案1.F2.T3.T4.T5.F,.单词识记 1_/vIId/ n. 航海；航行 2_/msI/ n. 仁慈；宽恕；怜悯 3_n. 探测；探究_v. 探测；探究 4_ adj. 安全；无忧虑_n. 安全；无忧虑 5_v. 使简化_adj. 简单的；简易的,6encyclopedia /InsaIklpidI/ n_ 7offshore /fr/ adj._ 8reference_v. 9tendency_n. 倾向；照料_v. 倾向；照料 10reliable_adj. _v. 信赖；依赖 答案1.voyage2.mercy3.exploration；explore4.secure； security5.simplify；simple6.百科全书7.离岸的；海面上的 8.查阅；refer9.趋向；倾向；tend10.可靠的；可依赖的； rely,.短语天地 1_计算出；制定出，解出 2_了解，知道 3_在中午时分 4_受支配 5_接近于 6close by_ 7at sea_ 8compare with_ 9in relation to_ 10rather than_,答案1.work out2.know about/of3.at midday4.at the mercy of5.be close to6.附近7.在海上；茫然，不知所措 8与相比较9.关于，涉及；有关10.而不是；宁愿,.句型搜索 1We may well wonder how seamen explored the oceans_(还没有) latitude and longitude made it possible to plot a ships position on a map. 2The voyages of travellers before the 17th century show that they were not_ _ _ _(受支配) the sea _ _(即使)they did not have modern navigational aids. 3This_ _ _ _(似乎已是) the first and most useful form of exploration which carried the minimum amount of risk.,4The compass has a special magnetic pointer which always indicates the North Pole, so it_ _ _ _(用来帮助) find the direction that the ship needs to go. 答案1.before2.at the mercy of；even though3.seems to have been4.is used to help,.预读理解 1What does “it” mean in the sentence “Sea birds could be used to show the way to land when it was nowhere to be seen”？ ASea birds. BWay. CTime. DLand. 2How many methods did the seamen use before the latitude and the longitude were plotted? AFour. BFive. CEight. DTen.,3The reading passage mainly wants to tell us_. Athat keeping alongside the coastline is the first and most useful form of exploration Babout the skills and navigational aids early seamen used while sailing the oceans Cthat finding longitude and latitude is a must to plot a ships posi