3. armada
ports
trading fleets
admiral

4. V

5. Lesson 8A

6. Vocabulary Lesson 8A

7. command
(v.) to order someone with less authority to do something

8. accompany
(v.) to go somewhere with someone; to play music together

9. accumulate
(v.) to collect, to gather together an increasing quantity of something

10. depart
(v.) to leave

11. commodity
(n.) something of value that is bought and sold

12. via
(prep.) by way of or means of

13. subsequent
(adj.) later in time or order from something just referred to

14. fascinate
(v.) to hold someone’s attention because it is so interesting

15. coincide
(v.) to happen at the same time

16. terminate
(v.) to end something

17. lines 1-2

18. lines 59
lines 65-67

19. 1371: Ma He was born.
1402: Ma He renamed Zheng He and given job as Admiral.
1405: Zheng He departs on 1st voyage, ands in Vietnam
1422:end of Zheng He’s 6th voyage, new emperor comes to power with change in policy.
1431:final voyage to Africa’s East Coast, pilgrimage to Mecca.
1433: On return voyage to China, Zheng He dies.

20. fascinated
via
Subsequently
accumulated

21. departed
accompanied
terminated
coincided

25. A. Answer will vary.

26. 1. An explorer; recreate Sindbad’s voyages;
2. by boat,9,656 km;
3. All place names.

27. Lesson 8B

28. Vocabulary Lesson 8B

29. minister
(n.) a person in charge of a government department

30. crew
(plural n.) a group of people working together

31. on behalf of
(prep. phrase) as a representative of someone or for the benefit of others

32. comprise
(v.) to consist of or include parts

33. accelerate
to go faster and faster

34. brief
(adj.) short in amount or length of time

35. violent
(adj.) using physical force or weapons to injure or kill other people

36. struggle
(n.) a long and difficult attempt to overcome problems

37. generous
(adj.) kind, willing to give more time or money than expected

38. tale
(n.) a story

39. lines 18-19

40. 5th paragraph
lines 67
lines 84-91

41. c,e,f a
b,d,g

42. 5 4 2 1 3

43. tale
crew
comprised

44. struggled
violent
crew
generously
accelerate
brief

46. A. People make journeys to religious places or to places that have special significance for them.

47. comprises
subsequently
via
accumulation

48. commanded
tale
struggle
brief
depart

49. For More Information

50. Key Words for Internet Research
Around the World in Eighty Days
Chinese Armada
Haj pilgrimage
Jules Verne
Mecca
Sindbad the sailor
Tim Severin
Thor Heyerdahl
Titanic
Zheng He

51. Reading Skills

52. Reading for Gist
Reading for gist is reading to get a general sense of what a reading passage is basically about. In other words, we read to understand the main topic, or theme of the passage. For example, a reading passage might basically be about a new type of technology, or a tourist's vacation trip, or a story about a fictional character.

53. Identifying Detail
Identifying details in a text to answer specific questions (eg: who, what, when, where, why) is often achieved through a strategy known as ‘Scanning’ for details. This is actually a technique often used in daily life when looking up a word in the telephone book or dictionary. Also when you read a newspaper, you're probably not reading it word-by-word, instead you're scanning the text for important information of interest.

54. Defining Vocabulary
Often a reading passage contains definitions or explanations of new words related to the topic. The definitions in the text may be given through different clues to help you identify how the author has explained its meaning. It is important to understand synonyms or parallel expressions are often used to define target vocabulary items.

55. Understanding Reference
Understanding Reference in a text is an important reading skill which involves focusing on specific meaning of ‘pronoun references’ used throughout a passage (eg: this, those, their, it). This is an important skill to help develop full comprehension of significant details of a section of a passage which refer back to previous statements made.

56. Identifying Paraphrase
Paraphrasing involves the skill of identifying a restatement of a section in a passage that retains the basic meaning while changing the words, often explained in a more simplified form. A paraphrase often clarifies a more ambiguous original statement in the text by putting it into alternative words that are often more easily understood.

57. Making Inferences
When we read a text, the author does not tell us everything. Therefore, we must be able to guess some things and make clear assumptions from the information, facts, opinions and author’s feelings presented in the passage. Such a process of guessing and critical thinking is called Making inferences.

58. Understanding Main ideas (Skimming)
Once we've determined the text type of a passage, and what it's generally about, we usually then read on to understand the main idea of the passage. In other words: What is the writer basically telling us? Or, What is the writer's main message? Understanding the main idea of a text means being able to identify the most important point or information in the passage.