Who"discovered"America？Andwholedthefirstsuccessfulattempttosailaroundtheworldinhistory？Well，ourtextbookshavetheanswers：theyareItaliansailorChristopherColumbusandPortuguesenavigatorFerdinandMagellan．Howev

Question

Who"discovered"America？And who led the first successful attempt to sail around the world in history？
Well，our textbooks have the answers：they are Italian sailor Christopher Columbus and Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan．
However，China's great explorer，Zheng He （1371-1435），may well have beaten his European counterparts （同行） and sailed around the world first．The life and achievements of the legendary sailor are featured in a TV drama，which is being screened on CCTV 8．
Zheng was an officer of the Ming Dynasty's Yongle Emperor．In 1405，the emperor asked Zheng to visit the"Western Seas"，which referred to the seas and lands west of the South China Sea．Zheng traveled with 62ships filled with silk and china and 27，800men．The biggest ship was 126meters long and could take the weight of 7000tons．In the following 28years，Zheng made another six successful journeys．He visited over 30countries．Since most of the records of Zheng'voyages have been lost，many historians believe Zheng's achievements have been underestimated． British writer Gavin Menzies，who spent 14years researching the movements of the Chinese fleet，explained it was Zheng who first sailed around the world，in his book，1421，The Year china Discovered America．
While doing research，Menzies said he was shown a map，dated 1459，which included southern Africa and the Cape of Good Hope．Yet the Cape was not"discovered"by Vasco da Gama until 1497．On the map was a note about a voyage round the Cape in 1420-and a picture of a Chinese ship．
"What nobody has explained is why the European explorers had maps．Who drew the maps？"he asks in his book．"There are millions of square miles of ocean．It required huge fleets to chart them．If you say it wasn't the Chinese，then who was it？"

63．The underlined word"featured"in the 3rd paragraph can be replaced by___．
A．advertised                    B．shown
C．involved                      D．affected
64．Which of the following is the evidence to prove that America was discovered by the Chinese according to Gavin Menzies？___
A．Textbooks．                   B．History books．
C．An ancient map．              D．Zheng's logbooks．
65．With most of Zheng's logbooks lost，people today are not sure of___．
A．the exact places Zheng He reached on his voyages
B．the scale of the fleet on Zheng He's voyages
C．the times of Zheng He's successful voyages
D．the purpose of Zheng He's voyages
66．Which of the following is a definite fact about the Cape of Good Hope？___
A．It was discovered by Vasco da Gama．
B．It was discovered by the Chinese．
C．It was discovered by Christopher Columbus．
D．It was discovered by Ferdinand Magellan．

Answer 1

63：B 由划线词所在句"The life and achievements of the legendary sailor are featured in a TV drama，which is being screened on CCTV 8．"可知郑和的事迹被搬到了荧屏上，由此推断 feature 意为"演出"，故正确答案为B．
64：C 细节题．由倒数第二段第一句"While doing research，Menzies said he was shown a map，dated 1459，which included southern Africa and the Cape of Good Hope．"可知 Gavin Menzies 认为郑和发现美洲的证据是一幅地图，故正确答案为C．
65：A 推断题．由第四段第六七句"He visited over 30 countries．Since most of the records of Zheng's voyages have been lost，many historians believe Zheng's achievements have been underestimated．"可知，郑和游历了30多个国家，但是大多数航海记录都已丢失，由此推断郑和具体游历了哪些地方无法确定，所以A项正确．
B项，由第四段第三句"Zheng traveled with 62 ships filled with silk and china and 27，800 men．"可知B项错误．C项，由第四段第五句"In the following 28 years，Zheng made another six successful journeys．"可知C项错误．D项，由第四段第二句"In 1405，the emperor asked Zheng to visit the"Western Seas"，which referred to the seas and lands west of the South China Sea．"可知D项错误．故正确答案为A．
66：A 细节题．由倒数第二段第一二句"…which included southern Africa and the Cape of Good Hope．Yet the Cape was not'discovered'by Vasco da Gama until 1497．"可知 Vasco da Gama 发现了 the Cape of Good Hope，故正确答案为A．