EL COLEGIO DE MICHOACN, A.C.

Laboratorio de Idiomas

READING COMPREHENSION EXERCISE / LEVEL 3 / SPANIARDS CALLED HIM MAGALLANES
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His real name was Ferno de Magalhes but in Spanish he was called Fernando de Magallanes and in English he is
known as Ferdinand Magellan. He was the son of a Portuguese nobleman, and was 12 years old when Columbus
sailed west and discovered the New World. Portugal had developed enormous commercial interests in the East
Indies since Vasco de Gama had found the route to India around South Africa in 1497, and the Portuguese were
increasing commerce in spices and luxury goods from India and the East Indies. Magellan served the King of
Portugal there and soon became famous as a navigator and a valiant sailor and fighter. In fact, his fame extended
into Spain, the country that was Portugal's principle rival in voyages, trade and discovery.
In Europe, people still had the idea of reaching the East Indies by sailing to the west. Magellan agreed with them,
although he knew that the Americas existed in the middle. He asked the Portuguese Crown to finance a voyage of
discovery, but his request was rejected, so he then asked the King of Spain, Charles the 5
th
. King Charles gave
orders for an expedition of five ships (five old ships) and Magellan left Seville with 270 men in August 1519.
Magellan visited the Canary Islands to obtain water, and in December he reached the great harbor where Rio de
Janeiro now stands. Two months later, his ships were at the mouth of the River Plate (Rio de la Plata). But Sols had
been there before and had not found a route through to the west, so Magellan continued to sail to the south,
exploring every bay and opening along the coast. At the end of March, winter was coming with strong winds from the
Andes, and Magellan decided to wait for better weather in a little harbor called San Julin, far down on the east
coast of South America. But the winter was cruel, the Patagonian Indians were unfriendly, conditions on the ship
were very uncomfortable and Magellan like Columbus before him had problems with his men. They desperately
wanted to return to Spain, and some of them even planned to kill Magellan, so he executed their leaders.
As soon as it was possible, they sailed south again, and in October 1520 Magellan found the Strait which is now
called by his name. The passage is about 600 kilometers long, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, and
only 4 kilometers wide at the narrowest point. There are dangerous rocks, strong currents, thick fogs and sudden,
terrible winds. One of the ships that was carrying valuable provisions, turned back secretly during the night. A few
days later the ships were separated by a storm. They reunited after a few days, but there were only 3 ships left.
Finally, they sailed into calm waters that Magellan called "el Pacfico", or the Pacific Ocean; though it is certainly
not always peaceful. Then Magellan continued his search for the Indies, sailing north and then west. For 98 days, he
sailed across the empty ocean without seeing any land. His supplies of food and water were finished. He missed by
only a few hundred kilometers some unknown islands where he could have obtained water and fresh food. He and
his men killed and ate the rats from the ships. They even tried to bite the leather of their shoes and boots, but their
teeth had been damaged by a disease called scurvy that had begun to kill them one after another.
Finally, Magellan found the Mariana Islands where he got food and water, but he found the people unfriendly, so
he continued to sail for a few weeks until he arrived at the Philippines. There the people were much friendlier.
Magellan and his men helped the King of Cebu fight against his enemies, but Magellan was killed in the battle.
If history books sometimes say that Magellan was the first man to sail around the world, they are wrong. His own
ship was in such bad condition that it had to be abandoned in the Philippines. However, Magellan's
second-in-command a man called del Cano was very close to the Spice Islands. From there he was able to return
to Europe. He lost one more ship while sailing around southern Africa, but on September 8
th
1522, del Cano sailed
his ship named "Vittoria" into the port of Seville the first ship to really sail around the world!


EXERCISE A.- Read these sentences and indicate if they are TRUE (T) or FALSE (F)
1) Columbus was twelve years old when Magellan sailed around the world. ______
2) Magellan discovered the West Indies. ______
3) The expedition received support from the King of Spain. ______
4) The expedition began in 1527 with 190 men. ______
5) Magellan visited the Canary Islands to get provisions for his long voyage. ______
6) Magellan and his men became good friends with the Patagonian Indians. ______
7) The Strait of Magellan was discovered in October 1520. ______
8) At one point the men were so hungry that they killed and ate rats to survive. ______
9) Magellan was killed in a battle on the Mariana Islands. ______
10) Magellan was the first man to sail around the world. ______

EXERCISE B.- Indicate the best answer:

1.- This great discoverer was baptized as

a.- Ferdinand Magellan
b.- Fernando de Magallanes
c.- Ferno de Magalhes
d.- None of the above
6.- This explorer had discovered the route to India:

a.- Magellan
b.- Ponce de Len
c.- Vasco de Gama
d.- Sols
2.- The first man to sail around the world was

a.- Magellan
b.- Ponce de Len
c.- Vasco de Gama
d.- del Cano
7.- The expedition spent the winter of 1520 in

a.- The Canary Islands
b.- The Marianas
c.- San Julin
d.- Rio de Janeiro
3.- Magellan executed some of his men because:

a.- they wanted to return to Spain
b.- they made trouble with the Indians
c.- he was a tyrannical leader
d.- they were planning to kill him
8.- The Strait of Magellan is dangerous because of:

a.- sudden, terrible winds
b.- thick fogs
c.- strong currents
d.- all of the above
4.- The ships became separated because of:
a.- bad weather
b.- navigational problems
c.- disagreements between the men
d.- all of the above
9.- The men became sick with scurvy because
a.- they ate rats
b.- they tried to eat the leather from their shoes
c.- they traveled for 98 days without seeing land
d.- they finished their provisions of water and food
5.- Magellans men fought for the King of Cebu

a.- because he was friendly to them
b.- in exchange for food and supplies b. in exchange for food and supplies
c.- to prove that he was a great leader d. all of the above
d.- all of the above

10.- Only one ship, the Vittoria, returned to Seville;
what happened to the other four?

a.- one was attacked by Patagonian Indians - one hit
rocks in the Strait - one was left in the Philippines -
one got lost near the Cape of Good Hope
b.- one was left in the Philippines - one was lost near the
Cape of Good Hope - one was lost in a storm in the
Strait - one turned back secretly in the night
c.- one was stolen in the Mariana Islands - one was lost
near the Cape of Good Hope - one was left in the
Philippines - one turned back secretly in the night
d.- one was lost in a storm in the Strait - one turned back
secretly at night - one was left in the Philippines - one
was given to the King of Cebu for his help


EXERCISE C.- Fill in the spaces with words from the text:

1) Rare, expensive products made for the elite are called L __ __ __ __ __ goods.
2) The extreme southern area of South America is called P __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __.
3) A long, difficult trip like Magellans is called a V __ __ __ __ __.
4) A place where ships enter to take refuge from storms, for example, is a H __ __ __ __ __.
5) People who dont like us very much or are our enemies can be called U __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __.
6) A long, narrow passage of water is called a S __ __ __ __ __.
7) Something that is very important to us or that is worth a lot of money is V __ __ __ __ __ __ __.
8) Another word for the provisions, food and water needed for an expedition is S __ __ __ __ __ __ __.
9) A sickness that affects sailors who dont have fresh food and water for a long time is S __ __ __ __ __.
10) This is a kind of material made from animal skin and often used to make shoes L __ __ __ __ __ __.