Famous explorers

(A) Marco Polo was born in Italy in 1254. A traveller and merchant, he was one of the first Europeans to travel across Asia and into China. He set out, aged 17, with his father Nicolo and his uncle Maffeo on their great journey to China. At that time, China was more advanced than Europe. After he got back to Italy, Marco Polo wrote a book describing the riches of Asia. Unfortunately, not many people believed Polo’s stories and he became known as “the man of a million lies”. (B) Jacques Cousteau was a French undersea explorer, environmentalist and inventor. When he was young, he became fascinated by the sea. In 1943, he and engineer Emile Gagnan invented the aqualung – the very first scuba diving equipment. Cousteau produced many films and books about his underwater adventures, including the TV series .Cousteau started the Cousteau Society to protect ocean life. In 1989, he received a great honour: he was made a member of the French Academy. (C) Valentina Tereshkova parachuted out of over 125 aircraft before she jumped out of the spacecraft Vostok 6. This unusual hobby led to her selection for cosmonaut training and her achievement of becoming the first woman in space.. Tereshkova was chosen to be the pilot of the Vostok 6 mission. She was given the name Chaika, Russian for “seagull”. On 3rd November 1963, Tereshkova married another cosmonaut. They had a daughter, Elena – the first child born to parents who both went into space. (D) Christopher Columbus began to believe that he could find a shortcut to the Indies by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella agreed to pay for his trip. After two months at sea, land was finally sighted. Columbus named the native people he saw “Indians” because he believed he had found the shortcut he was looking for. In actuality, Columbus found North America, a brand new continent at that time.