and poor people with dark skins and painted faces. Columbus called them Indians, because he thought he had discovered the islands east of India. But India was really thousands of miles away. Columbus returned to Spain with good news. He reported all that he had seen, and promised to bring back riches to the king and queen.

　　He sailed west three more times, discovering the islands of Puerto Rico and Jamaica. He also reached the coast of South America. But in all his travels Christopher Columbus never found the rich cities of China that Marco Polo described. He died a poor man in 1506, not knowing that he had discovered the New World of the West.

1. Who discovered the New World of the West in the 15th century?

A. Marco Polo. B. King of Spain. C. King of Italy. D. Christopher Columbus.

2. What nationality was Christopher Columbus?

A. He was Italian. B. He was Spain. C. He was Indian. D. He was Portuguese.

3. Columbus's first sea journey was to sail around the Mediterranean Sea and along the coasts of _____.

A. America and Spain B. America and Europe C. Europe and Africa D. Africa and Asia

4. The best title for this passage should be ___.

A. Christopher Columbus B. East or West C. The New Land D. North or South

　　Every country has its heroes. The heroes are the people the nation and especially the young people admire. If you get a list of the heroes of a nation, it will tell you the potential(潜力)of that nation.

　　Today in America, if you ask the high school students to list their heroes, their choice would probably fall into three groups. The first group of heroes would be the rock stars-the people connected with rock music. There is no doubt that such people do have talent(天才)but one wonders if one should hold up rock stars as a model. The rock stars too often are mixed with drugs and their personal life is not all that good. The rock stars are rich and wear the latest fashion styles. However, one should seek more in a hero than such things as money and good clothes.

A second type of hero for the American youth is the sports star. Again you have a person who has a great ability in one area-sports. However, too often the personal life of the sports star is a bit of a disorder. Too frequently drugs and drinking are a part of life of the sports star.