Zheng He ,born in 1337 in Yunnan province ,made several voyages during his lifetime and contributed greatly to the science of navigation in China between 1405-1433.

Columbus was Spanish sailors.He made four voyages . He was the first man who discovered Amercia.

James Cook was a British captain. He made maps of Australia and New zealand

Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese sea captain. He found the channel, known as the Strait of Magellan, which led to the Pacific .

Abel  Tasman   was a Dutch   explorer,  best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644. 

Question: How many continents are there in the world ?

Asia

EuropeNorth America

South America

Oceania

Antarctica

Pacific Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

Indian Ocean

Arctic Ocean

Africa

India-------the middle east-----Rome

Silk roadcoasts of India Ocean---Ceylon(Sri Lanka)

The Silk Road over sea

明朝前期，中国古代的航海事业达到了高峰。明朝政府组织大规模的船队，由郑和率领，七下西洋，访问了东南亚、南亚、阿拉伯和东非等地区的 30多个国家和地区，最远到达索马里和肯尼亚，航程10万余里。

Trade and curiosity.

Fast readingQ1:Who were the real explorers long before?

Q2: How many Chinese explorers are mentioned in the text?

Q3: In your opinion, what makes people explore the new place?

Q4:What is the main idea of the whole passage?

Brave merchants

Three Chinese explorers. They are Gan Ying, Du Huan , Zheng He .

It talks about Chinese explorations, especially the contacts between China and Africa.

Q :Find information in the text about contacts between China and other places and fill in the blanks .

Careful reading:

period name Way of travel

goods destination

The earliest time

In 97 AD

In 751-762

In the 11th century

In 1405-1433

Chinese merchants

Silk road spices, glassIndia, the Middle East , Rome

Han DynastyGan Ying Over land

rhinoceros

horns

the East Rome Empire

Dang DynastyDu Huan By boat China

Song Dynastythe Africans By boat

A bronze statue of a lion China

Ming Dynasty Zhenghe By fleet giraffes,zebras, shells, elephant ivory…

Africa

Put the sentences in good order.

1. In the eleventh century, the Africans made several voyages to the court of the song dynasty.

2. Merchants from the Arabic countries began to travel to the Swahili kingdom and the islands off the African coast to trade with them.

3. People of the Han Dynasty exchanged silk for spices and glass with Indians and Romans by way of the Silk Road.4. The Chinese traveller, Du Huan, wandered through Arabic countries for about 10 years.

5. Christopher Columbus and other European explorers searched for routes to Asia.

6. Zheng He made seven voyages and discovered the eastern coast of Africa.

3 – 4 – 2 – 6 -1 – 5

Post reading Post reading

The Africans were reaching out to

China.

Paraphrasing:

→ The Africans left the African land

and came for a visit to China by sea.

The time was ripe.

→ In the Ming Dynasty both China

and the eastern coast countries became

very prosperous, and there came the

great needs for state-to-state contact.

The mouth of the Red Sea

→ The part of ocean where the Red Sea

meets the Indian Ocean.

For a short time, China had ruled

the seas.→ For a short period of time, China

held the power of sea for she had large

navy, experienced sailors and an

excellent admiral—Zheng He.

Homework :

Write an essay about a form of sports ,

ask the students to contrast the two

viewpoint .