李蓓供稿

Christopher Columbus was a great explorer（探險(xiǎn)家）.He was born in Italy（意大利）in 1451. His family was notrich. When he was 13， he learned geography（地理）andwent out to sea.

He thought（認(rèn)為）the Earth was round. People couldreach（到達(dá)）the East by sailing（航行）West. He wantedto find a new route（路線）from Europeto China and India（印度）.But he didnot have money for ships and food.Columbus asked the king and the queenof Spain（西班牙）to give him money. Inreturn（作為回報(bào)），he would give themnew land， animals and gold.

Columbus had three ships， theNina， the Pinta and the Santa Maria.They started sailing on August 3，1492， from Spain. On October 12， they arrived in the Bahamas（巴哈馬群島）.Next， he arrived in Cuba（古巴）.Finally， hearrived in North America（北美洲）. Columbus had three othervoyages（航程）in 1493， 1498 and 1502.

The Native Americans

美洲土著人

When Columbus arrived on the shore （海岸 ）of North America， he saw people already livingthere. These were the Native Americans. Theywere living in peace（和平地） .

The.rGreat Trade

歐洲和美洲的貿(mào)易往來

Columbus brought （帶來 ） ruany things froruEurope to the America. There were bananas， coffee，oranges， cows and horses. He also brought thingsback from the America to Europe. There weresunflowers， rubber， corn and turkeys. From then on（從那時(shí)起）， people froru these areas started to dobusiness（生意 ） with each other.

Columbus Day

“哥倫布日”

Columbus Day falls on the second Monday in October every year. It ' s anational holiday in the US. Many schools close for the day. People haveparades（游行） to celebrate the day in some places in the US.

（李蓓/供稿）