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In the 16th century, an age of great marine and terrestrial exploration, Ferdinand Magellan led the first expedition to sail around the world. As a young Portuguese noble, he served the king of Portugal but he became involved in the quagmire of political intrigue at court and lost the king' s favor. After he was dismissed from service by the king of Portugal, he offered to serve the future Emperor Charles V of Spain.
A papal decree of 1493 had assigned all land in the New World west of 50 degrees W longitude to Spain and all the land east of that line to Portugal. Magellan offered to prove that the East Indies fell under Spanish authority. On September 20, 1519, Magellan set sail from Spain with five ships. More than a year later, one of these ships was exploring the topography of South America in search of a water route across the continent. This ship sank, but the remaining four ships searched along the southern peninsula of South America. Finally they found the passage they sought near 50 degrees S latitude. Magellan named this passage the Strait of All Saints, but today it is known as the Strait of Magellan.
One ship deserted while in this passage and returned to Spain, so fewer sailors were privileged to gaze at that first panorama of the Pacific Ocean. Those who remained crossed the meridian now known as the International Date Line in the early spring of 1521 after 98 days on the Pacific Ocean. During those long days at sea, many of Magellan' s men died of starvation and disease.
Later, Magellan became involved in an insular conflict in the Philippines and was killed in a tribal battle. Only one ship and 17 sailors under the command of the Basque navigator Elcano survived to complete the westward journey to Spain and thus prove once and for all that the world is round, with no precipice at the edge. 

单选题 The 16th century was an age of great ______exploration.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】由第一段第一句可知， 16世纪是“an age of great marine and terrestrial exploration” ， terrestrial陆地的。cosmic宇宙的。 land是terrestrial的同义词， 选项中没有marine的同义词， 因此B项正确。
单选题 Magellan lost the favor of the king of Portugal when he became involved in a political ______
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】根据第一段， 麦哲伦卷入了“the quagmire of political intrigue” 。 quagmire沼泽； 困境。 entanglement纠缠。 因此A项正确。
单选题 The Pope divided New World lands between Spain and Portugal according to their location on one side or the other of an imaginary geographical line 50 degrees west of Greenwich that extends in a ______ direction.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】第二段第一句中， 1493年的教皇法令将西经50度西新世界的所有土地， 以及该线以东的所有土地分配给葡萄牙。 papal罗马教皇的。 longitude经度； 经线。 经度是在南北之间的假想的地理线。 因此A项正确。
单选题 Four of the ships sought a passage along a southern______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】题干中“passage” 为“通路” 的意思。 由第二段可知， 这四艘船“searched along the southern peninsula of South America” 。 peninsula意思是“半岛 ” ， 即三面环水， 因此C项正确。
单选题 In the spring of 1521, the ships crossed the ______now called the International Date Line.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】由倒数第二段可知， 他们穿过了一条如今叫 做“the International Date Line” 的“meridian” 。 the International Date Line国际日 期变更线。 meridian子午线； 经线。 A项意思为“假想中连接两极的圆” ， 即子午线。 B项为“假想中与赤道平行的线” ， 即纬线。 C项“land mass” 意思为“大陆块” 。