The Chinese admiral Zheng He must 1._________(make) quite the impression when the 300 ships under his command arrived at a new destination. The biggest vessels, known as “treasure ships,” were by some estimates 2._________(long) than a soccer field. Their rigging was festooned with yellow flags, sails dyed red with henna, hulls painted with huge, elaborate birds. Accompanying them were an array of support boats, 3.________(include) oceangoing stables for horses, aqueous farms for growing bean sprouts to keep scurvy away, and water taxis for local transportation. The 15th century 4._________(citizen) who received him in what are now Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, India, Kenya, and Yemen had never seen anything like it.
They came 5.________(bear) luxuries, from tools (axes, copper basins, porcelain) to cloth (fans, umbrellas, velvet) to food (lychees, raisins, salted meats). 6.________ return, they received tribute goods to carry back to China, including spices and precious stones and—on a few notable occasions—ostriches, elephants, and giraffes.
Almost 7.________ century before Vasco da Gama and Christopher Columbus made voyages that kicked off the era of European colonialism, Zheng spent three decades plying the waters between China and the East Coast of Africa, 8._________(set) up diplomatic relationships that would reshape Asian life. His seven expeditions challenged 9._________ humans could do at sea, pushing the limits with their boats’ size, 10._________(complex), and capacity for long-distance travel.
答案
1.have made 2.longer 3.including 4.citizens 5.bearing
6.In 7.a 8.setting 9.what 10.complexity
翻译
郑和指挥的300艘船每到一地，都会给当地人留下深刻印象。据估计，船队中最大的船只被称为“宝船”，比一个足球场还要大。船的索具上挂着黄色的旗子，帆被染成了红色，船体上画着巨大精致的鸟。伴随宝船的是一系列的保障船只，上面有马厩、种植着豆芽（以防止坏血病）的农场以及马船。15世纪时，印度尼西亚、马来西亚、越南、斯里兰卡、印度、肯尼亚和也门当地接待过他们的老百姓也从未见过如此宏大的场面。
郑和的船队带来了很多当时的奢侈品，从工具（斧头、铜盆、瓷器）到布料（扇子、雨伞、天鹅绒）再到食物（荔枝、葡萄干、腌肉）。作为回报，他们也收到了许多国家的贡品并带回了中国，包括香料和宝石，甚至还有鸵鸟、大象和长颈鹿。
早在瓦斯科•达•伽马和克里斯托弗•哥伦布开始欧洲殖民航行之前的近一个世纪，郑和就已经在中国和非洲东海岸之间的海域航行了30年，他所建立的外交关系影响了亚洲各国的生活。郑和七下西洋挑战了人类的海上能力，他所使用的船的尺寸、复杂性和长途海上旅行的的能力都达到了当时的极限。
词汇解析
admiral / ˈædmərəl / n. 海军将军，海军上将；舰队司令
vessel / ˈves(ə)l / n. 船，舰
treasure / ˈtreʒə(r) / n. 金银财宝，珠宝，财富
rigging / ˈrɪɡɪŋ / n. 索具，绳索
hull / hʌl / n. 船体
stable / ˈsteɪb(ə)l / n. 马厩
lychee / ˈlaɪtʃi /n. 荔枝
tribute / ˈtrɪbjuːt /n.（尤指旧时一国向他国交纳的）贡品，贡金
ostrich / ˈɒstrɪtʃ /n. 鸵鸟
waters / ˈwɔːtəz /n. 海域；近海
diplomatic / ˌdɪpləˈmætɪk / adj. 外交的，从事外交的
expedition / ˌekspəˈdɪʃ(ə)n /n. 远征，考察；探险队，考察队
