sailors   unfortunately  fact  explorers  sailed   
present named     new  age      pay for
Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451. While spending most of his early years at sea, he began to believe that he could find a shortcut to the Indies by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean. _1___ ，the King of Portugal refused to finance such a trip, and Columbus was forced to __2__ his idea to the King and Queen of Spain. 
In 1942, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella agreed to __3__ his trip. They provided him with a crew and three ships, the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria. Columbus __4__ aboard the Santa Maria.
The trip was long and hard. Many__5__ grew restless and wanted to turn back. After two months at sea, land was finally sighted. The ships docked on the island of Hispaniola. 
Columbus _6___ the native people he saw "Indians", because he believed he had found the shortcut to India he was looking for. In __7__ ,Columbus had found North America, a brand ___8_ continent. He died, however, without appreciating the importance of his discovery.
 It was left to other _9___ and nations to understand the importance of his discoveries. Columbus' discoveries set the stage for the ___10__ of Exploration, one of the most fascinating and exciting times in world history.