UNIT 8
WELCOME TO
THE WORLD Marco Polo’s Odyssey
During the Middle Ages, most people in Europe spent their entire lives in the village
where they were born. But in the 13th century, a young Italian named Marco Polo travelled all the way to China! Marco was only seventeen years old when he left Venice. It took him almost four years to cover the vast distance over steppes, deserts and mountains before he finally reached the palace of Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor. When he arrived, Marco found a shining palace of marble and gold. The walls of the palace ran for miles and enclosed a vast park full of animals and over two hundred kinds of birds. China was full of riches that Europeans were eager to buy. Kublai Khan was impressed and sent Marco Polo on many important missions to distant parts of the empire. When Marco Polo returned home to the city of Venice, he talked about the wonders he had seen in China. The story of Marco Polo’s travels became popular all over Europe, even though many people thought Marco had made up a lot of the wonders he described. One person who read Marco’s book believed it all. In fact, he was so excited that he wanted to find a fast sea route to China. His name was Christopher Columbus…
In this Unit you will:
At the end of this Unit, you should be able to:
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