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British Explorers

Gap-fill exercise

Fill in all the gaps, then press "Check" to check your answers. Use the "Hint" button to get a free letter if an answer is giving you trouble. You can also click on the "[?]" button to get a clue. Note that you will lose points if you ask for hints or clues!

   30      Africa      America      Australia      Canada      cannibalism      chief      died      disease      Drake      Elephant Island      Elizabeth      Endurance      expedition      Fiennes      fruits      gold      government      Hawaii      heart      ice      Livingstone      missionary      Nile River      Northwest      Pacific      potatoes      Records      Scott      second      South Pole      Stanley      starvation      unsupported      Walter   


Sir Francis (1545-1596)
A British explorer, slave-trader, privateer (a pirate working for a ) in the service of England, and naval officer (he was an Admiral). Drake led the expedition to sail around the world in a voyage lasting from 1577 to 1580 (Magellan led the first voyage around the world).

Sir Raleigh (1554-1618)
A British explorer, poet, historian, and soldier. He led expeditions to both North and South America; he was trying to found new settlements, find , and increase trade with the New World. In 1585, Raleigh sent colonists to the east coast of North America; Raleigh later named that area Virginia, in honour of , the Virgin Queen.
He is often credited with bringing tobacco and from the New World to Britain. Raleigh was later executed by King James I for treason.

James Cook (1728-1779)
A British explorer and astronomer who went on many expeditions to the Ocean, Antarctic, Arctic, and around the world.
Cook's first journey was from 1768 to 1771, when he sailed to Tahiti and then to . Cook's second expedition (1772-1775) took him to Easter Island. Cook's last expedition (1776-1779) was a search for a Northwest Passage across North America to Asia. Cook was killed by a mob on in 1779, on the Sandwich Islands (). At the time, he was trying to take the local hostage to get the natives to return a sailboat they had stolen.
Cook was the first ship's captain to stop the scurvy (now known to be caused by a lack of vitamin C) among sailors by providing them with fresh . Before this, scurvy had killed or incapacitated many sailors on long trips.

John Franklin (1786-1847)
English explorer and Admiral who proved the existence of a Passage (a water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through Canada). In 1845 he sailed from England with an expedition of 128 men to . The ship became trapped in , and the desperate, freezing and starving survivors resorted to . Scottish explorer John Rae said that Franklin and his expedition had died of and exposure in the Arctic. Lead poisoning from poorly-canned food may have also hastened their death.

David (1813-1873)
He was a British missionary and explorer who explored the interior of . He arrived as a in Africa in 1841, but began to explore the land in 1853. For over two decades he travelled over land, walking across the continent, and exploring the Zambezi River. He searched for the source of the . Livingstone was the first European to see the enormous Victoria Falls.
Livingstone was thought to be dead (because of rumours started by deserters of his expedition), but the American reporter Henry M. was sent to Africa to find Livingstone. Stanley found him (1872) and brought him needed food and medicine, then left to recount the tale to readers. Livingstone died a year later in Africa; his was buried there, but his body was buried in Westminster Abbey, London, England, after an 8-month journey.

Ernest Shackleton (1872-1922)
A British explorer (born in Ireland) and member of the Royal Naval Reserve. Shackleton was involved in many expeditions attempting to reach the . Shackleton's first voyage was with Captain Robert Falcon and Edward Wilson (on the British National Antarctic Discovery Expedition 1901-1904)
In 1907-1909, Shackleton led the British Antarctic (Nimrod) Expedition.
1914 he planned to cross Antarctica but drifted at sea for 10 months - and then their ship was crushed by pack ice in 1915. The crew escaped to (in the South Shetland Islands); Shackleton and a few others went over 800 miles for help in a life boat, and eventually rescued the others.

Endurance
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Robert Falcon Scott (1868-1912)
A British naval officer and Antarctic explorer. Scott led two expeditions to the South Pole, and on the disastrous second trip, along with his crew. His was the second to reach the South Pole (1910-1912)

Sir Ranulph (1944 - )
An English explorer and author who has led over expeditions to the North and South Poles the desert, the Nile, and many other remote places. In 1982, Fiennes led the first polar circumnavigation of the Earth.
In 1992, Fiennes and others found the legendary Lost City of Ubar in the desert of Oman.
In 1993, Fiennes and Dr. Mike Stroud made the first walk across the continent of Antarctica, each man dragging a 500-pound sledge. Fiennes holds many world exploration records. The Guiness Book of described Fiennes as "the world's greatest living explorer."