Reading Comprehension

On August 3, 1492 , Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos , Spain , with less than a hundred crew members to discover a new route to Asia. After spending a difficult time at sea, the party sighted land early on the morning ofOctober 12, 1492. They set foot on an island in the Bahamas which they named Al Salvador. Columbus presumed that the indigenous people were Native Indians as he was under the mistaken belief that he had set foot on Indian soil. Probably some 10 million American Indians were natives to the land before the large-scale inhabitation by Europeans and subsequent annihilation of Native Americans started.

However, it took more than a hundred years after Columbus discovered America for the Europeans to finally take the momentous decision to make the New World their home.

The Native Americans actually welcomed the pale-skinned visitors primarily out of curiosity than anything else. They were fascinated by the steel knives and swords, fire spewing cannons, brass and copper utensils, etc. that these visitors brought with them. Eventually, cultural differences erupted. The natives could not stomach the arrogance of the newcomers and the scant respect they paid to nature. The European settlers viewed every resource — plants, animals, and people as something to be commercially exploited.

The native Indians were vastly outnumbered in the wars that ensued. The resistance they put up never proved enough to stop the European settlers. The nomadic lifestyle of the Indians, the relatively unsophisticated weapons at their disposal, the unwillingness of some of their own people to defend themselves, and the diseases of the white men — all contributed to the virtual elimination of their race. Some of the diseases brought by Europeans from their overcrowded cities that decimated the natives were: small pox, plague, measles, cholera, typhoid, and malaria. These deadly diseases, to which most natives had developed no resistance, devastated many tribes between 1775 and 1850.

America was named after an Italian navigator, Amerigo Vespucci, who explored the Northern parts of South America in 1499 and 1500 and later announced to the world about the discovery of a new continent.

The primary purpose of the passage is to

• Disprove the notion that America was named after Columbus

• Provide a snapshot of the discovery of America and the early years of settlements.

• Explain how the Europeans eliminated the native Americans in their own land

• Discuss how the process of colonization of America started.

• To tell about the Americans Indians.

On August 3, 1492 , Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos , Spain , with less than a hundred crew members to discover a new route to Asia. After spending a difficult time at sea, the party sighted land early on the morning ofOctober 12, 1492. They set foot on an island in the Bahamas which they named Al Salvador. Columbus presumed that the indigenous people were Native Indians as he was under the mistaken belief that he had set foot on Indian soil. Probably some 10 million American Indians were natives to the land before the large-scale inhabitation by Europeans and subsequent annihilation of Native Americans started.

However, it took more than a hundred years after Columbus discovered America for the Europeans to finally take the momentous decision to make the New World their home.

The Native Americans actually welcomed the pale-skinned visitors primarily out of curiosity than anything else. They were fascinated by the steel knives and swords, fire spewing cannons, brass and copper utensils, etc. that these visitors brought with them. Eventually, cultural differences erupted. The natives could not stomach the arrogance of the newcomers and the scant respect they paid to nature. The European settlers viewed every resource — plants, animals, and people as something to be commercially exploited.

The native Indians were vastly outnumbered in the wars that ensued. The resistance they put up never proved enough to stop the European settlers. The nomadic lifestyle of the Indians, the relatively unsophisticated weapons at their disposal, the unwillingness of some of their own people to defend themselves, and the diseases of the white men — all contributed to the virtual elimination of their race. Some of the diseases brought by Europeans from their overcrowded cities that decimated the natives were: small pox, plague, measles, cholera, typhoid, and malaria. These deadly diseases, to which most natives had developed no resistance, devastated many tribes between 1775 and 1850.

America was named after an Italian navigator, Amerigo Vespucci, who explored the Northern parts of South America in 1499 and 1500 and later announced to the world about the discovery of a new continent.

From the passage we can infer that in comparison to the Europeans, Native Americans were

• Careless about their environment

• An unhealthy lot

• Most respectful about nature

• Ignorant about sanitation

• Afraid of outsiders

On August 3, 1492 , Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos , Spain , with less than a hundred crew members to discover a new route to Asia. After spending a difficult time at sea, the party sighted land early on the morning ofOctober 12, 1492. They set foot on an island in the Bahamas which they named Al Salvador. Columbus presumed that the indigenous people were Native Indians as he was under the mistaken belief that he had set foot on Indian soil. Probably some 10 million American Indians were natives to the land before the large-scale inhabitation by Europeans and subsequent annihilation of Native Americans started.

However, it took more than a hundred years after Columbus discovered America for the Europeans to finally take the momentous decision to make the New World their home.

The Native Americans actually welcomed the pale-skinned visitors primarily out of curiosity than anything else. They were fascinated by the steel knives and swords, fire spewing cannons, brass and copper utensils, etc. that these visitors brought with them. Eventually, cultural differences erupted. The natives could not stomach the arrogance of the newcomers and the scant respect they paid to nature. The European settlers viewed every resource — plants, animals, and people as something to be commercially exploited.

The native Indians were vastly outnumbered in the wars that ensued. The resistance they put up never proved enough to stop the European settlers. The nomadic lifestyle of the Indians, the relatively unsophisticated weapons at their disposal, the unwillingness of some of their own people to defend themselves, and the diseases of the white men — all contributed to the virtual elimination of their race. Some of the diseases brought by Europeans from their overcrowded cities that decimated the natives were: small pox, plague, measles, cholera, typhoid, and malaria. These deadly diseases, to which most natives had developed no resistance, devastated many tribes between 1775 and 1850.

America was named after an Italian navigator, Amerigo Vespucci, who explored the Northern parts of South America in 1499 and 1500 and later announced to the world about the discovery of a new continent.

What can be inferred from the third paragraph?

• The native Americans did not have any weapons with which to defend themselves.

• The native Americans probably attached a lot of importance to and respected nature.

• The native Americans did not know how to use natural resources.

• The early settlers became arrogant as they could commercially exploit resources.

• The native Americans did not know the art of making utensils.

On August 3, 1492 , Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos , Spain , with less than a hundred crew members to discover a new route to Asia. After spending a difficult time at sea, the party sighted land early on the morning ofOctober 12, 1492. They set foot on an island in the Bahamas which they named Al Salvador. Columbus presumed that the indigenous people were Native Indians as he was under the mistaken belief that he had set foot on Indian soil. Probably some 10 million American Indians were natives to the land before the large-scale inhabitation by Europeans and subsequent annihilation of Native Americans started.

However, it took more than a hundred years after Columbus discovered America for the Europeans to finally take the momentous decision to make the New World their home.

The Native Americans actually welcomed the pale-skinned visitors primarily out of curiosity than anything else. They were fascinated by the steel knives and swords, fire spewing cannons, brass and copper utensils, etc. that these visitors brought with them. Eventually, cultural differences erupted. The natives could not stomach the arrogance of the newcomers and the scant respect they paid to nature. The European settlers viewed every resource — plants, animals, and people as something to be commercially exploited.

The native Indians were vastly outnumbered in the wars that ensued. The resistance they put up never proved enough to stop the European settlers. The nomadic lifestyle of the Indians, the relatively unsophisticated weapons at their disposal, the unwillingness of some of their own people to defend themselves, and the diseases of the white men — all contributed to the virtual elimination of their race. Some of the diseases brought by Europeans from their overcrowded cities that decimated the natives were: small pox, plague, measles, cholera, typhoid, and malaria. These deadly diseases, to which most natives had developed no resistance, devastated many tribes between 1775 and 1850.

America was named after an Italian navigator, Amerigo Vespucci, who explored the Northern parts of South America in 1499 and 1500 and later announced to the world about the discovery of a new continent.

Based on the information in the passage which of the following cannot be inferred?

1. Alien diseases wiped out a large proportion of certain Native American tribes
2. The early settlers totally eliminated the Native Americans
3. To the early settlers, even people were resources to be exploited commercially

• Only 1

• Only 2

• Only 3

• Both 1 and 2