James Cook was born in Britain on October 27, 1728. He commandedthree voyages of discovery for Great Britain, and sailed around the world twice. Captain Cook's voyages lead to the founding of colonies throughout the Pacific by several European countries. He is considered one of the world's greatest explorers.

Cook was an apprenticeto a shipping company at age 18, and joined the British Navy at 27 in 1755. In 1768, the Navy appointed him leader of a scientific expedition to Tahiti to observe a solar eclipse by Venus. He also had secret orders to look for a southern continent geographers long believed kept the world in balance. He set out on his first voyage round the world in the ship Endeavour. The trip to Tahiti was successful. In October 1769 Cook was the first European to visit New Zealand.

On Cook's second journey he sailed farther south than any other European. He circled Antarctica in his famous ship Resolution, but the ice surrounding the continent prevented the sighting of land. The existence of the Antarctica remained unproved until 1840. He returned to England in 1775 and was promotedto Captain.

In July 1776 Cook set sail on his third voyage, again in Resolution. His missionwas to look for a possible northern sea route between Europe and Asia. In 1778 he became the first known European to reach the Hawaiian Islands. Later in 1778 Cook sailed up the northwest coast of North America, and was the first European to land on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. He continued up the coast through the Bering Strait, and entered the Arctic Ocean. Great walls of ice blocked the expedition, so Cook headed back for the Hawaiian Islands. On February 14, 1779 Cook was stabbedto death by Hawaiian natives while investigatinga theft of a boat by an islander. The expedition arrived back in England in October 1780.

command 指挥

colony 殖民地

apprentice 学徒

solar eclipse 日食

promote 提升

mission 使命

stab 刺

investigate 调查