The British explorer James Cook was born in the village of Marton,
Yorkshire, on 27 October, 1728. His family soon ____________ (moved) to
another village,
called Great Ayton, where Cook _____________(spent) most of his
childhood. As a teenager James Cook ______________ (developed) a
fascination for the sea and _______________ (travelled) to Whitby where he
_____________ (had found) employment on a coal ship. While he _______________
(was serving) in the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), Cook
_____________ (had) the command of a ship. Once the war
_______________ (had) ended, Cook _______________ (took) command of the vessel
Grenville and _______________ (went) to Newfoundland to survey the coasts
there. While he ________________ (was mapping) the coasts of Newfoundland, he
_______________ (observed) a solar eclipse off the North American coast.
Cook _______________ (sent) the details to the Royal Society, England's
leading scientific organisation, and ________________ (won) their
attention. After Cook _________________ (had published) his observations of
the solar eclipse, the Royal Society ________________ (asked) him to lead a
scientific expedition to Tahiti and ________________ (put) him in
command of the HMS Endeavour. From Tahiti Cook then ________________ (went
on) to explore the South Pacific. He also _________________ (reached) New
Zealand, which only the Dutchman Abel Tasman ________________ (had visited)
before Cook. After Cook ______________ (had mapped) New Zealand's complete
coastline, he _______________ (sailed) to Australia's east coast. Cook
______________ (named) the area New South Wales as it ______________
(reminded) him of the south coast of Wales in Great Britain. In 1772, one
year after Cook ______________ (had returned) from his first voyage to the
Pacific, the Royal Society _____________ (hired) him for another
expedition to find the mythical "Terra Australis”. On
his journey, Cook ______________ (discovered) several islands and almost
__________ (went) as far as the continent of Antarctica. He ______________
(made) maps of the South Pacific and ___________(proved) that Terra
Australis _____________(did not exist). His third and last voyage for the
Royal Society ______________ (took) him to the west coast of North
America where he _______________ (tried) to find a passage between the
Atlantic and Pacific. He ________________ (could not pass) the Bering
Strait, however; the ice ______________(forced) him to return to Hawaii,
which he__________________ (had discovered) earlier. While he and his crew
_______________ (were resting) in Hawaii, some Hawaiians _____________ (stole)
one of his boats. When Cook and his men ________________ (tried) to get
the boat back from the natives, a violent fight ________________ (broke
out) in which the natives _________________ (stabbed) James Cook to death.