Long
-
distance
travel
can
be
difficult
for
anyone
,
but
it
used
to
be
even
more
challenging
.
Yet
____________________
the
difficulty
,
people
have
always
wanted
to
see
and
learn
about
____________________
regions
.
These
three
brave
explorers
did
exactty
that
?
hundreds
ot
years
ago
!
The
result
was
an
____________________
of
____________________
and
culture
that
changed
the
world
.
Marco
Polo
(
1254
-
1324
)
We
don't
know
exactly
when
and
where
Marco
Polo
was
born
,
but
he
lived
in
Venice
and
Genoa
,
in
what
is
now
Italy
,
and
he
traveled
east
?
far
____________________
the
borders
of
Europe
into
Asía
.
The
stories
he
____________________
atter
his
travels
seem
to
mix
together
fact
and
tiction
,
but
they
____________________
other
European
explorers
,
including
Christopher
Columbus
.
lbn
Battuta
(
1304
-
1369
)
lbn
Battuta
was
a
____________________
traveler
.
Born
in
Morocco
,
he
visited
most
of
the
Muslim
world
?
North
Atrica
,
the
Middle
East
,
and
East
Africa
?
as
well
as
South
Asia
,
including
Sri
Lanka
and
India
,
and
even
China
.
Battuta's
goal
was
to
____________________
for
knowledge
and
new
experiences
,
and
his
stories
taught
people
about
other
parts
ot
the
world
at
a
time
when
few
people
traveled
.
Zheng
He
(
1371
-
1433
)
The
____________________
of
Zheng
He
took
him
by
sea
trom
China
west
to
the
Middle
East
and
Africa
.
According
to
stories
,
Zheng
commanded
enormous
____________________
more
than
400
feet
(
122
m
)
long
?
much
,
much
larger
than
other
ships
of
the
time
,
The
size
of
the
ships
was
probably
helpful
for
____________________
,
as
well
as
tor
carrying
military
people
and
____________________
,
