Grade 3 Skills Workbook (Unit 9) Quiz

The Age of Exploration

Instructions: Choose the best answer for questions 1–7. Then answer the short-answer questions at the end.

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1. What did Christopher Columbus do in 1492?
A. He built a settlement in Spain
B. He sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and landed near the Americas
C. He invented a new spice
D. He explored for England

2. According to the reading, why were spices so expensive in Europe five hundred years ago?
A. They were illegal to trade
B. They were scarce and hard to find
C. They were only used by kings
D. They tasted bad and few people wanted them

3. Which explorer went in search of silver and gold for Spain?
A. John Cabot
B. Henry Hudson
C. Samuel de Champlain
D. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado

4. Which country did John Cabot explore for?
A. France
B. England
C. Spain
D. the Netherlands

5. What part of the plant is used to make cinnamon?
A. the flower
B. the seed
C. the bark
D. the root

6. Where can peppercorns be grown, according to the passage?
A. Only in Spain
B. Only in England
C. In warm, wet places like India
D. Anywhere in Europe

7. What is the difference between red and white peppercorns?
A. They come from completely different plants
B. White peppercorns have had their outer hull removed
C. Red peppercorns are always ground, white ones never are
D. White peppercorns are grown only in Europe

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Short-Answer Questions

8. In your own words, explain why explorers were willing to sail across oceans to find spices like pepper and cinnamon.

9. Name two European countries (other than Spain) mentioned in the reading, and name one explorer who sailed for each.

10. Explain how a spice like cinnamon or pepper would have traveled from a place like India all the way to Europe five hundred years ago.

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Answer Key

1. B
2. B
3. D
4. B
5. C
6. C
7. B
8. Sample answer: Spices such as pepper and cinnamon could not be grown in Europe, so they were scarce and very expensive there; explorers hoped to find and bring back these valuable spices, much like they searched for gold.
9. Sample answer: England — John Cabot (also Henry Hudson); France — Samuel de Champlain; the Netherlands — Henry Hudson.
10. Sample answer: Spices had to be imported from faraway places like India and the Indies, transported over land using donkeys, mules, and camels, which added to their cost before they reached Europe.