Question

Marco Polo was born in 1254 in the Venetian Republic. At the time, Venice was the center of the
Venetian Republic. Marco Polo was only 17 years old when he, his father, Niccolo and his uncle,
Maffeo, decided to go to China. It was Pope Gregory X who sent them to visit Kublai Khan who was the
emperor of China at that time. During their visit there, Marco Polo told Kublai Khan many stories about
different lands and the emperor liked them so much that he gave Marco a job, sending him on different
diplomatic missions. He was also made the governor of Yangzhou, an important trading city.
Later Marco Polo went back to the Venetian Republic and he talked about his experience in China.
Only few people truly believed his stories. In 1298 he went to jail during a war between Genoa and
Venice and while being there, he dictated all his stories about his experiences in China to another man in
jail. The stories became a book, 'The Travels of Marco Polo' and each chapter covered a specific region
of China, telling about the military, farming, religion and culture of that particular area.
Marco Polo got out of prison in 1299 and he went back to Venice to join his father and his uncle. In
1300 he got married and had three children. Marco Polo died in 1324 when he was almost 70 ears old.
1.Write if the following sentences are T (True) or F (False):
1. Marco Polo was only 17 when he joined his father, Maffeo and his uncle, Niccolo in
China
2. Kublai Khan was the Emperor of China at that time.
3. Marco Polo told Kublai Khan a lot of stories about Venice.
4. 'The Travels of Marco Polo' included stories about Marco Polo's travels all around the
world.
2. Answer the questions. Write full sentences.
1. What was the name of the city Marco Polo was governor of?
2. Why did he go to prison in 1298?
A01234
A 012
A012

Answer 1

I. 1) True (reiese din a treia propozitie din text)

2) True (reiese din a patra propozitie din text)

3) False - Marco told the emperor many stories about different lands, not necessarily Venice.

4) False - The book only contained his stories about the regions of China.

II. 1) The name of the city Marco Polo was the governor of was Yangzhou.

2) The reason why Marco Polo was imprisoned is not mentioned, however, we know it was during a war between Genoa and Venice