Comic:Marco Polo and the unicorns
【明報專訊】With their time machine, the Smarties travelled to the past and saw Marco Polo.
“ Marco Polo: Oh, these must be unicorns. I didn't know they like rolling in the mud. ”
“ Pat: These are not unicorns. They are rhinoceros. ”
“ Marco Polo: Rhi...no...ce...ros? ”
“ Bill: Yes, and these are crocodiles. ”
“ Marco Polo Cro...co...diles? I thought these were some gigantic snakes with sharp claws! ”
“ Eason: Grrr! ”
“ Marco Polo: Help!! ”
◆Know more
Marco Polo (1254 - 1324) was a merchant and explorer who was born in the Republic of Venice. He is famous for travelling from Europe to China along the Silk Road.
On these journeys, he learned about different cultures. He was amazed at objects such as paper money and porcelain bowls. He also saw some animals which were hitherto unknown in Europe. He mistook them for creatures from myths.
His stories were written in a book called The Travels of Marco Polo. It helped Europeans to learn about Asia. Other famous explorers, such as Christopher Columbus, were inspired by his stories.
■English highway﹕Mistake for
''Mistake for'' is a phrasal verb which means ''to confuse with''. It means someone thinks wrongly that somebody/something is somebody/something else.
e.g. I mistook your sister for you.
He mistook this cartoon character for a bear.
■Glossary
porcelain (n) 瓷
creature (n) 生物
myth (n) 神話
inspire (v) 啟發
[Smarties' Power English 第288期]