The first people to build ships were the Egypitans 5000 years ago. They used (1)____to travel on the River Nile, the longest river in Africa. In the sixteenth century, people from Europe travelled thousands of kilometers, in large ships. It (2) ______ important that they found new ways around the world. Life was hard for these sailors and on the journey, (3) ______died because they often didn’t have enough food.

In the nineteenth century, ships called “clippers”(4) _____ tea from China to Britain and wool from Australia to the USA. In very strong winds, clippers could sail 650 kilometers (5) ______day.

In modern times, the largest ships are oil tankers. Some of these are 400 meters long (6) ______- the sailors have to use bicycles to travel round the ships!

They used (1)____to travel on the River Nile, the longest river in Africa.