The British explorer James Cook was born in the village of Marton, Yorkshire, on 27 October, 1728. His family soon ____________ (moved) to another village, called Great Ayton, where Cook _____________(spent) most of his childhood. As a teenager James Cook ______________ (developed) a fascination for the sea and _______________ (travelled) to Whitby where he _____________ (had found) employment on a coal ship. While he _______________ (was serving) in the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), Cook _____________ (had) the command of a ship. Once the war _______________ (had) ended, Cook _______________ (took) command of the vessel Grenville and _______________ (went) to Newfoundland to survey the coasts there. While he ________________ (was mapping) the coasts of Newfoundland, he _______________ (observed) a solar eclipse off the North American coast. Cook _______________ (sent) the details to the Royal Society, England's leading scientific organisation, and ________________ (won) their attention. After Cook _________________ (had published) his observations of the solar eclipse, the Royal Society ________________ (asked) him to lead a scientific expedition to Tahiti and ________________ (put) him in command of the HMS Endeavour. From Tahiti Cook then ________________ (went on) to explore the South Pacific. He also _________________ (reached) New Zealand, which only the Dutchman Abel Tasman ________________ (had visited) before Cook. After Cook ______________ (had mapped) New Zealand's complete coastline, he _______________ (sailed) to Australia's east coast. Cook ______________ (named) the area New South Wales as it ______________ (reminded) him of the south coast of Wales in Great Britain. In 1772, one year after Cook ______________ (had returned) from his first voyage to the Pacific, the Royal Society _____________ (hired) him for another expedition to find the mythical "Terra Australis”. On his journey, Cook ______________ (discovered) several islands and almost __________ (went) as far as the continent of Antarctica. He ______________ (made) maps of the South Pacific and ___________(proved) that Terra Australis _____________(did not exist). His third and last voyage for the Royal Society ______________ (took) him to the west coast of North America where he _______________ (tried) to find a passage between the Atlantic and Pacific. He ________________ (could not  pass) the Bering Strait, however; the ice ______________(forced) him to return to Hawaii, which he__________________ (had discovered) earlier. While he and his crew _______________ (were resting) in Hawaii, some Hawaiians _____________ (stole) one of his boats. When Cook and his men ________________ (tried) to get the boat back from the natives, a violent fight ________________ (broke out) in which the natives _________________ (stabbed) James Cook to death.