In early November of 1503, during  Christopher (lolumbus' fourth and final trip to America,his ship was seri?ously  damaged (損壞)in a storm.Columbus and his men had lo live  on a small island for several months while they tried to repair their ship and  returned to Spain.

At first,the local people on the island were  very kind to the European visitors, giving them all the food and clothes they  needed to survive (活下來(lái)).However, as the months passed,  the local people became more and more unhappy with their guests, who were  tricking and stealing from them. Finally the locals decided to stop helping  them.Without food or any way to leave the island, Columbus' group were soon in  serious trouble.

Luckily for Columbus, he had a book about  the stars and the planets on his ship.It (lescril?''<l llic movements of all  the objects in the night sky. The liook, written by a well-known German  scientist, said there would he a total eclipse (月食）on  the evening of February 29,1504 and how long it would last.

Columbus worked out the difference in time  between Germany and North America. He then had a meeting with the local leaders  just before the eclipse would take place. In this meeting, Columbus told them  his god was angry because the local people were no longer giving food.So his god  would take aw ay the moon to punish them. The moment Columbus finished talking,  just as he had planned, the moon began dis?appearing.

The local leaders grew frightened and  quickly agreed to prm'ide Columbus with food and anything ,'1、'' lit' wanted.But first,Columbus' god had to return the moon.  Columbus told them he would have to discuss the idea with his god on his ship.  Knowing the moon would stay completely hidden for about 48 minutes, Columbus  returned just before the moon began to reappear. From thai day on, until they  finally left, Columbus and his men no longer had any trouble getting the food  they needed.

41. At first, the local people helped  Columbus and his men by

A. giving them food and clothes

B. building a house for them

C. repairing their ship

D. providing them with a book

42. The local people became angry because  the Europeans_•

A. looked very different

B. hacl nothing to trade

C. were cheats and thieves

D. wanted to take their land

43. Where did Columbus learn about the lunar  eclipse?

A. From a book.

B. From the moon.

C. From his group.

D. From the locals.

44. What did Columbus do after returning to  his ship on the night of the meeting?

A. He discussed the problem with his  god.

B. He waited for the eclipse to  finish.

C. He read about the stars and  planets.

D. He told his men what happened.

45. What can we learn about the Europeans  from the passage?

A. They all believed in God.

B. They never returned to Spain.

C. They admired the local people.

D. They caused their own  problems.