IMPORTANT: Comprehension questions will be in chronological order as you read through the story. Page numbers are approximate, and will vary with different editions of the book.
Section 1: Parts I-V
Vocabulary
- apprentice: a person learning a trade or craft from an expert
- din: an unpleasant noise
- endeavor: to work toward a goal
- sounding: measuring the depth of a body of water
- stowaway: a person who hides in a vehicle during a journey
- naught: nothing
- festoon: to decorate a place with ribbons or other decorations
Comprehension Questions
- Nick is able to stowaway on Endeavour by hiding in a smaller boat onboard. pg. 1
- Nick ran away from home because he wants to prove to his father that he can stick with something. pg. 4
- Nick has to hide until the ship passes Spain because if he is discovered before they pass the country, the captain will kick him off the ship. pg. 7
- Mr. Banks’ job onboard is to make a record of all the animals the crew discovers. pg. 9
- The Lord High Admiral ordered the Endeavour to sail around Cape Horn and observe the Planet Venus. pg. 11
- Nick picked up a thing or two about doctoring from his grandmother’s cook, Ganny Pajet. pg. 12
- Nick’s doctoring skills were useful in that he helped the Reverend’s children when the Reverend beat them. pg. 12-13
- An A.B. is an able-bodied seaman. pg. 13
- Mr. Bootie resents Nick because he feels that the Captain blames him for Nick stowing away. pg. 213 answer key says 213 its just 13.
- Nick says that Mr. Bootie is cruel, just like the Butcher. pg. 18
- Nick refuses to eat shark meat because sharks eat humans flesh. pg. 18
- Issac Smith treats Nick like a mate because Nick saved him from falling overboard. pg. 20
- Nick’s father sent him to the butcher because he thought it would fix his “softheartedness.” pg. 22
- Nick’s ducking helped his reputation because he was not afraid to be ducked, and even laughed when he was pulled back onboard. pg. 27-29
- Nick is scared that the Captain will kick him off of the Endeavour when they reach land. pg. 32
- The crew of the Endeavour are not allowed off the ship because the Portuguese do not believe that they are actually scientists. pg. 35
- Nick forces himself to watch John Thurman get whipped because he believes it will drive out memories from his past. pg. 37
- John Ramsay says that sailors never learn to swim because it is better to drown quickly if they should fall overboard. pg. 39
- Cape Fly Away is a term the sailors use to refer when someone thinks they see land but they don’t. pg. 49
- Captain Cook promoted Nick to a paid crew member after reaching King George’s Land. pg. 69
Section 2: Parts VI-X
Vocabulary
- custody: responsibility for someone
- dogwatch: a short watch shift on a ship
- jovial: friendly and pleasant
- quadrant: a tool used for navigation on a ship
- reluctant: unwilling to do something
- shirk: to avoid a responsibility
- savour: to enjoy the flavor of something
Comprehension Questions
- Mr. Monkhouse killed a native because he tried to push down a sentry and take his musket. pg. 71
- The Endeavour came to King George’s land to map the area. pg. 73
- Nick realizes that he would have more freedom to come and go amongst the native people if he could speak their language. pg. 75
- The success of the Endeavour’s entire journey depended upon an instrument named the Quadrant. pg. 79
- Nick explains that the natives’ goods have no value, and so they are not frustrated when things are stolen. pg. 84
- Captain Cook is disappointed over the reading he took of Venus because he fears they are not accurate enough. pg. 86
- Nick is whipped because he wrote, “Evil communications corrupt good,” on the cover of Mr. Booties Journal, signing his name underneath. pg. 87
- Nick turns twelve in June, 1769. pg. 88
- The natives of Huahine are different from those of OTahiti in that they do not steal the crew members’ belongings. pg. 97
- Captain Cook left a plaque engraved with the name of the island and the date to prove that they were the first Europeans to land there. pg. 98
- Nick says that he misses the sights, the sounds, the food, the moving on land, and the opportunity he had to get an education. pg. 113
- Nick wants to spy land before Mr. Bootie so that he can keep the reward of rum from him. pg. 116
- The natives on the New Continent react to danger by running straight toward it. They are a brave and warring people according to Nick. pg. 124
- The natives of the New Continent seem to value cloth above all else that the crew members have to offer. pg. 126
- Watching Samuel learn how to read stirs Nick to read because he never appreciated his education until seeing Samuel struggle with something he took for granted. pg. 128
- Nick says he doesn’t care if he ever goes ashore because he hears that the native people eat the bodies of the people they kill in war. pg. 131
- John Charlton sees Tarheto as “just another native,” but Nick knows that he is more than that. pg. 134-135
- Mr. Banks says that hunger is the best sauce. pg. 136
- Captain Cook punishes the men for stealing because he couldn’t act against the natives for stealing when his men did the same. pg. 141
Section 3: Parts XI-XV
Vocabulary
- broadcloth: a kind of cloth used to make clothes
- detestable: deserving intense dislike
- fraught: a situation likely to end poorly
- incident: a violent event
- replenish: to fill something that was previously emptied
- tiller: a lever used for steering on a ship
- transom: a beam used to reinforce the stern of a ship
Comprehension Questions
- Tarheto and Nick are afraid to venture away from their crew because they see a native holding human heads, and fear the cannibalism of the natives. pg. 153
- Tarheto tells Nick that the natives bring their women and children to war so that they cannot be kidnapped while the men are away. pg. 158
- Samuel Evans can now write his name, birthdate, place of birth, and his position aboard the Endeavour. pg. 161
- Mr. Bootie and the Gentlemen often remind Nick of the past, and make him wonder what will happen when he gets to Plymouth. pg. 162
- Captain Cook and the officers decide to return home by way of the uncharted coast of New Holland. pg. 169
- Upon leaving New Zealand, the Endeavour is desperately low on sugar, salt, oil, tea, and tobacco. pg. 170
- The thought of sunlight and a gentle breeze kept Nick alive while he was apprenticing with the Butcher. pg. 172
- When Mr. Bootie catches Nick teaching Samuel to read, he locks him in the animal pen with hungry and angry hogs. pg. 173-175
- Nick spites the Reverend because Isaac Smith says that he has a good eye. pg. 183
- Nick believes that Mr. Bootie’s opinion of him is changing because Mr. Bootie watches him with no malice when he is helping treat Mr. Orton. pg. 189
- The crew of the Endeavour uses a technique called “fothering” to plug the hole in the ship. pg. 200
- Nick thinks that the fires might be signals used by the natives to warn of the Endeavor’s landing. pg. 204
- The animal spotted by some of the men is likely a Kangaroo. pg. 207
- Many of the plants stored in the ship were destroyed by the flooding water, causing Mr. Banks to become quite distressed. pg. 208
- Nick has learned from the Captain that people can harsh and stern, but still fair. pg. 222
- Nick means that when people are hungry they will eat things they wouldn’t normally eat. pg. 223
Section 4: Parts XVI-XXI
Vocabulary
- balm: an ointment used on chapped skin
- barren: land that does not produce vegetation
- ebb: the movement of the tide in the ocean
- fathom: a measurement used by sailors used to measure depth of water
- gale: a strong gust of wind
- oakum: a fiber that comes from a separated or aged rope
- shoal: a large group of fish
Comprehension Questions
- The Endeavour has been at sea for two years. pg. 234
- The Endeavour is nearly destroyed when an anchor falls into the ocean and is lost. pg. 235
- The Endeavour is saved from sinking when the crew sees “cloud shadows” and are able to avoid a patch of shoals that would have wrecked the ship had they collided. pg. 236
- Nick believes that Mr. Booties attitude is changing because he does not strike him as would have after making a comment to him. pg. 236
- The Captain will not publish an inaccurate chart because he does not want future voyagers to get lost using them. pg. 240
- The Captain refuses to stop at Concordia because the Dutch and the English do not get along. pg. 241
- The Captain learned that there were riots in England of people protesting against King George. pg. 247
- Mr. Perry says that he is “too pickled” to get sick. pg. 261
- Nick says that he would gladly trade a whole week of roast pork for a single bite of fresh fruit. pg. 263
- Samuel Evans hopes to come home as a learned man, and wants to continue his reading lessons until the Endeavour returns. pg. 265
- Although Nick happily chose to go on the voyage, he now wishes to return home. pg. 268
- The other English ship anchored off of Table Bay gives the Endeavour a basket of fresh fruit. pg. 279
- The British at the Cape are thinking more of the losses that the Endeavour has faced, and not of the adventures its crew experienced. pg. 280
- When Nick first boarded the Endeavour, he longed for freedom from his responsibilities at home, and from the overbearing people in his life. pg. 281
- Mr. Banks tells Nick to look him up after he has paid his debt in England. pg. 283
- Manley and Jones respect and admire Nick for his skills, while Mr. Bootie is outwardly negative in most interactions with Nick. pg. 283
- Nick practices the speeches he will give to the Butcher and his Father as the Endeavour nears England. pg. 289-290 – not just 290
- Nick is almost 14-years-old at the end of his voyage. pg. 293