单项选择题

James Cook was born in Britain on October 27, 1728. He commanded (指挥) three voyages of discovery for Great Britain, and sailed around the world twice. Captain Cook’s voyages led to the founding of colonies (殖民地) throughout the Pacific by several European countries. He is considered one of the world’s greatest explorers.
Cook was an apprentice (学徒) to a shipping company at age 18, and joined the British Navy at 27 in 1755. In 1768, the Navy appointed him leader of a scientific expedition (远征) to Tahiti to observe a solar eclipse (日食) by Venus. He also had secret orders to look for a southern continent geographer (地理学者) who worked on the research on the world. He set out on his first voyage round the world in the ship voyage. The trip to Tahiti was successful. In October 1769 Cook was the first European to visit New Zealand.
On Cook’s second journey he sailed farther south than any other European. He circled Antarctica in his famous ship Resolution, but the ice surrounding the continent prevented the sighting of land. The existence of the Antarctica remained unproved until 1840. He returned to England in 1775 and was promoted (提升) to Captain.

In 1768, the Navy appointed him leader of a scientific expedition to Tahiti for the following aims EXCETP ().

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