At 9 a.m. on October 15, 2003, our country launched (发射) its first manned (有人的) space-ship, Shenzhou V, into space at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu Province. It took Yang Liwei and his spaceship about 21 hours to circle the earth 14 times. Yang Liwei is China’s first astronaut. He comes from Liaoning Province, and he has been an air force pilot(飞行员) since 1983. He was chosen from 14 pilots after many difficult tests.
The life of an astronaut is hard to imagine for many people. To put on a space suit takes 15 minutes with the help of others. Sleeping in space is not easy, either. He has to sleep in a special sleeping bag on the wall because there is no gravity. Yang can eat chicken and rice. It’s especially made to eat in space but it doesn’t taste nice.
“I’m feeling very good in space, and it looks wonderful here,” said Yang, “I have looked at our beautiful earth and I have recorded all that I have seen here.”
China has become the third country in the world to send a person into space after the former Soviet Union(前苏联) and the United States. China is now planning its next launch. Shenzhou VI will be into space within(在……之内) the next years, it may take three astronauts. We are all proud of our motherland.
【小题1】Shenzhou V was launched into space _____.

China launched its first space lab module Tiangong-1 on the evening of September 29, 2011, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China.
President Hu Jintao praised the successful launch of China's first space lab module Tiangong-1, and shook hands with the staff of the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center.
Premier Wen Jiabao and He Guoqiang also shook hands with the staff at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to congratulate on the success.
Tiangong-1, which is scheduled to dock(与……对接) with the Shenzhou-8 spacecraft later this year, will pave the way for building China's first space station.
During its two-year service life, Tiangong-1 will mainly conduct four tasks, such as experiments of autonomous rendezvous(自主交会) and docking procedures(程序) with the Shenzhou-8, -9, and -10 spacecrafts in the coming launches, aiming to establish the country's first space lab, according to Wu Ping, spokesperson for China's national space administration.
According to the plan for China's manned space program, the Shenzhou-10 will be a manned spacecraft, possibly carrying a female Chinese astronaut who will test manual space rendezvous and docking with the Tiangong-1.
Functioning as a target spacecraft, Tiangong-1 is expected to become China's first space laboratory when it connects to the above mentioned spaceships.
【小题1】When Tiangong-1 was launched, _____were at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.  

Yang Liwei circled the earth 14 times in 21 hours on October 15 and 16, 2003, landing on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. Looking a little tired, Yang stepped out of Shenzhou V, smiling and waving at the waiting people. “I feel very good.” Yang said to Premier Wen Jiabao on the phone. Yang said to a newspaper, “For our motherland and me, this is a great moment.”

China’s launch of Shenzhou V shows a higher starting point. It has two special systems（系统）to protect the spaceman, but neither Russian rockets（火箭）nor American ones have.

Yang didn’t know that he was chosen as China’s first spaceman until just before the launch. Although Yang was excited at the news, he still slept at 8p.m. as usual and was woken up at 8p.m. the next morning. Before the launch, Yang ate Chinese traditional food-dumplings. We all know that travelers usually eat them before going on a journey for good luck.

A stamp Success of China First Manned Space Flight was issued（发行）on October 16, 2003, making China the third country to send a spaceman into outer space.

1.It took Yang Liwei_____ to travel around the earth every circle.

       A. 6 hours    B. 90 minutes    C. 2 days      D. 21 hours

2.How did Yang Liwei feel after he came back to the earth?

       A. Quite tired.            B. A little scared.

       C. Tired but excited.       D. A little nervous

3.Which of the following statement is right?

  A. There is no difference between China’s spaceship and other countries.

  B. Yang Liwei knew he would be China’s first spaceman long before.

  C. From the news, Yang Liwei was too excited to fall asleep.

  D. Yang was proud of the flight.

4. What does the underlined word “launch” mean?

        A.发射    B.出发   C.制造    D.设计

5.China issued the stamps to _________.

  A. leave them in space

  B. give them to Yang Liwei as a reward

  C. celebrate the success

  D. give them to Russian and American spacemen.

Shenzhou X and three astronauts(宇航员) were sent up from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Gansu province, into a clear blue sky on Tuesday, bringing the nation one step closer to building its own space(太空) station in 2020.

　　Two men, mission commander(指挥官) Nie Haisheng and Zhang Xiaoguang, and China’s second female astronaut, Wang Yaping, are expected to stay in space for 15 days.

　　They will teach young people about science and do two space dockings, between Shenzhou X and the unmanned Tiangong-1 space module, a technically difficult procedure that brings two spaceship together in high-speed orbit(轨道).

　　The trip is our country’s fifth manned space mission, 10 years after the country’s first astronaut, Yang Liwei, went into space in 2003.

1.How long will they stay in space?

A．About a week      B．About two weeks    C．About a month     D．About two months

2.What will they do in space?  They will __________.

A．teach young people about science          B．take some photos

C．do two space dockings                   D．Both A and C

3.What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase ‘space dockings’?

A．太空实验         B．太空对接          C．太空垃圾         D．太空站

4.Who is the first astronaut to enter space in China?

A．Nie Haisheng       B．Zhang Xiaoguang    C．Wang Yaping       D．Yang Liwei