话题链接:China's First Spaceman Yang Liwe

  With a Long March-II-F carrier rocket(运载火箭)pushing Shenzhou Ⅴ into the orbit some 300 kilometers away from the Earth Wednesday morning, Yang Liwei, 38, turns out to be China's first astronaut in space.

  At 9 am Wednesday(Beijing time), Yang, aboard Shenzhou Ⅴ white in color, took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the Gobi desert in northwest China's Gansu province.

  He is expected to land somewhere on central Inner Mongolia grassland at 7 a.m.Thursday, after orbiting the earth 14 times.Yang will be traveling some 500 000 kilometers in space in 21 hours, a “traveler's record” in the world's most populous nation with a 5000-year-old civilization(文明).

  When Shenzhou-5 entered orbit on schedule, the ground command center received a message sent by Yang from outer space, saying that “everything goes smoothly”.His name, however, had remained unknown until 5 am Wednesday.At 5 am sharp Wednesday, Yang was seen waving his hands to a group of journalists from inside a glass-shielded(有防护玻璃的)room at the Jiuquan launch center, with two other astronauts sitting beside him as “backups”.Yang, who looked calm, found himself in a shower of camera flashlights.He responded with a broad smile.

  In an exclusive(高级)interview with Xinhua, Yang expressed full confidence in China's first manned space flight.

  Su Shuangning, director-general and chief designer of the astronaut system under China's manned space program, described Yang as a sober-minded(沉着冷静的)person with a “superb capability of self-control”.

  While a fighter pilot, Yang had 1350 hours of flight experience.He was chosen, along with 13 others, from among 1500 pilots for space flight training.Yang's colleagues described him as a man with a good team spirit, a man of dedication(奉献) to his career.Friends at his hometown, Suizhong County of northeast China's Liaoning Province, remember that Yang had dreamed of flying when still a child.Yang was recruited(招募)by the No.2 Aviation College of the PLA Air Force in September 1983 and became a fighter pilot after graduation with bachelor's degree.In 1998, Yang became a member of China's first team of astronauts.Yang, 168 cm tall, is a lieutenant colonel.He has an eight-year-old son, and his wife, Zhang Yumei, also serves in China's space program.

  According to Su Shuangning, China's first team of astronauts are all capable of working and living in space thanks to five years of rigid(严格的)physical, psychological and technical training.He said that Yang Liwei was one of the best in the team.

  In an Astronaut Training Base in Beijing, China's would-be astronauts had lessons necessary for space flight, including aviation dynamics, air dynamics, geophysics, meteorology, astronomy, space navigation, design principle and structure of rockets and spacecraft, as well as equipment examination.Moreover, they received systematic(系统的)training in space flight in simulators(模拟器).

  “To establish myself as a qualified astronaut, I have studied harder than in my college years and have received training much tougher than for a fighter pilot, ” said Yang.

  If the spaceship's re-entry module(模块)could not land at the pre-set areas and the recovery team could not rush to the spot on time, the astronaut must act for self-rescue.“Therefore, survival skills have become one of the most important knowledge for the astronauts to grasp, ”said Su Shuangning.“Through rigorous(严酷的)training, our astronauts have learned how to survive under extreme conditions.”Twenty-five days before the launch of Shenzhou-5, the would-be astronauts started exercising in the real spacecraft at the Jiuquan Launch Center.

  “When I boarded the spacecraft for the first time, I couldn't help feeling excited, ” Yang recalled.“I decided that I must fly it.”

  At 6∶15 a.m.Wednesday, Yang got seated in the re-entry module of Shenzhou-5, atop a 58.3-meter-high Long March-II-F carrier rocket.Between 1999 and 2002, Long March-II-F carrier rockets were used to launch four unmanned spacecraft into orbit, and all the launches were successful.

想一想:After reading the passage, what made him become successful?What can you learn from him?

His eyes nearly in tears from the crush of fellow travelers at Guangzhou's train station, Hong Tao said things were much better on Sunday, after days of waiting for a train to his home in Hubei province.

"I think it's fine today, and everything is going smoothly," the 28-year-old said. "I thought it would be really crowded but it has turned out to be OK."

Chinese authorities say they expect 1.3 million people to travel out of Guangzhou's train station over the next few days, as they rush to get home by Wednesday, the eve of Lunar New Year.

Hong's optimism may have been helped by the blue skies that emerged over Guangzhou on Sunday for the first time in a week.

Last week, a rare winter storm paralyzed China's transportation system as millions tried to get home to celebrate the holiday — the only chance for many migrant workers to see their families all year.

China's state-run Xinhua news agency said Friday that 95 percent of rail traffic had "returned to normal." But Guangzhou's train station remained packed with a backlog of hundreds of thousands of travelers hoping to get home for the holiday.

A young woman was stepped on in a stampede (人群蜂拥) at the train station Friday, and later died of her injuries, according to Xinhua. Video of the situation on Friday showed crowds of people screaming, elbowing each other, in some cases sobbing and collapsing in the rush to get a slot (狭缝,窄孔) on a train.

China Sunday announced it has organized over 300,000 People's Liberation Army forces to southern China in what it described as a "war on winter weather".

The government also announced a $700 million plan to help farmers whose crops have been destroyed.

6. How many days is it from the day this article was made to the Lunar New Year?

A. Two days.         B. Three days.               C. Four days.         D. Five days.

7. What can we know about the weather condition of last week in Guangzhou?

A. Sunny with blue sky.               B. Rainy for a whole week.

C. Heavily snowy.                       D. Rainy first and snowy now.

8. Why are there so many passengers in Guangzhou’s train station?

A. Because the heavy snow stopped the passengers from leaving the station.

B. Because the passengers didn’t hope to leave the station right now.

C. Because the passengers hoped to leave for their hometown.

D. Because the holiday was coming near.

9. Where is Hong Tao from?

A. Shandong province.                B. Hubei province.

C. Guandong province.                      D. Not mentioned.

10. What can we infer from the passage?

A. On Friday, a young man was dead because of crowds’ elbowing, screaming.

B. China’s Government have arranged the PLA forces to help.

C. The government of China have offered money to help farmers enjoy the new year.

D. Many crops have been destroyed by the crowds of people.

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