If you watch the sky about an hour after the sun goes down, you may see some "moving stars". But they
aren't real stars. They're satellites, a machine that has been sent into space and goes around the Earth, moon,
etc. And the biggest of all is the International Space Station (ISS).
     The ISS is the biggest satellite because scientists want to live on it. They think that the best way to learn
more about space is to live there. The space shuttle Discovery has taken off from the Kennedy Space Center
in Cape Canaveral, Florida several times and carried a few groups of astronauts to the International Space
Station.
     When the space station is finished, it will be like a city in space. People will stay and study there with many
of the things they have at home. Laboratories, living rooms and power stations are being built. The ISS is the
most expensive space program ever. Millions and millions of dollars are being spent on it every year.
     Scientists hope that the ISS will be a stepping stone for future space exploration. "The ISS will help us
better understand the human body, explore (know more about) space and study the earth. It can help us make
life on the earth better," said Kathryn Clark, an ISS scientist.
     Sixteen countries are in the program: The US, Russia, Canada, Japan, Brazil and 11 European countries.
China is not an ISS country, but it has helped with some of the experiments. In 2003, China sent some rice
up to the ISS to find out what space would do to it.
      Twenty Chinese students talked directly to an astronaut (spaceman) in the International Space Station (ISS)
on radio in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province on Sunday, 2007. The 20 students, aged 10 to 19
from Shanghai, Guangzhou and Nanjing, began talking to Clayton C. Anderson, a 48-year-old American
astronaut at 18:50 p.m. at Nanjing No. 3 Middle School when the ISS was passing over Nanjing.
     After it's finished, more than 90 percnt of the world's population will be able to see the space station. So
keep looking up, and maybe you'll see it get bigger and brighter.

1. It seems that _______.

A. we can probably see the ISS when the sun goes down
B. some students from Nanjing have been to the ISS
C. China is one of the members in the ISS group
D. the ISS is still in the space but has stopped working

2. Power stations" in the third paragraph infers _______.

A. houses for people to live in, to study and do research work
B. machines that go around the earth, the moon and some stars
C. buildings where electricity is produced to supply a large area
D. some countries which help send the ISS up into space

3. —Why did the scientists send up the International Space Station (ISS)?
    —Because they _______.

A. would send up most of the earth people to live there
B. could talk with some Chinese school students
C. hoped to travel to Mars and Venus some day
D. wanted to live in space and do better research

     Taiwan appears in newspaper headlines more often these days. On April 26, 2005 Kuomintang leader,
Lien Chan, visited the mainland and three days later, President Hu Jintao held talks with him. This is the first
meeting in 56 years and may help to bring peace across the Taiwan Straits (海峡).
     How much do you know about this beautiful island? The island faces Fujian. The shortest distance from
Taiwan to Fujian is 130 kilometers across the Taiwan Straits. A ship can cover it in four hours.
     As the biggest island, Taiwan is still only about one-sixth the size of Hunan. Around it, there are also lots
of smaller ones, like Penghu Islands and Diaoyu Islands.
     Taiwan is rich in natural resources (资源). Half of the island is covered with forests, and it has many kinds
of agricultural products (农产品), like rice and tea.
     Taiwanese people are mostly descendants (后代) of people from Fujian and Guangdong. They still use the
language from their old hometowns. They also celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival.
At the Spring Festival, they even eat dumplings!
     Once, communications across the Straits were not so good. In 1979, Beijing put forward an idea that
Taiwanese people should use better ways of communicating and build better business and transportation.
There is now more business and tourism (旅游业) across the Straits. On July 4, 2008, the first direct flights
between Taiwan and five mainland cities such as Beijing, Shanghai Nanjing, Guangzhou and Xiamen started up.
     As we all know, Taiwan is always an important part of our country. We are one big family. But some top
leaders in Taiwan like Lee Tenghui and Chen Shuibian have been trying to make Taiwan an independent (独立)
country. This made people on both sides angry, because it goes against the history and the wishes of all the
Chinese.

1. What will Hu Jintao's talk with Lien Chan bring across the Taiwan Straits?

A. Resources.
B. Meetings.
C. Tourism.
D. Peace.

2. How long does it take to go to Taiwan from Fujian by ship?

A. 56 years.
B. 26 days.
C. 4 hours.
D. 130 hours.

3. Why do most Taiwanese celebrate Chinese traditional festivals?

A. Because they like eating traditional Chinese food very much.
B. Because they are Chinese in fact.
C. Because they would rather celebrate Chinese festivals than Western festivals.
D. Because Chinese traditional festivals are popular in the world now.

4. What made people on both sides angry? 

A. There were no important meetings between the leaders on both sides.
B. There was no business and tourism across the Straits for many years.
C. People on both sides couldn't visit each other by air.
D. Some top leaders in Taiwan have been trying to make Taiwan an independent country.

5. Which of the following is the best title (标题) of the passage?

A. The Beautiful Island
B. We Are One
C. The Rich Island
D. You and Me