2021-2022学年度第9期总第758期

China’s space race success (P6)

山西省灵石县第一中学

任立琴

I. Warm-up

What do you know about the Shenzhou series?

"Shenzhou" can be referred to as a"magic spaceship", but it also has the same pronunciation as 神州 (divine land), which is one of the names of China. It is also the name of a series of manned Chinese spaceships. The latest, Shenzhou XIII, was launched on Oct 16, 2021.

“神舟”寓意为神奇的天河之舟,又是中华“神州”的谐音,象征着飞船得到了中国人民的支持。同时,“神舟”又有神气，神采飞扬之意,预示着飞船成功研制和国满飞行。

II. Read for general information

Read the passage and tell the main idea.

At 0:23 on Oct 16, China launched the crewed spacecraft, Shenzhou XIII, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu, marking the start of the country’s longest crewed spaceflight.

What is the text type of this passage?

A news report

Read the passage and divide it into three parts.

III. Read for details

Read and answer:

1. What will happen during the epic mission?

2. What advantages do female astronauts have over their male peers?

3. What do people think of this spaceflight?

 

1. What will happen during the epic mission?

 

50. two to three spacewalks to install a small robotic arm onto a larger one;

50. key procedures and technologies will be verified like manual control of the robotic arms;

50. the performance of devices inside the station will be checked;

50. large in-orbit experiments requiring a long time and manual manipulation will be carried out;

50. Wang Yaping will perform a spacewalk, the first Chinese woman to do so.

 

2. What advantages do female astronauts have over their male peers?

 

50. being more sensitive, attentive and careful in many regards;

50. being better at communicating;

50. bringing more joy to a demanding mission.

 

3. What do people think of this spaceflight?

50.  ...China’s success in space continues to be impressive. “It is now well on its way to being a leader in space exploration.” (Denis Simon from the USA)

 

50.  ...The mission is a valuable opportunity for China’s science community. (Pang Zhihao from China)

positive

feature of news: 为保证新闻的真实客观性，新闻中往往引用官方机构和专业人士的发言或观点。

 

IV. Post-reading

Choose the proper meaning for the words in red.

 

The spacecraft successfully docked with the space station core module (核心舱) Tianhe ...

A. join together in space     B. sail into a harbor

What will happen during the epic mission?

A. hard and tough            B. very great and important

These traits are useful assets in extended flights.

A. a thing of value, especially property

B. a person or thing that is valuable or useful

V. Language focus

Find the following expressions in the article.

1. 标志着……的开始

2. 载人飞船

3. 空间站

4. 太空探索

5. 多种多样的

6. 执行，实施

7. 胜过，优于

8. 在许多方面

9. 期待，盼望

10. 数以亿计的

即学即用

Translation    

一架载人飞船于10月16号被发射进入太空，并成功与空间站对接，这标志着一个新的旅程的开始。三位成员将实施一系列任务，其中包括一位女性航天员。女性航天员在很多方面比她的男性同伴有优势。数以亿计的中国人期盼他们平安归来。

 

A crewed spacecraft was launched into space on October 16 and successfully docked with the space station, marking the start of a new journey. Three members will carry out a wide range of missions. The crew includes one female astronaut. Female astronauts have many advantages over their male peers in many regards. Billions of Chinese look forward to their safe return.

Complete the following sentences

1. At 0:23 on Oct 16, China launched the crewed spacecraft, Shenzhou XIII, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu, _______(mark) the start of the country’s longest crewed spaceflight.

2. It is now well on its way to _______ (be) a leader in space exploration.

3. The crew has a wide range of assignments, such as _______ (perform) two to three spacewalks to install (安装) a small robotic arm onto a larger one...

4. The mission is a valuable opportunity for China’s science community because it allows the astronauts _______ (carry) out large in-orbit experiments _______ (require) a long time and manual manipulation ...

5. The mother of a 5-year-old girl, Wang is China’s second female astronaut _______ ( take ) part in a spaceflight.

6. Pang said that female astronauts have many advantages over their male peers (同行) in _______ (extend) missions.

7. “When you look out the window, billions of women are looking out that window with you,_______ (include) me,” _______ (retire) NASA astronaut Catherine Coleman said as words of encouragement to Wang, CGTN reported.

VI. Further information