Shenzhou Ⅶ Is Ready to Fly

Can you remember how excited you were when the Shenzhou Ⅴ and Shenzhou Ⅵ spacecrafts went into space？And how interesting it was when the Chinese astronauts told us about what they had seen on the trip！ Guess what？It’s time to get excited again. Shenzhou Ⅶ is just around the corner！

Earlier this month，Chinese space scientists announced that Shenzhou Ⅶ will be sent up in 2008.

“All our work on Shenzhou Ⅶ is going well，” said Qi Faren，former（前任的） chief designer of the Shenzhou spaceships.

Will Shenzhou Ⅶ be sent up in time for the 2008 Beijing Olympics？Scientists say no. They say the timing of the mission（任务） depends on when they finish designing the spacesuit.

Shenzhou Ⅶ will take three astronauts into space. It will travel around the Earth for up to five days. At least one of the astronauts will do a spacewalk.

Who will the astronauts be？Yang Liwei，Fei Junlong and Nie Hai-sheng，who have all made trips into space in the past few years，are all competing for a place. But it seems that it’s unfair for women astronauts.

After the Shenzhou Ⅶ flight China will build a space lab and then a space station. Chinese astronauts will then be able to do experiments in space.

Chinese spacewalkers will wear 160 million yuan spacesuits. Each weighs about 100 kilograms on Earth. The Shenzhou Ⅶ spacesuit is heavier and more complicated（复杂的） than the suits the Shenzhou Ⅴ and Ⅵ astronauts used.

Spacewalks need other equipment（设备） too for astronauts to be able to work outside the spacecraft.

1. When will Shenzhou Ⅶ be sent up？

A. Before the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

B. After 2008 Beijing Olympics.

C. In time for 2008 Beijing Olympics.

D. We don’t know the date exactly.

2. Mainly because____ ，Shenzhou Ⅶ hasn’t been decided when to be sent up.

A. the astronauts haven’t been chosen

B. the design of Shenzhou Ⅶ hasn’t been finished

C. the scientists haven’t finished designing the spacesuits

D. the money isn’t enough

3. By now，____ has ever done a spacewalk.

A. Yang Liwei

B. both Nie Haisheng and Fei Junlong

C. either Nie Haisheng or Fei Junlong

D. no astronaut in China

4. Which of the following is NOT true about Shenzhou Ⅶ？

A. It will take more astronauts into space.

B. It will travel around the earth longer than any spacecraft.

C. Astronauts will be able to walk outside the Shenzhou Ⅶ spacecraft.

D. It will take no women astronauts into space.

5. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage？

A. The Shenzhou Ⅶ spacesuits are heavier than those for Shenzhou V and Ⅵ astronauts.

B. Chinese astronauts will be able to do experiments in the science lab that was built by Shenzhou Ⅵ astronauts.

C. All the Shenzhou Ⅶ astronauts will be spacewalkers.

D. The Shenzhou Ⅶ spacecraft will cost 160 million yuan in all.

Key： 1-5 DCDBA

（河北兴隆县半壁山镇中学 康晓书）