China's first astronaut 38-year-old Yang Liwei returned safely to earth Thursday morning, when his craft Shenzhou 5 touched down as scheduled after more than 21 hours in the earth's orbit. Chinese premier Wen Jiabao called the landmark debut flight a "complete success". The descent capsule(返回舱) carrying Lt. Col. Yang Liwei touched down on the grasslands of the Gobi Desert, in central Inner Mongolia at 6:23 am Thursday (Beijing Time), the Beijing-based China's Aerospace Command and Control Center said. Minutes later, Yang grabbed the capsule hatch with his hand, pulled himself out, smiled and waved at recovery teams and reporters. "It is a splendid moment in the history of my motherland and also the greatest day of my life," Yang, a former fighter pilot from Northeast China's Liaoning Province, said immediately after emerging. In an interview with CCTV, China's state television, Yang said he was "feeling excellent". Shenzhou 5 landed at dawn, 4.8 kilometres (3 miles) from its designed landing target, the officials said. "The spaceship operated well," the astronaut Yang Liwei said in his first publicized comments. "I feel very good and I am proud of my motherland." After a physical exam on spot, Yang's condition was found as "good." Li Jinai, the commander of China's manned space program, called Yang a "space hero" and a "national hero". Following Yang's touchdown, China's premier Wen Jiabao immediately spoke to Yang from Beijing's command and control centre and offered his congratulations.

　　Within hours, Chinese space officials announced that the country's space dreams will continue with a "Shenzhou 6" mission, most possibly within a year. They said China also had worked out plans to conduct space walking by its astronauts, and eventually build up a space station. However, Chinese scientists ruled out building a space shuttle, like the United States.

　　Yang's flight came four decades after the former Soviet Union and the United States pioneered manned spaceflight. Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited the Earth in April 1961. One month later, the United States launched Alan B. Shepard Jr.

　　1. What is true of the first Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei?

　　A. He is now a fighter pilot. B. He was helped to get out of the descent capsule.

　　C. He spent nearly a day in space. D. He was called a "space hero" and a "national hero" by China's premier Wen Jiabao.

　　2. China will carry out the following space programs in the near future except ________.

　　A. space walking B. setting up a space station

　　C. building up a space shuttle D. sending up "Shenzhou 6"

　　3. The underlined word debut means ________.

　　A. first public appearance B. space C. carrying person D. space-ship

　　4. Which of the following is NOT true?

　　A. Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first man in the world to travel in space.

　　B. the United States launched Alan B. Shepard Jr. about 40 years ago.

　　C. China is the third country in the world to carry out the manned space flight successfully.

　　D. "Shenzhou 6" will carry more than one astronaut in the mission.

　　(1—4 CCAD)

　　【答案解析】本文介绍了中国首次载人航天飞行的情况。

　　1. C。细节题。根据after more than 21 hours in the earth's orbit可知，C项正确。

　　2. C。细节题。根据ruled out building a space shuttle可以知道，中国在近期不打算建航天飞机。其中的 rule out 意为“排除”、“取消”。

　　3. A。词义猜测题。从短文中我们知道，这是中国第一次载人航天飞行，由此可推测出，debut为“首次亮相” 之意。

　　4. D。事实确认题。A、B、C，在短文中均有提及。D没有提到。