The Shenzhou 13 spacecraft carrying three astronauts landed safely in northern China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Saturday morning (April 16) before 10 a.m., about 9 hours after departing from the core Tianhe module of China’s new Tiangong space station.

The landing meant the accomplishment of the Shenzhou 13 mission, which spent a national-record six months in orbit, the vast majority of it aboard Tianhe. The longest previous Chinese crewed mission was Shenzhou 12, which sent three astronauts to the “newly born” station for 92 days last year.

Shortly after landing, all three astronauts radioed that they were feeling fine after their long space mission, prompting applause from the China National Space Administration’s mission control center in Beijing.

Shenzhou 13 set up other national records as well. For example, the mission’s Wang Yaping became the first woman to live aboard Tianhe and the first Chinese woman ever to conduct a spacewalk. Wang was joined on Shenzhou 13 by Ye Guangfu and Zhai Zhigang, who commanded the mission. The trio lifted off on Oct. 16, at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. They arrived in no time at Tianhe, the central piece of China’s unfinished space station. The orbiting lab will ultimately include two more modules, both of which China plans to launch later this year.

Zhai, Wang and Ye were very busy during their six months in orbit. The astronauts—or taikonauts, as Chinese spaceflyers are called—performed two spacewalks, conducted more than 20 different science experiments and delivered two live educational lectures from Tianhe. “A real-time, interactive event with China’s taikonauts highlights the reality of the country’s technological achievements and displays the competencies and usefulness of its space program,” Molly Silk, a doctoral researcher at the University of Manchester in England, said recently. “Such an event serves to enhance national pride and to encourage young citizens to pursue science-based careers,” she added.

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1.What record did Shenzhou 13 mission make?

A It took least time to land in China.

B It was exactly at the landing site.

C It stayed in space for longest time.

D It carried out science experiments.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据文章第二段第一句“The landing meant the accomplishment of the Shenzhou 13 mission, which spent a national-record six months in orbit”可知，神舟13号创造的记录是在轨时间最长。故选C。

2.Why did people applause in the control center?

A The three astronauts were in good condition.

B Tiangong space station returned very quickly.

C The astronauts enjoyed their journey in space.

D The landing took place in Inner Mongolia.

解析：选A。A 推理判断题。根据文章第三段第一句的 “all three astronauts radioed that they were feeling fine after their long space mission”可知，航天员们自称感觉良好，即很健康，这让控制中心的人爆发出了掌声。故选A。

3.The underlined part “The trio” in the fourth paragraph may refer to _______.

A some spacewalks

B more modules

C the three astronauts

D the space stations

解析：选C。C 词意指代题。根据文章第四段第三句的“Wang was joined on Shenzhou 13 by Ye Guangfu and Zhai Zhigang, who commanded the mission.”王亚平、叶光富以及翟志刚三人执行神舟13号飞船任务，这三人于10月16日在戈壁沙漠的酒泉卫星发射中心发射升空。由此可知，这里的The trio指的是这三名航天员。故选C。

4.What did Molly Silk think of the live educational lectures?

A It had helped with science experiments.

B It had assisted the astronauts in spacewalks.

C It would show communication in space.

D It would attract more people to work on science.

解析：选D。D 推理判断题。根据文章最后一段最后一句“Such an event serves to enhance national pride and to encourage young citizens to pursue science-based careers”可知，太空的现场教育讲座能够吸引年轻人投身科学事业。故选D。