The six Chinese astronauts from the Shenzhou-14 and Shenzhou-15 missions marked a historic moment on Wednesday as they met inside the country’s Tiangong space station. It was the first time that six Chinese were in a space station at the same time and the first in-orbit gathering of two Chinese crews(乘组).

The Shenzhou-15 crew set out on the journey to the Tiangong station on Tuesday night from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China’s Gobi Desert. They rode aboard a spacecraft that was lifted into space by a Long March 2F rocket. At 7:33 a.m. (Beijing Time), the Shenzhou-14 astronauts opened the door of their “space home”, welcoming the Shenzhou-15 astronauts. The six then took a group photo to record the momentous moment in the history of China’s space mission.

According to the China Manned Space Agency, the two crews are scheduled to stay together for about five days, and then the Shenzhou-14 crew, who have been in orbit for nearly half a year, will return to a landing site in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. The Shenzhou-15 astronauts will stay in orbit for six months to carry out a number of tasks, such as conducting spacewalks to mount equipment outside the station, and conducting scientific experiments and technological demonstrations. 

Following the arrival of the Shenzhou-15 spaceship, the Tiangong space station has grown much. Tiangong is expected to operate in orbit for about 10 years and will be open to foreign astronauts in the near future, according to space officials. It is the 10th crewed space station in world spaceflight history and one of two currently operating stations, along with the International Space Station. 

Pang Zhihao, a retired researcher at the China Academy of Space Technology and a renowned writer on space science, said that building and running a manned space station is one of the most difficult scientific, technological and engineering endeavors. “The arrival of the Shenzhou-15 crew marked the start of the Tiangong space station’s long-term regular operation,” he added. 

1.What can we know from the first two paragraphs?

A The Shenzhou-14 crew left Tiangong space station.

B The Shenzhou-15 crew is scheduled to be in orbit for five days.

C The Shenzhou-15 crew has been in orbit for six months.

D Two Shenzhou crews met in Tiangong space station.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据第一段第一句的“The six Chinese astronauts from the Shenzhou-14 and Shenzhou-15 missions marked a historic moment on Wednesday as they met inside the country’s Tiangong space station.”可知，神舟十五号3名航天员顺利进驻中国空间站，两个航天员乘组首次实现“太空会师”。故选D。

2.What does the underlined word “momentous” mean?

A Exciting.

B Historic.

C Creative.

D Scientific.

解析：选B。B词义猜测题。根据第一段的“...marked a historic moment...”“It was the first time...”以及划线词前面的“the Shenzhou-14 astronauts opened the door of their ‘space home,’ welcoming the Shenzhou-15 astronauts.”可知，两个航天员乘组首次实现“太空会师”，这是历史性的时刻。故选B。

3.Which of the following isn’t mentioned in the text?

A The Shenzhou-15 astronauts’ tasks.

B The Tiangong space station’s future plans.

C The selection process of the Shenzhou -15 crew.

D The importance of the arrival of the Shenzhou-15 crew.

解析：选C。C细节理解题。根据第三段的“The Shenzhou-15 astronauts will stay in orbit for six months to carry out a number of tasks”，第四段第二句“Tiangong is expected to operate in orbit for about 10 years and will be open to foreign astronauts in the near future”和文章最后一段最后一句“The arrival of the Shenzhou-15 crew marked the start of the Tiangong space station’s long-term regular operation”可知，文章提到了A、B、D三项的内容，并未提到此次飞行乘组宇航员的选拔过程。故选C。

4.In which section of a newspaper may this text appear?

A Technology and Innovation.

B Nature and Discovery.

C Fashion and Entertainment.

D Science and Nature.

解析：选A。A 推理判断题。本文主要介绍了中国航天的历史性时刻：6名航天员首次实现“太空会师”，属于科技创新版块的内容。故选A。