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.

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

A    Exciting.

B    Historic.

C    Creative.

D    Scientific.

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.

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.