Exploring the moon is a dream that we Chinese have been pursuing for ages, and we are proud of the     1     (achieve) in the past decade.

On Dec 2, 2013, as     2     key part of the second step of the three-phase lunar probe (探 测) projects, China started the Chang’e 3 mission to explore the moon. After about 12 days of flight, the Chang’e 3 probe     3     (success) soft-landed on the lunar soil, becoming the first Chinese spacecraft on the moon. And China is the first country     4     (reach) this goal in nearly fourdecades. It then released the first Chinese lunar rover, Yutu, which worked there for nearly 1,000 days, until July 2016.

On Dec 8, 2018, China launched its fourth lunar probe, Chang’e 4, toward the far side of the moon,     5     always faces away from Earth. Twenty six days into its journey, the unmanned spacecraft made a soft-landing in the south basin,     6     (start) mankind’s first close observation of the moon’s little-known far side. The mission’s core component—the Yutu 2 rover—    7     (work) on the moon for nearly 1,400 days so far,     8     (long) than any other rover of all time.

On Nov 24, 2020, the Chang’e 5 robotic mission     9     (launch) from Wenchang and landed on the moon on Dec 1. The mission brought 1,731 grams of lunar rocks and soil back     10     Earth on Dec 17. The 23-day mission made China the third country that has retrieved (带回) lunar sample.

Cosmologists, astronomers and space engineers are predicting that 2021 will be a great year for space exploration. An     1     (increase) number of countries and commercial companies are investing in technology to venture into the heavens. Entrepreneurs like SpaceX’s Elon Musk and Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson are setting their sights on space     2     (tour) and sending astronauts to Mars.     3     once seemed like science fiction is quickly becoming the fact. Such     4     (be) the advances in technology, and we might no longer be surprised at news of asteroids     5     (mine), Mars being colonised, or of new forms of holidays, such as getaway weekend breaks to the Moon.

The year will start     6     an exciting project that will help scientists better understand the universe. NASA will launch its Q-PACE probe on January the 15th. This will study the collision of small particles in space     7     (provide) an insight into how planets     8     (original) formed. A month later, NASA’s Perseverance rover will land on Mars. This mission will test for signs of possible past microbial life. NASA said: “Returning samples of Mars to Earth     9     (be) a goal of planetary scientists since the early days of the space age.” In October, the James Webb Space Telescope,     10     mission is to observe the first galaxies that formed in the early universe, will launch into space.

After orbiting Earth for six months, the three crew members of China’s Shenzhou XIII mission (使命) have departed from the Tiangong space station and returned to the mother planet on Saturday morning,     1     (finish) the nation’s longest manned spaceflight.

Major General Zhai Zhigang,     2     was the mission commander, Senior Colonel Wang Yaping and Senior Colonel Ye Guangfu breathed fresh air for the first time     3     the half-year space journey as ground recovery personnel (全体职员) opened the hatch (舱门) of their reentry capsule (返回舱) at 10:03 am.

Zhai and his crewmates spent 183 days in     4     orbit about 400 kilometers above the Earth since their Shenzhou XIII spacecraft     5     (launch) on Oct 16 by a Long March 2F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. They were the second inhabitants (居民) of China’s permanent space station named Tiangong.

So far the crew     6     (set) a new record for China’s     7     (long) spaceflight, almost doubling the previous record of 92 days     8     (create) by their peers in the Shenzhou XII mission who travelled with Tiangong from mid-June to mid-September last year.

In early February, the astronauts spent Spring Festival inside the orbiting station, becoming the first Chinese people     9     (celebrate) the country’s most important traditional festival in outer space. They appeared in a live broadcast gala (庆典) and sent their best     10     (wish) to Chinese people.

Researcher Yuan Xin learned from a young age that to make a difference, he would need his brain to do     1    heavy lifting. A childhood accident cost Yuan Xin his right arm. Yet, the 27-year-old from a small village in Xianning city, Hubei province,     2     (take) it in his life and never looked back since then. With his     3     (remain) hand, Yuan has come up with unique designs and patents (专利)     4     have earned him more than 60 prizes and awards. “One of the most     5     (impress) experiences is winning second prize at the Challenge Cup in 2019,” says Yuan, who is now pursuing his doctoral degree in computer science at the Wuhan University of Science and Technology. By the way, the Challenge Cup contest     6     (found) in 1989 and is regarded among Chinese college students     7     the Olympics of science and technology. In fact, it is the influence of his family’s spirit of     8     (persevere) and an attitude of never giving up in the face of a challenge, that pulls     9     (he) through difficulties. “Although there might be many difficult situations and     10     (competition) to face, you will make progress as long as you work for it,” he says.

On the morning of Sept. 28th, 2022, grand memorial ceremonies were held around China to speak well of Confucius, the great Chinese philosopher, politician and    1    (educate) who lived during the 6th-5th centuries BC. In the great philosopher’s hometown Qufu, hundreds of    2    (participant) took part in a ceremony in the morning at the Temple of Confucius, including local senior officials, foreign envoys (使节), scholars    3    Confucius’ descendants (后裔).

Built to commemorate (纪念) and offer sacrifices to Confucius in 478 BC, the Temple of Confucius    4    (rebuild) multiple times over the centuries. The temple is the model for all the Confucius temples throughout East and Southeast Asia,    5    (particular) in terms of design and style. Since 1994, the Temple of Confucius has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site — The Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu.

Together    6    the Confucius Memorial Ceremony, the International Confucius Cultural Festival was launched with the international Nishan Forum,    7    is a space to discuss culture and civilization, as well as a Confucius Culture Week for Chinese and foreign students.

    8    (found) in 1989, the International Confucius Cultural Festival is one of the    9    (large) nationally and internationally supported tourism festivals mixing culture, tourism, scholarly and scientific research with the aim of    10    (promote) ancient Chinese culture.