There are actually many planets that are outside of our solar system. The first of these far-off planets was discovered in 1988. So far, astronomers have found more than 3,500 such planets, and they think there are a lot more. Astronomers have found many of them using a special space telescope. This telescope can see very far into space. Many of these planets go around their own star, like our planet goes around the sun. A few of these planets even go around two stars. However, some of these planets are by themselves and do not go around a star. Astronomers cannot see these planets with their eyes. Instead, they use some special methods to find out where the planets are and what they are like.

Even though these planets are very far away from us, we know some things about the planets. We know that they come in all kinds of colors and sizes. Some of the planets appear to be red or blue, and they can be much bigger than Jupiter (木星). Some of these planets also seem to be made of the same kinds of things as can be found on Earth. A number of the far-off planets seem to be completely solid and made of rocks, they are hotter than Jupiter, too.

While far-off planets are interesting, there is an important reason why astronomers are looking at them. Astronomers want to find a planet like Earth. They think that there may be some out there that have air and water like Earth. Such planets, astronomers believe, may also support life on them. That would certainly be something to find! So astronomers keep searching. Who knows what they will find out there?

【推荐2】Thousands of miles from the Earth, in outer space, is a small planet, far from the Sun, behind a much bigger planet. Little green aliens live there. They use torches to see.

One day, a young alien, Neila, put the wrong batteries in her torch.

Suddenly, there was bright light. It went up into the sky, around the Sun and reached the Earth.

The light hit a boy called Billy and his dog. Neila quickly turned the torch off, but the pair were caught by the light. They flew through space and landed near Neila.

“ Hello,” said Billy. Neila smiled.

“ Wow!” said Billy, “Everything’s made of ice cream!”

“The ice cream never melts (融化), and nobody eats it. It’s too cold here,” said Neila.

Neila looked sad. “Can you help us?” she said, “We need sunshine to make things grow.”

“No problem,” said Billy, “Can you get us home? I have an idea.”

“Wait there!” said Neila.

She got her torch, put the wrong batteries in again—ZOOM! Billy and his dog flew back to the Earth.

Billy pointed his bedroom mirror between the Sun and Fliptune. The sunlight bounced off the mirror and up onto Neila’s planet.

Thanks to Billy, Fliptune is not cold any more. Billy moves the mirror every day to keep the sun shining there. Now Neila and her friends sit in the sun and enjoy all the free ice cream.

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Do you know something about space? It is an amazing place! The solar system（太阳系）is in space.     1    

Around the sun

    2     The Sun is a hot, bright star. It gives off heat（热）and light. The Sun is close to the Earth. It is so large that it is almost as big as a million Earths. Most stars look tiny and you can only see them at night because they are so far away from the Earth.

    3    

There are eight planets in the solar system. We live on one of them—the Earth! Each planet moves in a way around the Sun. The Earth is called the Blue Planet because there is so much water on it and it looks blue in space.     4    

Around the moon

The Moon is much smaller than the Earth.     5     It may look as if it gives off light, but it doesn’t. It looks bright because it reflects（反射）that light from the Sun.

【推荐1】A total of 3.41 million people were expected to take part in China’s 2020 national entrance exam for postgraduate(研究生) studies, 510,000 more than last year, the Department of Education said.

That’s a rise of 17.5 percent, and with a record 8.74 million university students expected to graduate next year, a survey by education website found that growing competition in the job market was the primary reason for the increase. When asked whether postgraduate study would help them find a job, 57 percent of exam applicants said they believed it could make them more competitive in the job market, 42 percent said it would be somewhat helpful, and only 1 percent did not expect it to improve their chances. When asked why they wanted to get a master’s degree, 61 percent of respondents said it would improve their competitiveness in the job market, 53 percent said they wanted to get a higher degree, 25 percent said they did not like their undergraduate majors（本科专业）, and 25 percent said they wanted to wait for a few years before entering the job market.

Zhang Sijia, 22, a senior majoring in accounting at the University of Science and Technology Beijing, says she wants to study finance at Central University of Finance and Economics, also in Beijing. “It’s impossible that I cannot find a job if I enter the job market now, yet I think a master’s degree in finance will give me better opportunities to find a high-paying job,” she said. Many jobs have higher academic requirements nowadays. “Almost half my classmates have signed up for the exam, as getting higher degrees has become necessary if you want to find a better job,” Zhang said.

However, the report said students would find it harder to enter for postgraduate studies.

【推荐2】Every year on the third day of the third lunar month, the Zhuang people in Guangxi celebrate the Sanyuesan Festival. This festival is held to commemorate Liu Sanjie, a famous singer of the Zhuang nationality. Liu Sanjie was known for her beautiful voice and her ability to sing. She was even considered the Goddess of Singing and was loved by many.

However, Liu Sanjie’s songs often criticized the cruelty of the rich landlords (富地主) and exposed (揭露) their crimes of squeezing (剥削) the people. As a result, the landlords hated her. One day, while Liu Sanjie was chopping wood on the mountain, the landlord took advantage of the situation and pushed her off the cliff, causing her to fall to her death. She died on the third day of the third lunar month

To remember her, the Zhuang people held a Ge Xu Festival (歌圩节), which eventually (最终) became the Sanyuesan Festival. During this festival, young men and women gather to sing and throw embroidered balls. The songs are improvised (即兴的) and the words can be changed. Some outstanding singers even found their true love through singing, making the festival a time for both song competition and mate selection.

On this day, Zhuang women prepare traditional food, such as glutinous rice (糯米) of five colors, red eggs, and ai ci (艾茨), which are delicacies made from glutinous rice mixed with pounded mugwort. The festival is a time for the Zhuang people to come together, celebrate their culture, and remember the legacy of Liu Sanjie.

【推荐3】On May 15, 2021, Tianwen-1 Probe（探测器）landed successfully on the surface of Mars. China has now become the second country in the world that made its way to Mars.

President Xi Jinping sent a letter soon after the landing, giving his congratulation（贺词）and greetings to the space program team. The letter read that the successful landing has left the nation’s first mark on the Red Planet and is another milestone（里程碑）in the development of China’s space industry.

Tianwen-1 Probe is called Zhurong, which is named after an ancient Chinese god of fire. Zhurong is 1.85 meters tall and weighs about 240 kilograms. It has six wheels and four solar panels（太阳能板）, and can move at 200 meters an hour. The probe carries special devices（设备）to map the place where it landed and to test the weather of Mars.

Wu Yanhua, deputy director of the China National Space Administration, said, “Each and every step during the landing processes was perfect.”

Mars is the planet that is the most similar to the Earth in the solar system. As a result, it is the best starting point for us humans to step into the deep space.

It also fires the imagination among all scientific topics, such as searching for life on other planets and then even moving to Mars in the future. With China’s successful landing, we are getting closer and closer to finding answers to those questions.