Ten, nine, eight, seven...With a shining flame (火焰) behind, the fifth Long March 5 Carrier Rocket with Chang’e 5 lunar probe took off at 4:30 am on Nov 24.    1    And it succeeded returning to China on December 17th.

Because of this moon exploration (探月任务), Chang’e 5 is named after the Chinese moon Goddess Chang’e. Its weight is 8.2 tons which is an unbelievable amount to fly into the space.    2    

Chang’e 5 has carried out the hardest task in its historical exploration program.    3    This task lasted about 23 days. It has made China the third county after the US and former Soviet Union ( 苏联) which brought back samples (样品) from the moon. In 1976, the former Soviet Union brought 170.1 grams of lunar sample. This time, Chang’e 5 brought back a larger sample than former crafts and explored a new area of the moon.    4    

Besides the great increase in sample, Chang’e 5 landed on the northwest part of Oceanus Procellarum (风暴洋), where no probes have visited before. The samples got there might be 1.2 billion years old.    5    It is said that Chinese scientists and those from other countries all have a chance to get the lunar samples for research and it is believed that humans will get into a new time to study the history, the resources of the moon.

【推荐2】Have you ever looked at the sky and thought about darkness? Is it nothing? Or is there something in the dark? Cosmologists (宇宙学家) try to answer questions about things in space. They even study the darkness in space. They say the universe is about 5 percent “normal” matter—things we can see, like Earth and other planets, and the sun and other stars. But about 70 percent of the universe is something called dark energy.

Cosmologists say the other 25 percent of the universe is dark matter. Dark matter has some weight. It’s heavy so we know it’s there. But we can’t see it, so it is very hard to study something that you can’t see!

One possible kind of dark matter is a brown dwarf (褐矮星). A brown dwarf is too big to be a planet and too small to be a star. Brown dwarfs are colder than stars, and they don’t give off light that people can see. Cosmologists found them by using a telescope that finds heat. They found the first brown dwarf in 1995.

Cosmologists know a lot about one kind of dark matter—black holes. In 1783, an English astronomer, John Michell, guessed that there were black holes. But cosmologists didn’t find any black holes until 188 years later. Since then, they’ve found many black holes in space.

It’s very dark with much gravity (引力) in a black hole. There is so much gravity in a black hole that nothing can get out, not even light. This is why we can’t see them. Cosmologists find black holes by looking at things around them.

For example, stars and gases near a black hole move very fast.

Things in space can fall into a black hole, and when they do, they can never get out. But don’t worry—Earth will never fall into a black hole because there is not one close enough.

【推荐1】When the flood hit their small town, Sadie and her family were caught off guard. They had never experienced anything like this before and they didn’t know how to survive the flood. The water was rising quickly and they had to act fast.

Sadie’s parents began gathering important things such as food, water, and first aid box at once. They also made sure to take warm clothes since it was getting colder outside.

Next, they built a shelter(避难所) on higher ground using whatever materials they could find —tent, fallen tree branches and so on. They knew that they needed to stay dry and warm in order to avoid hypothermia(低温症).

As the floodwaters continued to rise, Sadie’s family decided to leave their home and head towards the emergency center that had been set up by the local government. They walked with an effort through one-meter-deep water, holding onto each other for support.

Once they arrived at the emergency center, they were given clean water, food, and medical care if needed. They also received information about what was happening in their town and when it would be safe to return home.

The next few days were difficult for Sadie’s family as they waited for the floodwaters to move back. They helped out at the emergency center by volunteering their time, talking to neighbors and offering support to those who needed it.

When it was finally safe to return home, Sadie’s family found their house damaged(损毁) by the floodwaters. But thanks to their quick thinking and preparation beforehand

The experience of surviving the flood left a lasting influence on Sadie and her family. It made them realize just how important it is to be prepared for natural disasters like floods.

【推荐3】Mr. Smith is forty years old. He lives in New York with his wife and daughter. He works in a car company (在汽车公司工作). He is very busy every day. Mrs. Smith teaches art in a middle school. Their daughter Linda is six years old and she is very cute.

It is Saturday today and it is Mr. Smith’s birthday. Mrs. Smith gives (给) him a T-shirt as a birthday gift (礼物). Linda gives him an interesting gift. It is a stone (石头). It has two colors. One side (边) is yellow and the other side is blue. She says, “Dad, if you show me (给我看) the yellow side, I know you are happy. And then I will give you a hug (拥抱). If you show me the blue side, I know you are sad. I will give you a hug, too.” Mr. Smith asks, “Why?” Linda says, “The hug can make you keep smiling (保持微笑).”

Mr. Smith feels very happy and he says, “It’s a great gift. I like it very much. Thank you, my dear!” Linda is very happy, too.