1 . On Oct 16, China launched the crewed spacecraft, Shenzhou XIII, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu, marking(标志着) the start of the country’s longest crewed spaceflight.

On Nov 7, Wang Yaping came out of the Tiangong space station, waving back to Earth. The 41-year-old woman made history. She became China’s first female spacewalker! Wang together with astronaut Zhai Zhigang, completed a 6.5-hour spacewalk. They adjusted(调整) the station’s robotic arm. They also tested the safety of their spacesuits. These spacesuits were made by China.

Since 1984, only 16 women (including Wang) around the world have ever done spacewalks. according to Global Times. But female spacewalkers are very important to space exploration(探索), said Yang Yuguang, vice chair of the Space Transportation Committee of the International Astronautically Federation.

Yang said that humans may live on other planets someday. “If we don’t let women take part in this, our efforts(努力) would be incomplete. We need to study how female bodies adjust to the space environment. That’s why Wang’s spacewalk is important,” Yang told Global Times.

Pang said that female astronauts have many advantages over their male peers(同事) in extended missions. “Women are usually more sensitive, attentive and careful in many regards, and normally are better at communicating. These traits are useful assets in extended(长期的) flights.”

Who can jump the highest at your school? Who has the most skips over a rope? Who’s the fastest at solving a Rubik’s Cube(魔方)? Everyone can be the best at something. Recently, Beijing 101 Middle School held an activity called “Guinness Campus” to help students find their potential(潜力).

“There are all kinds of projects you can take part in and all kinds of records for you to set,” said ninth-grader Liu, “I choose Domino Tower because I have the most confidence in this.”

Students needed to build a tower using dominoes(多米诺骨牌). Who ever built the tallest tower in one minute won. Liu set the record with 33 levels. “At first I didn’t do it well, but after learning from other people and trying over and over again,I found some ways to do it faster,” she said.

“The game requires you to be calm and patient. If you lose your temper(脾气) when the tower falls. you may lose the chance to win.”

Seventh-grader Wang set a record for the longest juggle(颠球) of a soccer ball with one foot.

He did it for 4 minutes and 34 seconds.“I started to play soccer at 5 and have been practicing juggling for three or four years, so I’m confident I can do it well,”said Wang. ”Juggling with only one foot needs good balance and stability(稳定性), which I’m good at. You also need to train hard for sure.”

When asked if he was afraid that someone else would break his record one day, Wang said he was expecting that to happen. “The charm(魅力) of Guinness Campus is that we keep reaching higher goals. If someone breaks my record next year, I’ll be even more encouraged to try harder finding more potential within me.”

7 . National medals and honorary titles (荣誉称号) are usually awarded every five years. As a part of the celebration of the 70th anniversary (周年) of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), 42 people are awarded the Medal of the Republic, the Friendship Medal and national honorary titles. They come from different backgrounds, including scientists, lawmakers, educators, artists, model workers and six non-Chinese people. All have made big contributions to the nation’s construction and development. Here are some of the people well know.

Chinese scientist Tu Youyou is one of the eight who were awarded the Medal of the Republic. Tu, who won the 2015 Nobel Prize for her discovery of the malaria drug artemisinin (抗疟药物青蒿素), is the first Chinese citizen to win a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. She has saved millions of lives worldwide. She has also made important scientific innovations (创新) in traditional Chinese medicine.

Nan Rendong, before his death in 2017, led the research and development of China’s Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST, 500米口径球面斑电望远镜) , the world’s largest radio telescope. He worked on the project for more than 20 years. His contributions to Chinese astronomy earned him the title, “the people’s scientist”.

Thanks to the great efforts made by these great people, we can live in a peaceful country.

8 . Mobile Phone Madness

How much do you love your mobile phone? A Chinese student had to call 110 for help this week after he got his arm stuck in a toilet when trying to rescue his mobile phone. After dropping his phone in the toilet, he decided to wrap his arm in newspapers in the hopes of keeping clean.

But the newspapers expanded in the water, and then even his roommates couldn’t help him pull his arm out. So policemen were called and they spent an hour unsticking the stuck student.

Crazy Pet Lovers

How much do you love your pets? Many people in China are famous for how much they love their pets. They dress them up in fashionable clothing and buy them high quality food. But would they spend 7,000 English pounds (68,000 yuan) on a wedding for their pets? And that’s what a couple in Brazil spent on a fancy wedding for their pet Yorkshire terriers(a kind of dog).

Oh, Rats!

When something goes wrong, you can often hear Westerners cry “Oh, rats”. But when it comes to Southern China, “Oh, rats!” can mean it’s what you want for dinner. According to a report in China Daily, some restaurants in Guangzhou serve rat meat. But, actually, most of those rats are field mice. What would Mickey Mouse say?

Liar, Liar

Here’s some news that most women already know. Men tell more lies than women. The London Daily Mail cites（引用）a new study that says men tell about three lies a day, while women tell only two lies a day. Men are also less likely to feel guilty about lying, according to this week’s survey of 3,000 people by a research organization called One Poll. According to the Poll, lying to our mothers is very popular. But then, so is lying at work. And both men and women will lie when it comes to how much they’ve drunk. So how easy is it to tell when someone is lying?

Instead of studying abroad during college, more and more Chinese teenagers have chosen to do so as early as in high school. Students from China make up about 42 percent of the international students at high schools in the US, according to the latest study by the Institute of International Education. So, what is the main attraction for Chinese high school students to study abroad? What is overseas life like? We interviewed several students. Have a look!

Pan. 15. Moreau Catholic High School in San Francisco, California, US

In the future, I want to go to college in the US. Studying in high school here will help me get used to college life in the future. Also, I want to improve my English. Studying here is not easy. Instead of exams like in China, we have more projects in class. For example, we have to make a PPT about a historical figure and then design a creative item for that person, such as a painting.

Zhao. 15. Unionville High School in Toronto, Canada

For me, experience matters. It’s good to have the experience of living in another country. Unlike other international students, my parents accompanied me, which makes my life here much easier.

In Canada, I have more time to develop my interests. I can choose classes I like. However, taking the entrance examinations to high school and college at home would be great. It’s a shame that I have no chance to do that.

Zheng. 14. Walsh Jesuit High School in Cleveland, Ohio, US

I want to try different cultures and education styles. Two years ago, visited some famous universities in Boston, such as Harvard and MIT. The academic atmosphere(学术氛围) deeply impressed me. Every student seems to spare no effort on academics. I saw students doing morning exercise everywhere and I watched a football game. I found that school life in the US was colourful. So I decided to study in the US.