Have you ever heard of the satellite(卫星) called the Early Bird, which was built by a group of scientists from 14 countries? Up till now dozens of satellites have been put into _________and they help people in many ways.

You can speak to people on the other side of the world over the telephone with the help of a satellite. They can help to take the photos of the earth and other _________. Some pictures taken by the satellites show us the right places where different metals can be _________. They can also tell the difference between healthy plants and poor ones. This is a great _________to the scientists who work in the forests and in agriculture(农业).

Satellites are quite useful in our daily life. For example, satellites for _________ are used to send radio and TV programs from one part of the world to another. It is the satellites that make our world seem _________.

A number of research stations have been set up to study the outer space. In the past, it was difficult for the scientists to get a _________picture of space because of the dusty air, _________ satellites make it easier. They are being used more and more to _________ information about space just like _________between space and men.

   After its safe landing, Shenzhou 6 has become the pride of the country. Besides expressing congratulations, the Chinese public is expecting more success in the future in the country's space program.

Four thirty in the morning, after 5 days' traveling in outer space, Shenzhou 6 returned home safely, carrying two Chinese astronauts(宇航员). Their mission(任务) follows that of the first Chinese man to travel in space, Yang Liwei.

The landing was immediate headline news across the country. Many citizens rushed to newspaper stands to get the details of Shenzhou 6. And many wore big smiles.

Guo Kunquan, Beijing resident(居民), said, "I believe China will have move astronauts and female astronauts in the future, for longer space missions."

Cao Junzheng, Beijing resident, said, "This is great encouragement. Chinese can do everything well. I hope the spirit can be carried on."

The joy is spreading around the whole country, in homes, on the streets and on the Internet. Internet surfers, usually young people, expressed their congratulations on the Internet, wishing for more successful space explorations.

Zhang Mengnan, College student, said, "I am so excited. As a student, I know what I should do now in order to follow the space heroes and serve my country in the future."

The landing of Shenzhou 6 will lead to many other questions for the public, such as, when will Shenzhou 7 be launched? When will Chinese astronauts carry out a space walk? And when will China have its own space station? A public hungry for more accomplishments(成就) in the space program is waiting for more.

What if a person wants to get to a star far away? It would take a lifetime to travel. People should have to move at least at the speed(速度) of light. But in fact, nothing can move faster than light.

Light travels more than 186,000 miles a second(秒), or about 11 million miles a minute. In one year, light travels about 6 trillion (6,000,000,000,000) miles. That great distance is called a light-year (光年). It is used to measure(测量) distance in space.

Strange things happen to an object(物体) when it moves very fast. If an object moves at 86% of the speed of light, it will be twice as heavy as it is at rest. A stick appears shorter. A clock runs more slowly. A person would not age so fast in space as on the earth.

Alpha Centauri is the closest star to the sun. It is over four light-years away. So if a human traveled at the speed of light, it would take him nine years to go to Alpha Centauri and come back.

   “Captain, we are almost there. What do you want us to do?”

Twenty years of plans. Twenty years of wondering. Twenty years and our spaceship was about to arrive. What will we find? Was the information we were given correct? As the captain of the spaceship, I would soon know.

Where are we? We are coming to the nearest star to the sun. It takes 4 light years to go to this star. We have taken almost twenty years. We have the largest spaceship that has ever been built.

We had a simple way of traveling. We learned from bears how to sleep for a long time without getting sick or dying. We should sleep for eleven months. We would work for one month. Then we would go back to sleep for eleven months. I found it unusual to have my calendar(日历) always read March. That was the month I was awake. I have lived in the month of March for the last twenty years.

Here we are. We are coming near to this new star. There is a planet that is supposed to be like earth here. Will it be? Will we be able to live here?

I have to get busy now. We will start to wake up all of the other people. They will also want to see this. We have people from every place on earth. Think of all that we will get to see here. This is something to really get excited about.

I have to go. Have a good day. Wish us good luck.

There have been many great inventions, things that changed the way we live.The first great inventions was one that is still very important today—the wheel(车轮). This made it easier to carry heavy things and to travel long distances.

For hundreds of years after that there were few inventions that had as much effect as the wheel.Then in the early 1800's the world started to change. There was little unknown land left in the world. People didn't have to explore much any more. They began to work instead to make life better.

In the second half of the 19th century many great inventions were made. Among them were the camera, the light and the radio. These all became a big part of our life today.

The first part of the 20th century saw more great inventions. Movies with sound in 1926. This was also a time when a new material(材料) was first made. Nylon came out in 1935. It changed the kind of clothes people wear.

The middle part of the 20th century brought new ways to help people get over diseases. They made people healthier and let them live longer lives.

By the 1960s most people had a very good life. Of course new inventions continued to be made. Man began looking for ways to go into space. Russia made the first step. Then the United States took a step. Since then other countries, including China and Japan, have made their steps into space.

In 1969 man took his biggest step away from earth. Americans first walked on the moon. This is certainly just a beginning thought. New inventions will some day help us to do things we have never dreamed of.