Wang Yaping, 42, became China’s first female space walker on Nov. 7th evening when she took part in the Shenzhou XIII mission’s first extravehicular activity(舱外活动) with Zhai Zhigang.

The extravehicular operation began at 6:51 p.m. when Zhai opened a gate. By midnight, they had climbed up the station’s robotic arm and used it to practice extravehicular activity and rescue operations with Ye Guangfu remaining inside the station to control and support the spacewalk.

The spacewalk was expected to further check the robotic arm’s capabilities(能力), examine the safety and performance of support devices(设施), because they would have one or two more spacewalks in the coming months.

A native of Shandong province and mother of a 6-year-old girl, Wang Yaping joined the People’s Liberation Army Air Force in August 1997. In March 2012, she was part of the backup crew(后备人员), and in June 2013, she took part in the Shenzhou X mission which lasted nearly 15 days. She is the second Chinese woman to have flown in space.

During the Shenzhou X flight, Wang gave China’s first space-based lecture inside the Tiangong I experimental module to more than 60 million Chinese students at about 80, 000 schools across the country. Many students were encouraged after watching Wang’s lecture. ________. They should experience a lot of pain that most people can’t stand and keep training all the time.

She is such a great woman that people call her “the most beautiful astronaut”. We are happy that she together with the other astronauts returned our hometown safely.

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C．	D．

The opening of the Beijing­Zhangjiakou high­speed railway took place in December, 2019. The railway is a milestone in China’s railway development because it has used the latest technologies in railway building.

The railway is 174 kilometers long, with 10 stations. The stations are managed by one control center, which is described by China Railway Beijing Group—also known as CR Beijing—as an “intelligent(智能的) brain”. The center collects and shares the stations’ real­time information. “With the information, the workers in the center can control the stations’ lighting and temperature, monitor (监测) trains’ operation and deal with emergencies (紧急情况),” said Zhu DianPing from CR Beijing.

Zhu said some trains on the Beijing­Zhangjiakou line are “smart” as they provide 5G signals and wireless charging (无线充电) for passengers, as well as intelligent lighting. These trains can start and stop, open and close doors, and deal with emergencies themselves.

All the ten stations provide e­ticket services. Travelers who have bought tickets online can use their ID cards instead of waiting in line for paper tickets.

At Qinghe Railway Station in Beijing, China’s first visual remote ticket vending machine (远程可视售票机) has been installed (安装) to help passengers who are not able to afford tickets online. Passengers keep in touch with the conductor through the machine and buy tickets according to video instructions.

In addition, the Badaling Great Wall Station, the deepest underground railway station in China, is another great example of the country’s achievements in railway building.

The fact that students go into a building with No. 2 pencils to take the SAT the test that could decide their future, will soon be a thing of the past. “Starting in 2024, the SAT will be taken only on a computer,” the College Board said on Tuesday.

Besides the fact that the test will be taken online, it will also be shorter, cut down from three hours to two hours, and mainly use shorter reading passages that cover a lot of topics, according to the College Board. Students will also be able to use calculators（计算器）for the test’s Maths part.

“The digital（数字的）SAT will be easier to take, easier to give and better,” Priscilla Rodriguez, the vice president of College Readiness Assessments at the College Board, said.“We’re not simply putting the SAT online. We are working to make sure we continue to meet students’ needs.” Moving the test online will also shorten the time that students have to wait to hear how they did, with test scores now being returned in days instead of weeks.

The College Board did a test about putting the SAT online last November. According to the organization, 80% of the students reported they found the digital test to be less stressful.