Wukong, Tiangong, Tianwen... Do you know where the name s of Chinese space programs come from?
Wukong, the Dark Matter Particle Explorer satellite (暗物质粒子探测卫星), is named after a Chinese superhero the Monkey King. According to Journey to the West, the Monkey King has a pair of sharp (锐利的) eyes which can tell the difference between good and evil. The Wukong satellite is just as sharp-eyed as the Monkey King to help scientists search for dark matter in space.
The name of the space station, Tiangong, means “Heavenly Palace (天宫)”. In Chinese myths (神话), this is the home of Tian Di. Now Tiangong Space Station is a home for Chinese astronauts in space. And China welcomes foreign astronauts to Tiangong so that they can work together.
Tianwen, China’s Mars mission (火星任务), gets its name from the poem Tianwen by Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan is a well-known poet (诗人) from ancient China. In Tianwen, he had the questions about the sky, stars, nature, myths and the real world, showing his hunger for truth. Perhaps the Tianwen mission will end up answering some of Qu Yuan’s questions.
If you look into more names of Chinese space programs, you will find that they all have beautiful meanings. We, the Chinese people, have a long-cherished (珍藏已久的) space dream. So the naming of Chinese space programs is taken very seriously.
【小题1】The underlined word “evil” means “________”.| A．诚恳 | B．善良 | C．邪恶 | D．丑陋 |
| A．It’s used for searching dark matter. | B．It’s used as a home for the astronauts in space. |
| C．It’s used to explore (探索) the Mars. | D．It’s used to send astronauts to the space. |
| A．a superhero | B．a book | C．a palace | D．a poem |
| A．They’re both sharp-eyed. | B．They’re both superheroes. |
| C．They both help the good and punish the bad. | D．They both help with scientific studies. |
| A．What Meaningful Names! | B．What Beautiful Space! |
| C．What A Famous Poem! | D．What A Sweet Dream! |
