Zheng He, the Columbus of the East, was an amazing man．

　　He was born in 1371 and, 11 years later, was caught by the army of a rich young man called Zhu Di and made to work for him．Over time the rich man saw that Zheng He was very clever and strong and they became close friends．In 1403 Zhu Di was made the King of China and he asked Zheng He to join his new government．

　　The King wanted to learn more about the world and show other countries his power．He ordered many new ships to be built and made Zheng He their leader．Between 1405 and 1433, Zheng He led seven sea trips to different parts of the world．He certainly travelled to India, Africa and the Middle East．A few people think his ships may have even reached South America and Australia．

　　Each trip lasted between two and four years and it is believed he sailed more than 50 000 kms during the years of his travels．With 28 000 men and over 300 ships, such as boats for food, water and even soldiers' horses, Zheng He led a fleet(艦隊)whose size would not be equalled by Europeans for over 500 years I

　　On these trips he brought with him many Chinese goods like silk and medicine to give to foreign kings or to sell for local goods．He returned from each trip with boats filled with expensive things such as gold and jewellery, foreign guests and strange animals like a giraffe．

　　It is a pity that we may never learn everything about Zheng He s travels．After he died in 1433, the new king, who believed these trips were unlucky and too expensive, had them stopped and he burned almost all the books about Zheng He’s travels．It is only in the last 50 years that historians have begun to carefully study the adventures of the great Zheng He．

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閱讀理解

　　Want to be an astronaut? Then“study hard, stay healthy and have perseverance”!This is what Chinese astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng said in a talk with some students．

　　Students were interested in the astronauts' space lives．They asked questions like“Did you see the Great Wall from space?”Fei and Nie said they didn't see the Great Wall．But they felt excited when they pass over China, including Taiwan．The island“l(fā)ooked very beautiful, like a jade”．

　　Speaking their lives beyond the earth, the two astronauts said cooperation with each other was most important．“We are the left and right hands”, they said．Young people wanted to know how the astronauts developed their careers．

　　“How did you decide to be astronauts when China's space industry is still at the beginning?”asked a young woman．The astronauts said it was because of their love of flight and also the need of the country．

　　They said their love of flight could be seen from their children's names．Nie's daughter is called“Nie Tianxiang”, which means“flying up high”．Fei's son is called“Fei Di”, which sounds like“Feidie”, meaning UFO．

　　After the success of Shenzhou VI, China plans to put a man on the moon and build a space station in 10－15 years．

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完型填空

China is one of the oldest countries in the world．She has a 　　1　　 of about five thousand years．No one is told 　　2　　 the first people in China came from．Yes, we know that bones of some of the first people have been found near Beijing and near the Yellow River, which runs 　　3　　 North China(華北)like a huge dragon and winds its way from the west to the east．There are many 　　4　　 about how the world began and who the first kings were．One story tells of how ten suns shone in 　　5　　 and how Hou Yi(后羿)shot down 　　6　　 of them．Another story tells about how Huang Di, the Yellow Emperor, beat Tsi Yor(蚩尤)and united 　　7　　 parts of the country into one kingdom．The ancient Chinese did a lot of wonders(奇跡)，one of which was the Great Wall．It 　　8　　 many years to build it and it was finished in the 220s B．C．Seeing the Great Wall, you can’t 　　9　　 wondering how all the work was done 　　10　　 modern machines．

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