A few days ago, he was just Colonel Yang; ___1___ people knew his name or recognized his face. But last Thursday he came back to the earth ___2___ a 21-hour trip to space, Yang Leiwei’ smile was seen across the world ___3___ the magic words: “China’s first spaceman.”
    The___4___ astronaut was sent into space at 9:00a.m. last Wednesday by China’s Shenzhou V spacecraft, ___5___ orbited the earth 14 times. He landed safely at 6:23 a.m. the next day, ___6___ China the third country to successfully send a person into ___7___, after the former Soviet Union and the US.
    Yang was satisfied with his job. “I have seen many landing ___8___ before on video, and I think ___9___ was one of the most successful.” He said on a special plane to Beijing after landing.
    ___10___ into an ordinary family in Liaoning Province, he became a pilot in the Chinese Air Force in 1987, spending 1,350 ___11___ in the air. He ___12___ the Chinese space programme 11 years later.
    While in space, Yang recorded everything he saw ___13___ showing China’s national flag and the United Nation’s flag to the people ___14___ on TV at home. He also ate a meal of diced chicken and fried rice, before taking a 3-hour nap. The whole project went according to plan, but space exploration is not as ___15___ as it seems.
    ___16___ who saw the destruction(毀滅) of the US space shuttle Columbia in February this year will know the Yang ___17___ a great risk.
    He experienced extremely high temperatures, while the gravitational forces on taking-off and landing were ___18___ enough to force tears from his eyes.
    He has ___19___ five years training to become a space man. The Chinese people Yang is now a hero. One visitor to a Xinhua news agency online forum said: “Yang’s ___20___ is a giant leap forward for China.”
    1. A. a few B. a little C. little D. few
    2. A. after B. before C. as D. when
    3. A. beyond B. over C. on D. above
    4. A. 38-years-old B