China is preparing to launch its third man's space machine, mission which is due to include the first ever spacewalk by a Chinese astronaut. Weather permitting, the Shenzhou VII spacecraft and its crew will lift off within the next few hours. Our Beijing correspondent James Reynolds reports.

At night, in China’s remote Gansu Province, the Shenzhou VII rocket will take off into space. On board, there’ll be three astronauts, each of them arekernel , a colonel in the People’s Liberation Army. Once the rocket gets into the space, the mission commander Zhai Zhigang is expected to perform China’s first ever spacewalk. Scientists here say that this is an important step underway on the way to China building its own space lab. Chinese state TV plans to broadcast the launch and spacewalk live.

※WORDS※

1. colonel
A colonel is a senior officer in an army, air force, or the marines. 陆军/海军上校

※TRANSLATION※

印度和巴基斯坦领导人称争议地区克什米尔边界的贸易将于下月启动。联合国在边界召开的集会后，巴基斯坦总统Asif Ali Zardari和印度总理Manmohan Singh表示该地区将开放两条新的贸易路线。

中国正在准备第三次发射载人宇宙飞船任务，这次任务包括中国历史上第一次出舱任务。在天气允许的情况下，神州七号将携带机组人员在数小时后发射升空。以下是我台驻北京记者James Reynolds发回的报道。

晚上，神州七号宇宙飞船将在中国甘肃省郊区发生升空。飞船船舱将有三名宇航员，他们都是中国人民解放军的陆军上校。一旦火箭进入宇宙，任务指挥官翟志刚将执行中国倍受期待的首次太空行走任务。中国科学家们表示，这是中国为建造属于自己的太空站迈出的至关重要的一步。中国国家电视台计划直播火箭发射和太空行走全过程。