经过考察和论证，造福子孙后代的南水北调工程于近日开工。我国北方一些地区用水困难的局面，将在不久的将来得以有效改善。 The massive water diversion（调拨） project planned for decades started on December 27th 2002．The construction，which will last 50 years，aims at diverting water from the water-rich south to the arid（干旱的）north of China to ensure a water supply for agricultural and industrial production and people’s daily use． With an estimated investment of about 500 billion yuan（about 60 billion US dollars），the project will channel water from three places respectively（分别）on the upper，middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze，China’s longest river，to destinations（目的地）in the north．Experts say water diversion from south to north is now both necessary and feasible（可行的），asproblems can now be properly handled． China’s water resources are imbalanced in different regions．In the southern part，water resources are rich， while in the north it’s scarce．Water shortages in northern China has been hindering（阻碍）economic development， and affecting daily life．“Without water，”according to Gu Zhao qi，an expert on water resources from Tsinghua University，“many places have turned into deserts，with localeco-systems（生态）destroyed．”This year the severe drought in Shandong Province alone has caused over 26 billion yuan loss． Once the project is completed，a total of 44．8 billion cubic meters（立方米）of water will be annually（每年一度地）channeled from the Yangtze to the north of China and it is expected to fundamentally（基本上）solve the water scarcity（缺乏）in northern China． 我国国力的增强也给科技插上了翅膀。中国的无人驾驶宇宙飞船“神舟”四号顺利升空，它标志我国航空业又朝载人技术迈进了一大步。 China has successfully launched（发射）its fourth unmanned test spacecraft into orbit．The successful launch demonstrated that China’s manned space science and technology program is getting increasingly mature（成熟）． The launch was China’s fourth successful spacecraft launch in three years．Previous（以前的）tests were conducted in 1999，2001 and earlier this year．Like its Shenzhou III predecessor（前者），Shenzhou IV has all the functions of a manned spacecraft． Shenzhou IV is just one step away from a manned flight．In fact，before the launch，Chinese astronauts entered the craft to get a feel of it．Land and sea rescue missions were also rehearsed（演习）． The spacecraft will stay in orbit for a week．Its descent module（降落舱）will touch down in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region． If all goes well，Shenzhou IV should be the last unmanned test flight of the Shenzhou Series spacecraft．Shenzhou V may become the nation’s first manned spacecraft，making Chinathe third country in the world to send man into outer space，after Russia and the US．