阅读理解

　　Today rockets are very advanced machines which we can use to send astronauts into space．They are also used in firework displays to celebrate great events, such as the end of the Olympic Games or the beginning of the new millennium in the year 2000．

　　Rockets were probably invented by accident about 2000 years ago．The Chinese had a form of gunpowder which was put in bamboo tubes and thrown into fires to make explosions during festivals．Perhaps some of the tubes jumped out of the fire instead of exploding in it．The Chinese discovered that the gunpowder escaping from the tube could lift it into the air．The idea of the rocket was born．

　　The first military use of rockets was in 1232．The Song Dynasty was at war with the Mongols．During the battle of Kaifeng, the Song army shot “arrows of flying fire”．The tubes were attached to a long stick which helped keep the rocket moving in a straight direction．Soon the Mongols learned how to make rockets themselves and it is possible that they introduced them to Europe．Between the 13th and 15th century there were many rocket experiments in England, France and Italy．They were used for military purposes．One Italian scientist even invented a rocket which could travel over the surface of water and hit an enemy ship．

　　Not everybody wanted to use rockets in battles．Wan Hu, a Chinese government official, invented a flying chair．He attached two big kites to the chair, and 47 rockets to the kites．The rockets were lit, there was a huge explosion and clouds of thick smoke．When the smoke cleared Wan Hu and his chair had disappeared, no one knows what happened．Did Wan Hu die in the explosion? Or was he carried miles into space, becoming the world’s first astronaut?

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