2017-03-20 Special EnglishThis is Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.Chang&`&e 5, China&`&s newest lunar probe, will bring 2 kilograms of lunar soil and rock samples back to Earth before the end of this year.The project&`&s chief said the month-long Chang&`&e 5 mission will be the most sophisticated lunar expedition China has ever made. It will face many challenges including the great number of demanding maneuvers and the complicated conditions of its landing site. The 8-metric ton probe has four components, an orbiter, lander, ascender and re-entry module. After the probe reaches lunar orbit, the components will separate into two parts. The orbiter and re-entry module will remain in orbit while the lander and ascender will descend towards the moon&`&s surface. The lander and ascender will make a soft landing, using small rockets to slow descent. They will get to work, using a drill to collect underground rocks and a mechanical arm to gather lunar soil. After two days, the ascender&`&s rocket will elevate it to lunar orbit to dock with the re-entry module. It will transfer lunar samples to the module, which will carry them to Earth. The samples are to be distributed to scientists around the country for research.This is Special English.After sending a probe to Mars in 2020, China plans to explore three asteroids and land on one of them to conduct scientific research.The "China&`&s Space Activities of 2016" white paper has been issued by the Information Office of the State Council recently. It mentioned asteroid exploration in outlining the major tasks of the country&`&s space industry in the next five years.According to the white paper, China decided to conduct expeditions to asteroids, and then to Jupiter and its satellite system after the Mars expedition.Experts say the plan is to fly a probe by an asteroid, to fly side by side with an asteroid for a period, and to land on a third one to conduct in situ sampling analysis on the surface.So far, only the United States and Japan have landed probes on asteroids. Japanese probe Hayabusa 1 landed on the asteroid Itokawa, and brought back samples to Earth.You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Southwest China&`&s Chengdu city has started freight trains to Belarus, the first of the city&`&s planned 150 freight trains to countries including Belarus, Russia and Lithuania this year.The train, carrying 41 containers of car parts, left the provincial capital of Sichuan and will reach Minsk in 12 days after a journey of more than 8,800-kilometer.The car parts were ordered by Chinese carmaker Geely for its joint venture in Minsk.The city of Chengdu ran 460 freight trains to cities in Poland, the Netherlands and Germany last year, more than any other Chinese city. This year, the city plans to run 1,000 freight trains to Europe.Demand for rail freight between China and Europe, an alternative to slower and riskier ocean shipping and much costlier air travel, has exploded in recent years.This is Special English.China has overtaken the United States as the world&`&s largest art market amid a sharp drop in global art sales. That&`&s according to an annual report released by France-based website Artprice.com.The report found that almost 13 billion US dollars&`& worth of art was sold at art auctions across the world last year, a 22 percent decline from the 16 billion dollars of sales in 2015. Art sales in China were almost 5 billion dollars last year, accounting for 38 percent of the world&`&s gross.China had been the leading art sales market since 2010, before it was overtaken by the United State in 2015.According to the report, traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphy comprise the majority of China&`&s art sales. The highest price fetched at a Chinese auction last year was 46 million dollars for a scroll painting by an ancient