Now satellites are helping to forecast the weather. They are in space, and they can reach any part of the world. The satellites take pictures of the atmosphere（大气）, because this is where the weather forms. They send these pictures to the weather stations. So meteorologists（气象学家）can see the weather of any part of the world. From the pictures, the scientists can often say how the weather will change.
Today, nearly five hundred weather stations in sixty countries receive satellite pictures. When they receive new pictures, the meteorologists compare them with earlier ones. Perhaps they may find that the clouds have changed during the last few hours. This may mean that the weather on the ground may soon change, too. In their next weather forecast, the meteorologists can say this.
So the weather satellites are a great help to the meteorologists. Before satellites were invented, the scientists could forecast the weather for about 24 or 48 hours. Now they can make good forecasts for three or five days. Soon, perhaps, they may be able to forecast the weather for a week or more ahead（提前）.Satellites travel ___________.
| A．in space | B．in the atmosphere |
| C．above the ground | D．above space |
Why do we use the weather satellites to take pictures of the atmosphere?
Because ________.
| A．the weather satellites can do it easily | B．clouds form there |
| C．the weather forms there | D．the pictures can forecast the weather |
Meteorologists forecast the weather ________.
| A．when they have received satellite pictures |
| B．after they have compared new satellite pictures with earlier ones |
| C．before they received satellite pictures |
| D．during they study satellite pictures |
Maybe we’ll soon be able to forecast the weather for ________.
| A．one day | B．two days |
| C．five days | D．seven days or even longer |
The main idea of this passage is that satellites are now used in ______.
| A．taking pictures of the atmosphere |
| B．receiving pictures of the atmosphere |
| C．doing other work in many ways |
| D．weather forecasting |
New Zealand offers free school lunches to thousands of kids
WELINGTON， Feb． 20 （ Xinhua） ﹣"Thousands of children have begun receiving a free lunch on schooldays under the government's free and healthy school lunch program，" Prime Minister （首相）Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday．
"The program is for 7 ，000 students at 31 schools right now． The number will extendto 21 ，000 students in 120 schools by the start of 2021 ，"Ardern said while she was serving up lunch at a school in Hawke's Bay．
"A full stomach makes all the difference to a child's learning，" Ardern said．
"Providing a free and healthy lunch at school is one way to help New Zealand become the best place in the world for school children． And people can see that difference right away，" she said． She added that providing these lunches was also a great way for local families to have jobs．
"The program is one of 75 plans from New Zealand's CYWS （ Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy）． It started last year and developed with the money from 10 ，000 New Zealanders including 6，000 young people ，"said Education Minister Chris Hipkins．
（1）What kind of writing is it？
| A． |
Story． |
| B． |
News． |
| C． |
Email． |
| D． |
Invitation． |
（2）The underlined word "extend" here means " "．
| A． |
increase |
| B． |
double |
| C． |
remain |
| D． |
fall |
（3）From the second paragraph， we know that Ardern was when she explained the program．
| A． |
planning for the free lunch program |
| B． |
giving lunch to the school children |
| C． |
thinking how to provide jobs for local families |
| D． |
collecting money from New Zealanders |
（4）By "A full stomach makes all the difference to a child's learning," Ardern meant that " "．
| A． |
learning well mainly depends on eating |
| B． |
learning to eat a proper lunch is important |
| C． |
eating has nothing to do with learning |
| D． |
children will learn better if they eat well |
People use languages to communicate．Any language has its ways to express people's minds．One of the ways in common is the use of idioms．An idiom is a group of words．It has a special meaning that is different from the usual meaning．For example，under the weather is an idiom meaning ill．So when people say "I'm under the weather，" they are saying that they're not feeling well． Another example， in all weathers means in all kinds of weather． So， "There are homeless people sleeping on the streets in all weathers" tells us that homeless people sleep on the streets no matter whether it is cold or hot．
Different languages may have different ways to make idioms． For people who are learning a foreign language，idioms could cause misunderstandings and bring them endless headaches． On the other hand，if things are done right， idioms can also be a fun way of looking into a new culture and understanding how the people think and talk．
Metaphor （比喻） is often used in idioms． Let's read the following two examples：
●It makes my blood boil （煮沸） when people litter．
●The night was dark and quiet； my blood ran cold when I heard a strange noise outside at dark night．
In neither situation above， our blood can reach the point so high or so low in temperature．Yet， with the situations the two sentences created， it is not difficult to work out the unhappy feelings of really angry in the first example and very afraid in the second．
Of course，not all idioms are this easy to understand．When we come to idioms of a foreign language，a good dictionary of idioms is always suggested．
（1）This passage tells us something about in the English language．
| A． |
grammar |
| B． |
writing |
| C． |
reading |
| D． |
idioms |
（2）If your brother breaks your computer， you can say to him， " "
| A． |
I'm under the weather |
| B． |
I'm there in all weathers |
| C． |
You've made my blood boil |
| D． |
My blood runs cold |
（3）What is the writer's advice when you come to an expression like under the weather？
| A． |
We should look it up in a good idiom dictionary． |
| B． |
We should try to express our minds with it． |
| C． |
We should find an interesting way to learn it． |
| D． |
We should create situations to guess its meaning． |
BEAUTIFUL VALLEY FARM
Come with your whole family for a fun， relaxing day or weekend．Pet and feed the animals， ride or walk around the farm，and use our game room and swimming pool．Three delicious meals are served each day．
Open weekdays 8A．M． to 8 P．M． and all weekend． Closed Mondays．
395 Ribera North Rd． （847）233﹣6786
（1）The text is written mainly to ．
| A． |
keep a diary |
| B． |
send a postcard |
| C． |
introduce the farm |
| D． |
remember the address |
（2）At the farm， people can ．
| A． |
ride and have a walk |
| B． |
feed the animals and pick fruit |
| C． |
relax and go fishing |
| D． |
cook meals and go swimming |
（3）Which of the following is true？
| A． |
Beautiful Valley Farm is at 395 Ribera South Road． |
| B． |
You can stay at the farm 24 hours a day on weekends． |
| C． |
You can stay at the farm at 9 in the evening on weekdays． |
| D． |
To know more about the farm， people can call （874）332﹣ 6876． |
When learning is mentioned， regular school can be the first place which you can think of． However ， the Internet is changing the way students learn． Many learning apps provide rich courses for the learners to meet their levels of knowledge and interests．TED is one of them．With the Internet， learners are allowed to learn at home or anywhere else．
◆Which do you prefer： Regular School or Home School？
|
Regular school helps you learn more． And you have more chances to take part in clubs and try out different kinds of courses． In class， you can discuss problems by working in groups． |
I prefer having classes online because you can spend more time learning when you're the only student in "your class"． Having cases at home may make you very independent． |
|
I prefer regular school． You can have so many more friends and work with more people in groups． When I was having classes at home， I hated it． |
If you're a slow learner， you can fall behind in regular school． But if you have classes at home， you can learn well． I' m having classes at home， and I make much more progress now than when I went to regular school． |
|
TED This free app is a great tool for those who are interested in public speaking It provides more than 700 talks from the world's most famous thinkers， leaders and artists． It could be the first choice for many learners to develop their speaking sill． |
|
◆What can you do to improve your online studies？
To successfully learn online， you can follow these steps． First of all， you should always keep in mind what you hope to complete by the end of it． Then， a study plan is needed． A good study plan includes a study calendar and a to﹣do list． Next， when having a class， be active to think about what he teacher says and express yourself． After class， remember to review what you have learned by reading your notes or making a mind map．
With the coming of 5G， the cloud classroom might not be far away． However， whatever advantages online learning has， it just offers a way of learning． It doesn't take the place of any of the ways． There must be many more ways of learning in the future． Nobody knows what will happen．
（1）Please translate the underlined sentence into Chinese．
（2）According to the passage， why do people choose TED？
（3）What's the common advantage of regular school according to the students？
（4）What can we infer（推断）about Michael from his words？
（5）Please complete the second step in the chart（图表）．What else can you do to improve your online studies？
（6）What do you think the way of learning in the future will be like？ Why？
These days， teenagers are heavily influenced by the media．Many of them have watched thousands of hours of TV．That's more time than they spend with teachers at school．And we haven't yet considered the hours they spend using the Internet and reading newspapers．
However， several studies have shown a serious problem： today's teenagers lackmedia literacy（媒体素养）． In other words， they have difficultly critically thinking about the information they see． One study that was done on middle school students showed that more than 80 percent of them couldn't tell the difference between real stories and ads that looked like news．
Standford professor Kevin John teaches a class called Media Effects． He tries to help his students learn media literacy． The professor gave an example that shows why media literacy is important． In the example， two news stations report a snowstorm． One focuses on（关注）the terrible road conditions． The other focuses on kids playing in the snow． "With a news story． news stations tell you what they feel are the important details（细节）． These details mostly depend on the opinions of the news director．" said John． "A person who has media literacy would realize that each story is about one side at this time． There is more going on．"
Some experts think school is the best place to teach media literacy． Other believe everyone﹣from parents to reporters﹣should help teenagers learn the skills．
As for the best time to start learning media literacy， many experts suggest the age of 12． But some basic ideas can be taught even earlier． "It's never too early to start learning media literacy，" John said．
（1）From the first paragraph， we can learn that teenagers today spend more time ．
| A． |
using the Internet than watching TV |
| B． |
watching TV than studying at school |
| C． |
studying at school than reading newspapers |
（2）The underlined word "lack" in Paragraph 2 probably means ．
| A． |
缺乏 |
| B． |
质疑 |
| C． |
误解 |
（3）The example shows that a person who has media literacy about a news story．
| A． |
should have the same opinions as others |
| B． |
could think about is good and bad sides |
| C． |
must know about all the important details. |
（4）Professor Kevin John would agree that ．
| A． |
everyone is supposed to help children learn different sills |
| B． |
children should be taught media literacy as early as possible |
| C． |
news directors should report the news children are interested in |
（5）The main idea of the passage is ．
| A． |
how to develop teenagers' media literacy |
| B． |
where teenagers should be taught media literacy |
| C． |
why teenagers are supposed to have media literacy |
