My uncle, who is a reporter at a TV station, writes news reports every day, and sometimes he goes out to report on traffic or weather, even when it is windy and wet. His job keeps him very (11), so we can only see him on weekends. Last Friday he called my mother and said, "Watch Channel 52 at eight tonight." (12) Because we did not want to miss anything, we all sat down in front of the television at seven thirty and waited. (13), at eight o'clock, his face appeared on the screen. He was talking about a new park (14) was built next to the river, and my mother was so excited that she took a photo.
Long ago, people who wanted to send news to friends had to write letters. They put the paper in an envelope and sent it by mail, and a letter often took a week to arrive. Today most people use email or send messages on their phones, (15) their words arrive in a second. (16), my grandmother still likes the old way, because she says a letter feels warmer than words on a screen. Every spring she writes to her sister, who lives in the eastern part of Japan, and her letter is often five pages long. (17) Then we walk to the post office. Two weeks later, a (18) from Japan arrives, and Grandma reads it to me.
Dad: Our cable TV has been broken for a week, and the old company still has not fixed it, so I want to change to a new one. What do you think of these plans?
| Star Cable TV - Spring Plans | Channels | Price a month |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | 80 | NT$399 |
| Family | 150 | NT$599 |
| Family Plus | 150 + free movies | NT$699 |
| Every new house gets a free box. Call 0800-123-456 anytime. | ||
Jenny: We need the news channels for you and the cartoon channels for my little brother, but only the Family plan and the Family Plus plan have both.
Dad: Your mother is crazy about movies, and she has told me many times that she would like to watch them at home.
Jenny: Then let's get the plan with movies. It costs only one hundred dollars more a month than the Family plan.
Dear Mr. Lin,
My name is Kevin Chang. I am in Grade 8 at Green Hill School, and I write for our school newspaper, which has eighteen students in its club. Last week our class had a debate about whether students should be allowed to use phones at school. Before the debate, we read your report about the same question, and it gave us many good ideas that we used in our talks.
Next month we hope to write a story about your job as a journalist. Could we visit your office between May 18 and May 22? We would like to ask you about ten questions, which will take less than an hour. Is there anything else we should bring?
Please call our teacher, Ms. Wu, at 04-2211-3366, or email me.
Thank you,
Kevin Chang
City TV Station Open Day
City TV Station will open its doors to students on Friday, June 6.
You will see how reporters make the news and how our weather lady talks in front of a green wall, which later becomes a weather map on your TV. In the kitchen of our cooking show, you can also watch the cook make chicken with soy sauce. Because only 60 students can go in, and there was a big crowd at the gate last year, please come early. Food and drinks are not allowed anywhere in the station. In the news room, please turn off your phone and do not use a camera light. You are welcome to ask our reporters questions after the visit.
Where do young people get the news? Our school newspaper asked 180 students this question, and each student could choose only one answer.
| Way | Students |
|---|---|
| Phone | 94 |
| Television | 55 |
| Newspaper | 19 |
| Magazine | 12 |
Two years ago, television was the top answer, but now more than half of the students read the news on their phones. A phone has a big advantage: it is so light that you can carry it anywhere and read the news anytime. However, some teachers say that news on the phone is not always true, because anyone can post a story online. People are also more likely to believe a lie when they read too fast. The teachers hope that students will read a newspaper or watch the news on different channels as well, so that they can check what is true.