High 2 · Reading series
Lesson 52 · Weather Shared across an Ocean
Audio track 52
Listen first
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Our partner school across the ocean proposed a weather diary. Each class would photograph the sky at noon and record temperature and cloud cover. The first collection looked surprising: one school's warm day appeared beside our cold one.
Before comparing the numbers, we checked the dates and time zones. Noon did not happen at the same moment in both places, and our thermometers stood in different positions. We agreed to record the location of each instrument and to explain our local season rather than pretending the days were identical.
The photographs began a conversation about daily life. Their students described a sports festival under strong sun; we wrote about waiting for a train in winter wind. We did not claim that a week of diaries proved a global climate trend. The project showed how weather felt in two communities and what we needed to measure more carefully.
Sharing data was useful, but sharing the circumstances around it made the numbers readable.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
大洋彼岸的合作学校提议写天气日记。两班都在中午拍天空，记录气温和云量。第一批资料很出人意料：对方一个温暖的日子，与我们寒冷的一天并列在一起。
比较数字前，我们核对日期和时区。两地的‘中午’并非同一时刻，温度计摆放的位置也不同。我们约定记录各自仪器所在地，并说明当地季节，不假装这两天完全一样。
照片引出对日常生活的讨论。对方学生描述烈日下的运动节，我们写下冬天寒风中等火车的经历。我们没有声称一周日记能证明全球气候趋势。这个项目展示了两处社区怎样感受天气，也让我们知道还需更仔细地测量什么。
共享数据固然有用，连同数据背后的情境一起分享，数字才更容易读懂。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- partner school
- 合作学校；在大洋彼岸。
- temperature
- 气温；两校需要按条件比较。
- cloud cover
- 云量；日记记录天空情况。
- time zones
- 时区；两个中午并不同步。
- thermometers
- 温度计；放置位置需记录。
- positions
- 位置；影响测量可比性。
- identical
- 完全相同的；不能假装两天如此。
- circumstances
- 情境；读数字时要看季节。
- global
- 全球的；一周数据不足以说明。
- trend
- 趋势；需长期资料判断。
Background notes (Chinese)
同一钟点在不同时区并非同时，温度计位置也会影响读数。一周的局地天气记录能促进交流，不能证明全球长期趋势。