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Story Time with Teacher Vanessa

What is Snow?

JENNIFER: It’s freezing outside! What happened to the 
weather report? I thought this cold front was 
supposed to pass.
GABRIELA: Yeah, I thought so too. That’s what I read online
this morning.
JENNIFER: I guess the wind chill is really driving down
the temperature.
GABRIELA: Can we go inside? I feel like my toes are starting to 
go numb.




LANGUAGE NOTES
• A “cold front” means a large mass of cold air. It can be plural: There were multiple cold 
fronts this January. 
• Here “supposed to” refers to something that is intended or expected to happen: I 
thought it was supposed to rain today. This phrase can be used for many situations: I 
thought the train was supposed to arrive at 9:00 a.m. sharp.
• Yeah / Yup / Uh huh are informal conversational cues used by native speakers in 
conversation. Each of these responses could be used here for “yes.” Gabriela affirms 
what Jennifer is saying. The most polite way to affirm a response is to say “yes.”
• Listen for the emphasis on “That’s what I read online this morning.” This useful 
phrase can be used with other verbs to convey information: That’s what I heard on the 
radio. / That’s what I saw on TV. / That’s what I read online.
• Chill / freezing / cold: These words describe cold weather. I feel the wind chill. / I feel 
the chill. / I am freezing. / I am cold.
• Wind chill is the effect of the wind making the temperature feel colder on a person’s 
skin. This is an uncountable noun. The temperature is 4 degrees, but with the wind chill 
it feels like -8. These phrases are used in weather reports as well.
• The phrase “driving down” means “forcing to be lower” and can be used in many 
situations. An oversupply of new houses is driving down sales prices in the area.

English Conversation practice (30-day challenge)

Day 9 : Weather

Histoires françaises pour débutants A2

Kimamila Part 1

        为了看日出，我常常早起。那时天还没有大亮，周围很静，只听见船里机器的声音。
        天空还是一片浅蓝，很浅很浅的。转眼间，天水相接的地方出现了一道红霞。红霞的范围慢慢扩
大，越来越亮。我知道太阳就要从天边升起来了，便目不转睛地望着那里。
        果然，过了一会儿，那里出现了太阳的小半边脸，红是红得很，却没有亮光。太阳像负着什么重担
似的，慢慢地，一纵一纵地，使劲儿向上升。到了最后，它终干冲破了云需，完全跳出了海面，颜色真
红得可爱。一刹那间，这深红的圆东西发出夺目的亮光，射得人眼睛发痛。它旁边的云也突然有了光
彩。

         有时候太阳躲进云里。阳光透过云缝直射到水面上，很难分辨出哪里是水，哪里是天，只看见一片
灿烂的亮光。
        有时候天边有黑云，云还很厚。太阳升起来，人看不见它。它的光芒给黑云镶了一道光亮的金边。
后来，太阳慢慢透出重围，出现在天空，把一片片云染成了紫色或者红色。这时候，不仅是太阳、云和
海水，连我自己也成了光亮的了。
        这不是伟大的奇观么?

听优美短文，提升中文阅读和写作

《海上日出》节选

Quiet Nights: Relaxing Bedtime Stories... 

Listen to this story from a little explorer while you increase your vocabulary and practice your listening

Hablar por hablar (Listening)

Noches Tranquilas: Cuentos Relajantes para dormir 

op universities in California like Stanford and the University of Southern California will no longer be able to favor the relatives of alumni and school donors during the application process.

That's after state governor Gavin Newsom signed a law banning all private nonprofit colleges from giving preference to so-called "legacy" applicants and those with links to donors.

Newsom said the law already applied to public universities in the state. The law will now apply to all universities from September 2025.

The governor said: "In California, everyone should be able to get ahead through merit, skill, and hard work. The California Dream shouldn't be accessible to just a lucky few, which is why we're opening the door to higher education wide enough for everyone, fairly."

California is the second US state to ban both public and private universities from favoring legacy applicants. Maryland was the first, earlier this year, although the state's top school — Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore — had already ended the practice independently.

Virginia, Illinois and Colorado have banned public universities from giving preferential treatment to those with links to former students or donors.

Admissions to US universities are very competitive. And legacy admissions policies give an advantage to applicants whose — often wealthy, often white — family members previously attended the university, or who have donated money to the school.

A 2022 study looked at one unnamed US university and found that, over a 16-year period, 34% of legacy applicants were accepted — compared to just 14% of non-legacy applicants.

A group representing private colleges in California said it was "uncomfortable" with the state getting involved in the universities' admissions processes, but said the institutions would follow the new law.



Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

California Bans 'Legacy' College Admissions

日本語の先生のTinaです！
今日は、「〜言（ごと）」という言葉を3つ紹介します。
「独り言（ひとりごと）」・「寝言（ねごと）」・「泣き言（なきごと）」です。

レッスンの予約もお待ちしています♪
いっしょに、日本語の勉強をがんばりましょ〜！