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South Korean health authorities are expected to announce a revised roadmap for social distancing that will give more freedom to businesses, while restricting people's behaviors more strictly, to combat COVID-19.

"So far Korea has restricted opening of businesses and public places without necessarily limiting movement of people or other individual behaviors," said Health Ministry spokesperson Son Yong-rae during a news briefing last week. 

"From now on, closures and other curbs on businesses will be minimized, and instead activities as travel, gatherings and outing will be subject to tougher controls."

According to the ministry, recent infection cases have largely been driven by in-person interactions among friends of family. About 36 percent of all recently confirmed patients caught COVID-19 from someone they know, while as many as 23 percent could not be contact-traced--meaning that they weren't connected to known outbreaks. 

Son said the latest trend indicates that the virus is spreading mainly through person-to-person events, which is why the ban on private gatherings of five people or more has proved particularly effective in beating back the December surge in infections. 

Son hinted that the government plans to introduce a more tightened gatherings ban mimicking New Zealand's model of "social bubbles," under which only an exclusive group of up to 10 people are allowed to meet each other. 

The social bubble approach has been credited with helping New Zealand successfully control the spread of infections, with still only 26 deaths as of Sunday.

"Each person's realm of social interactions would be limited to people whom they live with or must maintain regular contact with," Son said. "If you can't telecommute, your bubble would include your co-workers, for instance."

The imminent update is intended to reduce damage to the economy from the pandemic measures. "Social distancing burden has to be shared by the whole of society rather than certain sectors," he said. He recognized that the way social distancing has worked in Korea over the last year has caused small businesses to suffer without fair compensation. 

Although there will be more pressure on people to refrain from socializing, how much of the rules will be mandatory remains to be decided. 

"The first draft of the social distancing scheme is expected to finalized sometime next week. As the case rates are once again on the rise, its introduction could be postponed," he said. 

Son added that Korea had room to sustain a greater number of patients at a time than is dictated by the present system. Currently, the strictest tier of social distancing is implemented when there are 800 to 1,000 cases a day.

"Our health care system capacity has been expanded to be able to stand about 1,000 patients being diagnosed per day for about three weeks," he said. 

"In light of our improved response, social distancing rules can be applied more sparingly for the remainder of the pandemic. As vaccinations will soon begin, I think we can expect to ease off on social distancing even further in May or June."

3. 

Stanley Yelnats was the only passenger on the bus, not counting the driver or the guard. The guard sat next to the driver with his seat turned around facing Stanley. A rifle lay across his lap.

 Stanley was sitting about ten rows back, handcuffed to his armrest. His backpack lay on the seat next to him. It contained his toothbrush, toothpaste, and a box of stationery his mother had given him. He'd promised to write to her at least once a week. 

 He looked out the window, although there wasn't much to see-mostly fields of hay and cotton. He was on a long bus ride to nowhere. The bus wasn't air-conditioned, and the hot, heavy air was almost as stifling as the handcuffs.

 Stanley and his parents had tried to pretend that he was just going away to camp for a while, just like rich kids do. When Stanley was younger he used to play with stuffed animals, and pretend the animals were at camp. Camp Fun and Games he called it. Sometimes he'd have them play soccer with a marble. Other times they'd run an obstacle course, or go bungee jumping off a table, tied to broken rubber bands. Now Stanley tried to pretend he was going to Camp Fun and Games Maybe he'd make some friends, he thought. At least he'd get to swim in the lake. 

2.

The reader is probably asking: Why would anyone go to Camp Green Lake?

 Most campers weren't given a choice. Camp Green Lake is a camp for bad boys.

 If you take a bad boy and make him dig a hole every day in the hot sun, it will turn him into a good boy.

 That was what some people thought. 

 Stanley Yelnats was given a choice. The judge said, "You may go to jail, or you may go to Camp Green Lake."

 Stanley was from a poor family. He had never been to camp before. 

1.

There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. There once was a very large lake here, the largest lake in Texas. That was over a hundred years ago. Now it is just a dry, flat wasteland.

 There used to be a town of Green Lake as well. The town shriveled and dried up along with the lake, and the people who lived there. 

 During the summer the daytime temperature hovers around ninety-five degrees in the shade-if you can find any shade. There's not much shade in a big dry lake. 

 The only trees are two old oaks on the eastern edge of the "lake." A hammock is stretched between the two trees, and a log cabin stands behind that. 

 The campers are forbidden to lie in the hammock. It belongs to the Warden. The Warden owns the shade. 

 Out on the lake, rattlesnakes and scorpions find shade under rocks and in the holes dug by the campers.

 Here's a good rule to remember about rattlesnakes and scorpions: If you don't bother them, they won't bother you.

 Usually.

 Being bitten by a scorpion or even a rattlesnake is not the worst thing that can happen to you. You won't die. 

 Usually. 

 Sometimes a camper will try to be bitten by a scorpion, or even a small rattlesnake. Then he will get to spend a day or two recovering in his tent, instead of having to dig a hole out on the lake. 

 But you don't want to be bitten by a yellow-spotted lizard. That's the worst thing that can happen to you. You will die a slow and painful death. 

 Always.

 If you get bitten by a yellow-spotted lizard, you might as well go into the shade of the oak trees and lie in the hammock. 

 There is nothing anyone can do to you anymore. 

There are three main climate zones on the Earth. They are the tropical, temperate, and polar climate zones. 

The Tropical zones are found near the equator. Basically, they are found between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. In general, the tropical zone has hot weather most of the year. Many areas in the tropical zone have very wet weather, but this is not always the case. 

The temperate zones are the largest of the three main climate zones. One temperate zone lies between the Tropical of Cancer and the Arctic Circle. The other temperate zone lies between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle. Most of the world's population lives in temperate zones. Temperate zones are neither too hot nor too cold. They experience changing seasons all year long. For the most part, the weather is not too extreme in these places. 

The polar zones are found north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle. The weather in these places is constantly cold. Few people live in these places. Few animals live in them as well. 

1. In which zone do most of the world's people live?

- The temperate zone. 

2. a. The three main climate zones are the tropical, temperate, and polar climate zones.

    b. Tropical zones often have hot, wet weather. 

    c. One of the temperate zones is between the Tropic of Capricorn and the equator. 

3. a. temperate zone : an area in which there are four distinct seasons.

    b. polar zone : an area in which the climate is usually very cold. 

    c. tropical zone : an are in which the climate is usually very hot. 

Earth is a big planet. But we can make it smaller by dividing it into sections. We call these sections hemispheres. One hemisphere is half of the Earth. 

There is an imaginary line that runs from east to west all around the Earth. It is in the center of the Earth. We call it the equator. The equator divides the Northern Hemisphere from the Southern Hemisphere. The Northern Hemisphere includes Asia and Europe. North America is also in it. Below the equator is the Southern Hemisphere. Australia and Antarctica are in it. So are most of South America and Africa. 

We can also divide Earth into the Eastern and Western hemispheres. The line that does this is the prime meridian. It runs from north to south. It goes directly through Greenwich, England. The Eastern Hemisphere includes Europe, Africa, and Asia. The Western Hemisphere includes North and South America. 

1. What goes through Greenwich, England?

- The prime meridian. 

2. What is NOT true?

a. The equator runs from east to west. ( T )

b. Australia is in the Northern Hemisphere. ( F )

c. Earth has the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere. ( T )

3. a. hemisphere : an imaginary line the lies halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole.

    b. imaginary : not real; made up.

    c. equator : one half of the Earth. 

Many people live in areas with four seasons. It's hot in summer and cold in winter. The weather in spring and fall is either warm or cool. These are very normal weather conditions. But sometimes there are extreme weather conditions. These can many problems for people. 

Sometimes, it might not rain somewhere for a long time. Lakes, rivers, and streams have less water in them. Trees and grasses die. People and animals become very thirsty. This is called a drought. 

Other times, it rains constantly for many days. Water levels become much higher than normal. Water often goes on the ground and even onto city streets. These are called floods. 

In many warm places near the water, there are tropical storms. These storms drop heavy rains and have very strong winds. Tropical storms can drop several inches of rain in a few hours. Some places might ger two or three tropical storms every year. 

1. What is the main idea of the passage?

- Extreme weather can cause problems. 

2. a. What happens during a drought? - it doesn't rain somewhere for a long time. Lakes, rivers, and streams have less water in them. Trees and grasses die. People and animals become very thirsty. 

3. a. normal : usual; regular.

    b. drought : a period in which no or very little rain falls. 

    c. extreme : servere.

There are many kinds of resources on the Earth. Four of them are very important. They are renewable, nonrenewable, human, and capital resources. 

Renewable resources can be used again and again. They can be replaced within a short time. Some energy resources are renewable. The energy from the sun, tides, water, and the wind is renewable. Also, trees and animals are renewable. But humans still need to take good care of them. We should not waste them at all. 

Nonrenewable resources are limited in supply. Once we use them, they disappear forever. They can't be replaced. Many energy resources are like this. Coal, gas, and oil are all nonrenewable. 

Human resources are people and the skills they have. This also includes the knowledge and information that humans have. 

People make products using renewable and nonrenewable resources. Machines are often used to produce goods. The machines and tools that are used to produce goods are called capital resources. 

1. What is NOT true?

a. Renewable resources can be replaced within a short time. ( T )

b. Nonrenewable resources cannot be used again. ( T )

c. Coal, gas, and oil are all renewable. ( F )

2. a. What are the four important kinds of resources? Renewable, Nonrenewable, Human, and Capital resources. 

    b. What are some renewable energy resources? the sun, tides, water, wind, trees, and animals.

    c. What are capital resources? The machines and tools that are used to produce goods.

3. a. resources : useful materials.

    b. renewable : able to be used again. 

    c. replace : to take the place of; to substitute.

There are many animals on the Earth. Some species have many animals. But there are just a few animals in other species. These animals are endangered. If we are not careful, they could all die and become extinct. 

In China, the panda is endangered. In the oceans, the blue whale is endangered. In Africa, lions, tigers, and elephants are all endangered. There are many other endangered animals, too. 

What can people do? People can stop hunting them. And people can set aside land for the animals to live on. Then, maybe one day, they will not be endangered anymore. 

1. What is an endangered animal in China?

- The panda. 

2. What is true?

a. All animals are endangered. ( F )

b. Some animals could all die and become extinct. ( T )

c. People should stop hunting endangered animals. ( T )

3. a. species : a specific type of organism.

    b. become extinct : to die out completely

    c. endangered : rare;in danger of dying out completely.

The United States has many national parks. These are protected areas. So people cannot develop or damage them. 

The first national park was Yellowstone National Park. It is an area with stunning scenery and many wild animals. The Grand Canyon is also a national park. It is one of the largest canyons in the world. 

Every year, millions of people visit these parks. They tour the parks and go hiking. Some even camp in the parks. They learn about the land and how to preserve it, too.

1. What is special about the Grand Canyon?

- It is a very large canyon. 

2. a. What was the first national park? - Yellowstone Park. 

    b. What is one of the world's largest canyons? - The Grand Canyon.

    c. What do people do at national parks? - They tour, go hiking, and camp.

3. a stunning : incredible; amazing. 

    b. damage : to harm.

    c. preserve : to save; to conserve.