气象卫星 The Weather Satellite

High above the earth, a weather satellite is flying around our planet at a speed of nearly eight kilometres per second. It was launched three years ago, and it has been working day and night since then. Every few minutes, pictures of the clouds are taken by its cameras and sent back to the ground stations. The data is then turned into weather maps, which are used by millions of people every day. Most of us never see the satellite, but we all feel its help.

For farmers, the satellite is like an eye in the sky. Fields are watched from space, and the health of crops can be checked without walking through them. When the satellite shows that a storm is coming, farmers are warned in time, and the harvest can be protected. Agriculture, the oldest industry of mankind, is now being improved by the newest technology, and millions of tons of food are saved every year because of this quiet helper.

The satellite also protects people from disasters. Floods can be predicted days before they happen, so houses can be prepared and lives can be saved. Forest fires are found quickly from space, and firefighters are sent to the exact spot at once. In the past, such disasters could not be seen until they were already burning; now they can be stopped before they grow. The threat of nature is still real, but it is no longer a surprise.

Best of all, the satellite helps us protect the earth itself. The health of forests, the ice at the poles and the water in the rivers are all being monitored from space. Pollution can be located, rare animals can be followed, and the effects of climate change can be measured. 'The same technology that took us to the moon can now bring us back to our own home,' Cozy told the class, 'and show us how to take better care of it.'

That night, the four friends watched a video of the earth taken from space. The blue planet floated in the darkness, beautiful and small. 'Look, you can see our city from here,' Han Mei whispered, pointing at a tiny light. 'One day, our own satellite may be up there too,' Li Lei said. 'And it will watch over this little blue world, just like this one does now.' They looked at each other and smiled, full of dreams for the sky above.