News report one.

A device that weighs less than one kilogram is part of a mission that will allow scientists to deliver fourth generation or 4G mobile coverage to the moon in 2019. If successful, the tiny device will provide the moon with its first ever mobile phone network.

The lunar network will support high definition streaming video and data between the moon and earth. The network is part of mission to the moon. This is a project with the goal of landing the first privately paid for mission to the moon.

The 4G mission is set to launch from Cape Canaveral in the United States on the space acts Balkan nine rocket in 2019. Mission to the moon intends to establish and test the first elements of a communications network on the moon.

The scientists working on the project opted to build a 4G rather than a fifth generation or 5G network. This is because this generation networks are still in testing and trial phases. This means that a 5G network may not yet be stable enough to work on the moon's surface.

Question 1: What are scientists planning to do?

Question 2: Why did scientists choose to set up a 4G network in that mission?

 

News report two.

Firefighters responded to a fire Wednesday night at an abandoned mall in Hayward. The fire was reported at 9:26 P.M. at an old shopping center on Mission Avenue near St. Mary's church.

Six fire engines, two trucks and two chiefs responded to the scene. Crews have the fire under control in about 45 minutes and managed to contain the fire to its point of origin. There were some people inside the building when the fire broke out, but there were no reports of any injuries.

Fire investigators have responded to the scene but have not yet determined the course of the fire.

Firefighters will remain on the scene until later this morning to ensure that the fire doesn't start up again.

The shopping mall had not been in use since 2002. In 2014 City Hall developed a plan to knock down the building and replace it with affordable housing. However the plan was dropped due to lack of funds.

Question 3: What does the news item say about the fire?

Question 4: What had City Hall planned to do?

 

News report three.

Potato chips in Japan are being sold for 6 times their normal price. This is after the country's main manufacturer stopped sales due to a potato shortage. Storms and floods and its main potato growing region last year caused the worst harvest in more than 3 decades. Local media reports suggest Calbee and its main rival Koike-ya are halting almost 50 products.

"We don't know when we'll be able to restart", a company spokesman said. Snack lovers are panic buying and many supermarket shelves are bare. Japanese laws limit the amount of imported potatoes that can be used in Japanese made products. Japan says fear of disease is its main reason to block fresh imports. It still only allows potatoes from selected US states. This is only at certain times and on condition that they are processed at factories based near Japanese ports.

But global warming has raised the possibility that domestic produce could be seriously affected by rare weather events more often.

Question 5：What problem is Japan facing?

Question 6：Why does Japan limit the import of potatoes?

Question 7：What might affect Japanese domestic produce?