Unit 7
Lesson 1
Student’s Book pages 56-57
Weather and climate
Before reading
Look at the picture
1 What is the climate like at the North and South Poles? What is it like on the Equator? Why do you think these places have different climates?
Answers
At the North Pole the climate is very cold and dry. At the Equator, it is hot and wet. These places have different climates because they get different amount of sunlight during the year.
2 Read the words in the box. Where in the world can you experience these types of climates? Check the meaning of any words you don’t know in the Activity Book Glossary or in a dictionary.
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polar tundra mountain temperate desert monsoon tropical |
Answers
Polar: North and South Poles (the Arctic and the Antarctic)
Tundra: Russia, North America
Mountain: the Alps, the Himalayas, the Andes, the Atlas Mountains, the Rockies, the Caucasus, the Great Dividing Range, the Pyrenees
Temperate: Europe, the USA, parts of South America
Desert: North Africa (Shara), southern Africa (Kalahari, Namib) central Australia, China, Chile (Atacama), Mongolia (Gobi), Mexico, western USA, Saudi Arabia, etc.
Monsoon: India, South-East Asia
Tropical: South America, South-East Asia
3 Read and listen to the article about different climates. Which climate do you live in? How has pollution affected it?
Suggested answers
Jordan’s rainfall per year is about 20 cm so it is classified as a desert climate. The weather is hotter in Jordan due to pollution.
One world, many climates
Climates vary hugely in different parts of the world. They determine what an area is like, and they affect the people who inhabit the region as well as the plants and animals that live there. There are eight main types of climate:
1 Polar areas are very cold, with strong, dry winds. The temperature in summer is never higher than ten degrees centigrade, and ice and snow cover the ground.
2 Areas that have a tundra climate include Russia and North America. They are usually cold, with very short summers. There is very little rain. This means that not many trees can grow.
3 In mountain areas, the height of the mountains determines the climate.
4 Areas that have a cool temperate climate include Northern Europe and the USA. There is rain almost all year. The summers are usually warm, and the winters are not very cold.
5 Places that have a warm temperate climate, such as Southern Europe, southern parts of the USA and South America, have hot, dry summers. Winters are not usually cold.
6 Areas where there is less than twenty-five centimetres of rain each year have desert climates. North Africa and central Australia are examples. During the day it is very hot, but at night it becomes very cold.
7 In India and South-East Asia, there is a monsoon climate, so the weather changes suddenly. Months of heavy rain follow months of dry weather.
8 Places where there is a tropical climate are near the Equator. It is always hot and wet in these areas, and rainforests grow there.
Comprehension
4 Read and listen to the article again. Answer the following questions.
1 How do you think a climate affects the plants and animals from one area to another?
2 How many types of climate does the article mention? Which climate do you think Jordan has?
3 Which other climate do you think would be interesting to experience? Why?
4 Which climate do you think causes danger to people the most? Explain your answer.
Answers
1 Suggested answer: Some plants and animals adapt to a certain climate, but not to another. For example, penguins can be found in the South Pole and not in Jordan.
2 The article mentions eight types of climate. Jordan has a hot, dry desert climate.
3 Students’ own answers
4 Suggested answer: A monsoon climate causes danger to people because it might result in floods.
5 What type of climate does each of these sentences describe? Refer to the information in the article to help you decide.
1 There is a sudden change from wet to dry weather. monsoon
2 The weather is often wet and it isn’t usually very cold.
3 Summers are very short and there aren’t many trees.
4 It’s always hot and wet.
5 It’s very hot during the day but very cold at night
Answers
1 monsoon
2 cool temperate
3 tundra
4 tropical
5 desert
Unit 7
Lesson 1
Activity Book page 40
Vocabulary
1 Match the types of climate and their descriptions. Which one can you see in the photo?
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1 polar |
a very hot and dry during the day |
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2 tundra |
b very cold, with ice and snow on the ground |
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3 mountain |
c cold and dry, with short summers and little rain |
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4 desert |
d hot and wet, with rainforests |
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5 monsoon |
e colder at higher levels |
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6 tropical |
f months of dry weather followed by months of heavy rain |
Answers
1 b
2 c
3 e
4 a
5 f
6 d
