21 Weather and seasons
Activities
21.1
Climate zones
On the computer, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_zones , study the article and
maps and complete the summary with the words from the box below.
Cfb, Dfb, cool, dry, equator, freezing point , frosty, hot, mild, monsoon, precipitation,
summer, temperatures
The Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification scheme takes account of avarage ____________,
precipitation and natural vegetation.
According to the scheme, there are five main groups, each having several types and
subtypes:
A – tropical climates
Tropical rainforest climate, which occurs near the ___________, is very hot and humid all
year round, whereas tropical __________ climate and tropical savanna climate have a dry
season as well.
B – arid and semiarid climates
These climates get very little______________ all year round.
C – mild temperate climates
Mediterranean climates are characterized by mild, rainy winters and hot, _________
summers, while in humid subtropical climates ___________ is usually the wettest season.
__________ summers and ___________ winters are typical for maritime temperate
(oceanic) climates.
D – continental climates
These climates have warm to __________ summers and ____________ winters.
E – polar climates
In tundra climates the average temperatures stay below 10°C in all twelve month and in the
ice cap climate they don´t exceed the________________.
According to the Köppen climate classification, Britain belongs to subtype __________,
whereas Czech climate is classified as _____________.
Vocabulary:
exceed – překročit
occur/ə´kə:/ - vyskytovat se
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21.2
Weather forecast
a) Label the symbols with the words from the box.
cloudy, fog and haze, mostly sunny, overcast, rain, sleet, snow, sunny, thunderstorm, windy
______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________
______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________
b) Underline the correct option.
It will/there will rain in the east.
It wil/there will be some showers and thunderstorms.
It will/there will be cloudy and windy.
It will/there will be some snow or sleet.
It will/there will be foggy in the morning and sunny in the afternoon.
The hottest/highest temperatures will be about 5 degrees under/below zero.
A west wind/windy will blow at 20 – 25 kph.
c) Put the weather words from the box in the right places –less intense ones on the left
and more intense ones on the right.
boiling, breeze, cool, downpour, drizzle, freezing, gale, warm
warm
_______
_______
_______
hot
cold
rain
wind
boiling
________
________
________
d) Make a weather forecast for next three days. Main points:
- sunny/cloudy/overcast
- temperatures
- precipitaion
- wind
21.3
a) Complete the table with the words below which are the most typical for each
season.
Change colours, fall off trees, lay eggs, build nests, hatch, go swimming, pick mushrooms, fly
a kite, changeable, melt, go on holiday, thunderstorm, freeze, icing, foggy, windy, solstice,
equinox, warm clothes, light clothes, plant flowers, pick fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
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Winter
b) Add at least two words to each column.
c) Use the vocabulary to talk about the seasons in our country. Main points:
- when does the season start and end?
- typical weather
- wildlife
- farming and gardening
- popular leisure activities
- clothes
- do you like the season?Why/why not?
Example: Spring starts on spring equinox and ends on summer solstice. In March, the snow
melts, in April, the weather is very changeable and in May it is usually quite warm and sunny.
In spring some flowers blooms and fruit trees are in blossom, animals have their young, birds
build nests and lay eggs and a few weeks later their babies hatch. Farmers sow corn,
gardeners dig their gardens and plant flowers and vegetables. People go walking or
cycling,…
21.4
Extreme weather
a) Match the pictures with the disasters.
drought, flood, hurricane, tornado (twister), wildfire
______________
______________
______________
______________
______________
b) Write a short text (100 – 150 words) about one of these disasters. Main points:
- what is it? What are the causes?
- where does it occur?
- what are the effects?
- how can we protect ourselves?
If you don´t have enough information, you can look at http://en.wikipedia.org
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Sources of pictures:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Weather-Sunny.png
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Weather-Mostly-Sunny.png
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Weather-Mostly-Cloudy-Dark.png
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Weather-Overcast-Dark.png
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Weather-Fog-Haze.png
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Weather-Rain.png
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Weather-Storms.png
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Weather-Snow.png
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Weather-Rain-Snow.png
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Weather-Storm.PNG
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Skawa_River,_Poland,_flood_2001.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Craquelure_%282650813995%29.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Big_tropical_forest_fire.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:F5_tornado_Elie_Manitoba_2007.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cyclone_Catarina_from_the_ISS_on_March_26_200
4.JPG
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