Objectives:
• to introduce a theme
• to develop students' cognitive and creative skills
• to practise pronunciation
• to practise intensive reading of the text
Warm up
Work in groups.
Group 1
Make up acrostic:
C L I M A
T E
Group 2
Make up cinquaint.
What is cinquaint? The cinquaint. Form was first developed by a poet Adelaide
Crapsey who was much influenced by Japanese verse form. The word comes from a
French word, cinq, which mean 5. There are five lines in the cinquaint. First
line — one word — a noun Second line — two adjectives describing the noun.
Third line — three verbs Fourth line — four words expressing the feeling Fifth
line — another word for the title.
Cinquaint can be rhymed but it doesn't have to rhyme or to have a fancy
rhythm. It simply has to show the meaning of the word.
Introducing the Topic
Vocabulary
A) Phonetic drills
THE WEATHER
When the weather is wet
We must not fret.
When the weather is cold
We must not scold.
When the weather is warm
We must not storm,-
But be joyful together
Whatever the weather.
B) Keywords
climate — климат
climatic conditions — климатические условия
continental climate
— континентальный климат
damp climate
— влажный климат
dry climate — сухой климат
moderate climate —умеренный климат
mild climate
— мягкий климат
cold — холодный
piercing cold — пронизывающий
холод
severe cold — сильный
холод
frost — мороз
black frost — мороз
без изморози
first autumn frosts — осенние заморозки
frost breaks — мороз спадает
hard (keen, sharp, bitter) frost — сильный
мороз
ringing frost —лютый мороз
frosty — морозный
Reading
A) Read the text using the following interactive reading strategy: put
some marks on the margins: S — information you know;
--information that
contradicts your ideas;
+ — new
information;
? — information you
are interested
ABOUT CLIMATE (a dialogue between two students)
G. Hello, Boris! B. Hello, Georgy!
What book is that you have under your arm?
G. Physical Geography. Take a look at it if you like.
B. A book on geography in English! But it's rather elementary — that's
no good for us. Though... Here's a chapter on cUmate.
G. It says "climate" is of Greek origin and it means "a
slope". Now what connection is there between climate and slope?
B. Well, let's read what it says and we'll find out. (Reads) "The
ancient Greeks supposed that the climate of a locaUty depended only on the geographical
latitude, that is on the height of the sun above the horizon (on the slopping
of the sun's rays), and the duration of light. Today it is known that climate
depends also on physic-geographical conditions, such as distance from seas or
oceans; the contour of the land, air masses of the land, air masses of
different kinds, circulation of the atmosphere, temperature, duration of
sunshine, amount of rainfall and frequency of snow, frost, gales, etc".
G. "The most important factors of any climate are temperature and
moisture. But due to the daily and yearly movements of the earth and to the
spherical form of the earth, the sun's heat is unevenly distributed. This
gives rise to different zones, or belts, of climate". Do you know the
different zones in English?
B. Well, let's see now. There's the Torrid Zone ..
G (reads). ".. which lies on either side of the equator, between
the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn". Now, go on. B. The
Frigid Zones are the cold belts. G. "The Temperate Zones..." B.
Temperate, that's it.
G (continues), "...are belts of temperature, or mild, climate. The
North Temperate Zone lies between the Arctic Circle and the Tropic of Cancer
and the Tropic of Capricorn. In the Temperate Zones the day in summer and the
night in winter are more than 12 hours long". Now, perhaps you will take
the book and read it a bit.
B. Well, this may be of use to us. (Reads) "There are no sharp
boundaries between the belts of the climate. Within one and the same zone the
climate may vary. Thus, in the Torrid Zone there is equatorial climate with
much rainfall, and tropical climate with low rainfall. In the Temperate Zones
of both hemispheres we have subtropical climate with low precipitation, and
temperate climate with greater precipitation".
G. By the way, it's time to get back to school.
Post-reading activities
B) Answer the questions.
1. What are the daily and yearly movements of the earth?
2. What are the main zones?
3. What natural phenomena modify the climate of a place?
4. What is the main temperature in winter in the place where you live?
C) Read the sentences and phrases, supplying synonyms from the text for
the words in italics.
1. The earth rotation and revolution cause the different climatic zones.
2. Climate undergoes changes due to many conditions.
3. Rivers from different frontiers between countries.
4. the Cold belts; mild climate; little rainfall; much precipitation.
D) Make up a list of attributes to go with "climate".
E) Recast the sentences so as to use the parts of speech indicated in
parentheses. Change the constructions if necessary.
1. (adj) Due to the dryness of the climate, one did not feel the heat of
the wind.
2. (v) Land that is arid is now brought under cultivation by means of
irrigation.
3. (v) Many factors give rise to modifications in the temperature of a
locality.
4. (n) The Gulf Stream washes the western coast of the British Isles.
5. (n; n) The climate of western Europe is mild because western Europe
is influenced by the sea.
6. (n; adj) Grass in tropical regions grows to a height of 6 to 10 feet.
7. (adj) In the temperate zones the length of the day is about 12 hours.
8. (adj) The river is a mile in width.
Relaxation
Try to guess the last sentence in the text. Comment on the joke.
A RAINY DAY EPISODE
It was raining hard, but when I went to take an umbrella, I found out of
the five umbrellas we have at home there was not one I could use. I decided to
take the five umbrellas to an umbrella-maker.
So I took them, left them at the umbrella-maker's, saying that I would
call for the umbrellas on my way home in the evening. When I went to dine in
the afternoon, it was still raining very hard. I went to the nearby restaurant,
sat down at a table and had been there only a few minutes when a young woman
came an sat down at the same table with me. I was the first to finish and when
I got up, I absent-mindedly took her umbrella and started to the door. She
called out to me and reminded me that I had taken her umbrella. I returned it
to her with many apologies.
In the evening I called for my umbrellas, bought a newspaper and got on
a tram. The young woman was in the tram too. She looked at me and said:
"You've had a successful day today, haven't you?"
Listening
Pre-listening task
Try to predict the answers to the questions:
1. What is the climate determined by?
2. What is the climate of Ukraine?
3. What factors cause the differences in climate?
4. What is the hottest (coldest) month in Ukraine?
5. What is the
average temperature in winter and in summer?
6. Crimea is one of
the best resort areas of Ukraine, isn't it?
THE CLIMATE OF UKRAINE
The climate of Ukraine is determined by its geographical location.
Ukraine's territory Ues in the temperate belt. In general the country's cUmate
is temperately continental, being subtropical only on the southern coast of the
Crimea.
The differences in climate are caused by many factors: latitude, relief,
altitude and proximity to the seas and oceans. The cUmate varies not only from
the north to the south but from the north-west to the south-east. As the warm
damp air masses moving from the north-western Atlantic weaken and become drier.
A characteristic feature of the cUmate is an increase in its continental nature
from the west to the east.
A feature of Ukrainian's climate is the considerable fluctuation in
weather conditions from year to year. Alongside very wet years there can be
droughts.
The average yearly temperature in Ukraine varies between +5.5 ... +7 С in the north and +11...+13 С in the south. The coldest month of the year is January with a record low
of—42 C. The warmest month is July with a record high of 40 C.
Precipitation (rain, snow and other forms of moisture) ranges from about
76 cm a year in the north to about 23 cm in the south. The highest rainfall is
in the Carpathian and Crimean Mountains.
On the southern coast of the Crimea the climate is subtropical Mediterranean,
as the Crimean Mountains obstruct the movement of cold Arctic air to the coast.
These cUmatic features have contributed to the creation of the best resort
areas of Ukraine.
Post-listening activities
A) Check your predictions. Were you right or wrong?
B) Retell the text in chain. Grammar
Fill in the prepositions in the text.
THE CLIMATE OF UKRAINE
The climate in Ukraine is similar_(to) the wheat-producing regions of Canada
and is characterized_(by) abundant precipitation and cloudy skies, especially_(in)
fall and winter. The mean temperature_(in) summer is 67 F (19 C) and_(in)
winter 21 F(—6 C)._(Although) summers tend to be short, the temperature can
rise_(to) the 90 F (30 C). Winters are long and cold,_(with) cloudy skies as a
norm.
Speaking
Work in pairs.
Complete the following dialogues.
1. A. Oh, goodness gracious! Now, do you look up at the sky? I've never
seen such black clouds. Oh, we'll get drenched!
B.
2. A. A thunderstorm is certainly coming on! Do you think we'll have
time to get our boat to the shore before the storm breaks out?
B.
3. A. What does it look like outdoors? B.
4. A. The sun is trying to come out. Shall we go to the suburbs? B.
5. A. What's the weather forecast for today, do you know? B.
6. A. The first snowfall of the season! What a beautiful sight! I'm
going out. Are you?
B.
7. A. I'd like to go to the Crimea, but I'm so afraid of the heat. How
about you?
B.
Homework
1. Make up a dialogue about the weather in different seasons of the
year.
2. Make up a cinquaint WEATHER.
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