Read and translate the text with the help of your own vocabulary which you are to write just the way it is done in practical modules, ex. 1
EUROPE
Position and size - With an area of about 3 750 000 square miles, Europe is the smallest of the continents except Australia. It is characterized by the comparatively great length of the coastline, broken up everywhere by peninsulas, gulfs, bays and fringed by islands with the result that only the heart of Russia is more than 500 miles from the sea. Europe lies almost entirely in middle latitudes - the North Temperate /one; only a small fragment in the north is within the Arctic Circle. Climate -In general, it may be said that a number of factors have a determining influence on the character of European weather and climate. The factors may be grouped as follows:
a) The western coasts of the continent are bathed by warm current - the North Atlantic Drift, which is a continuation of the Gulf Stream. The existence of this warm current, especially round the British Isles, has undoubtedly an important effect in ameliorating winter conditions. But the effect of the warm water itself is enormously enhanced by the prevalent south-westerly wind; for the warmth is communicated through winds and not by the actual warm current.
b) According to the modern concepts of air-mass meteorology, a very important difference is found between cold Polar air and warm air coming from tropical regions. The position and amount of the cold Polar air varies with the season. The margin, the Polar front, in winter may be regarded as following roughly the 32 F isotherm. The currents of warm tropical air which reach Europe as the Westerlies exert their influences on the remainder of Europe.
c) The configuration of Europe, particularly the existence of the Mediterranean Sea and its continuation in the Black sea, as well as, to a less extent, the existence of the Baltic Sea, permits the penetration eastwards of oceanic conditions.
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES
1. Find in the text the terms which describe the following:
1. The area marking the points of contact between land and water bodies, such as the sea or a lake .2. a line on a weather chart which joins all points of the same temperature at a particular time. 3. the winds which blow from the subtropical high pressure latitudes towards the lower pressures of the mid-latitudes between 35˚ and 65˚ N and S.
2. Answer the following questions:
a) Comprehension questions:
1. What is the area of Europe?
2. What is the population of the EU?
3. What countries make up Europe?
4. What is the climate in Europe?
5. Are there any high mountains in Europe? What are they?
b) True-false questions:
1. Europe is one of the biggest continents.2.Its coastline is short .3.There are no big peninsulas.4.Europe lies in middle latitudes.5. The North Atlantic Drift is a continuation of the Gulf Stream. 6. The currents of warm tropical air exert their influences on the remainder of Europe.
c) Multiple-choice questions:
1. What influences European weather?
a) northern winds
b) warm currents
c) drifting polar ice
d) south-westerly wind
2. Europe lies in:
a) the Alps
b) in the Atlantic Ocean
c) in the middle latitudes
d) within the Polar Circle
3. Winter in Europe is
a) severe
b) snowless
c) with plenty of rains
d) dry with minus temperatures.
GRAMMAR EXERCISES
Fill in question words.
- … discovered penicillin?
- “…calories do you consume every day?” “About 1,800.”
- …do you go to the gym? “About once a week”.
- …is your favourite colour?
- …are you going on holiday this year?
- …is the fastest way to get to Poltava from here?
- …do you leave home in the morning?
- …didn’t you call me earlier?
- …your lessons start?
10.…weather forecast for tomorrow?
Supply the missing words.
a) 1. Wheat and other crops are raised in the Temperate Zone while raw rubber is cultivated in the .... 2.Liners can enter the estuaries of the Humber and the Severn only at high…. . 3. Which climate is milder, that of the Frigid Zone or that of the ... Zone? 4. A mixed forest is a forest of...and ...trees.
b) The longest......in the British Isles is the Shannon. It is about 240 miles long. On its way to the sea the Shannon.....through several lakes. At the city of Limerick the Shannon broadens out into a great….. .or mouth, 60 miles long, where the waters rise and fall with the.... The Shannon is very important to Ireland, for from it is produced electricity which is fed to all the ….. .in the country.