I. Read and memorize the following words and expressions:

A long-term effect, sun’s radiation, seasonal averages, earth’s varied surface, to rotate, to circulate, dynamic activity, day-by-day variations, synthesis, rain gauge, efficiently, to require, yearly patterns, mountain systems, macroclimate, mesoclimate, microclimate, significant role, philosophical processes, conception, disease, chemicals, precipitation, carbon dioxide, to refer to… , to affect, an effect, a true picture of climate, alteration of the earth’s surface, pollutants, descriptive terms, the equator, hemisphere, atmospheric phenomena.

II. Read and translate:

Do you know that:

… atmosphere is a mixture of gases ?

… the word “atmosphere” comes from the Greek words “atmos” which means vapour and “sphaira” which means sphere ?

… climate is determined by the intensity of the sunlight, distance from the sea, altitude, relief and other factors ?

… the word “climate” comes from the Greek “Klima”, that means inclination of the sun ?

… heating and cooling of the atmosphere are the basic causes of weather changes ?

… climate describes typical weather of a region for a long period of time ?

… Centigrade degrees and Fahrenheit degrees may be converted by the following formulas: C=5/9(F-32); F=9/5 C+32 ?

III. Select the right vocabulary definitions to the following words:

Climate, the Earth, weather, temperature, atmosphere, a forecast, environment, inclination, latitude, radiation.

1) The air, water, land in which people, plants and animals live.

2) A report saying what weather is expected to be like in the near future.

3) the temperature and other conditions such as sun, rain and wind.

4) The mixture of gases that surround the Earth.

5) The distance north or south of the equator measured in degrees.

6) Energy in the form of heat or light sent out as beams that you cannot see.

7) The world that we live in.

8) The typical weather condition of a particular area.

9) A measure of how hot or cold a place or a thing is.

10) A slope or the angle at which something slopes.

Text A climate and weather

Climate is due to the long-term effect of the sun’s radiation on the rotating earth’s varied surface and atmosphere. It can be understood most easily in terms of annual or seasonal averages of temperature and precipitation.

Land and sea areas, being so variable, react in many different ways to the atmosphere, which is constantly circulating in a state of dynamic activity. Day-by-day variations in a given area constitute the weather, whereas climate is the long-term synthesis of such variations. So, when we speak of the “weather” we have in mind the condition of the earth’s atmosphere at a given time and place as determined by sunshine, temperature, barometric pressure, wind, humidity, clouds, and precipitations.

Climate of a given place is an average of weather over an extended period of years. Weather is measured by thermometers, rain gauges, barometers and other instruments, but the study of climate relies on statistics. Today, such statistics are handled efficiently by computers. A simple, long-term summary of weather changes, however, is still not a true picture of climate. To obtain this requires the analysis of daily, monthly, and yearly patterns.

The word “climate” comes from the Greek “Klima”, referring to the inclination of the sun. Besides the effects of solar radiation and its variations, however, climate is also influenced by the complex structure and composition of the atmosphere and by the ways in which it and the ocean transport heat. Thus, for any given area on earth, not only the latitude (the sun’s inclination) must be considered but also the elevation, terrain, distance from the ocean, relation to mountain systems and lakes, and other such influences. Another consideration is scale: A macroclimate refers to a broad region, a mesoclimate to a small district, and a microclimate to a minute area. A microclimate, for example, can be specified that is good for growing plants underneath large shade trees.

Climates are described by agreed-upon codes or by descriptive terms that are somewhat loosely defined but nevertheless useful. On a global scale, climate can be spoken of in terms of zones, or belts, that can be traced between the equator and the pole in each hemisphere. To understand them, the circulation of the upper atmosphere, or stratosphere, must be considered, as well as that of the lower atmosphere, or troposphere, where weather takes place. Upper atmospheric phenomena were little understood until the advent of such advanced technology as rocketry, high-altitude aircraft, and satellites.

Climate has pronounced effects on vegetation and animal life, including humans. It plays statistically significant roles in many physiological processes, from conception and growth to health and disease. In turn, can affect climate through the alteration of the earth’s surface and the introduction of pollutants and chemicals such as dioxide into the atmosphere.

Text B meteorology

Meteorology is a scientific study of the earth’s atmosphere. It includes the study of day-by-day variations of weather conditions (synoptic meteorology); the study of electrical, optical, and other physical properties of the atmosphere (physical meteorology); the study of average and extreme weather conditions over long periods of time (climatology); the variation of meteorological elements close to the ground over a small area (micrometeorology); and studies of many other phenomena. The study of the highest portions of the atmosphere (above a height of 20 to 25 km, or 12.5 to 15.5 mi) generally involves the use of special techniques and disciplines, and is termed “aeronomy”. The term “aerology” has been applied to the study of conditions in the free atmosphere anywhere away from the ground.

The scholars of ancient Greece were greatly interested in the atmosphere. As early as 400 BC Aristotle wrote a treatise called “Meteorologica”, dealing with the “study of things lifted up”; about one-third of the treatise is devoted to atmospheric phenomena, and it is from this work that the modern term “meteorology” is derived.

Weather forecasting has challenged the human mind from the earliest times, however, little progress was made in scientific forecasting until the 19^th century, when developments in the fields of thermodynamics provided the theoretical basis for meteorology. The advance of the science has been furthered by the invention of suitable instruments for observation and by the organization of networks of observing stations to gather weather data. Weather records for individual localities were made as early as the 14^th century, but only in the 17^th century were any systematic observations made over extended areas. Slow communications hampered the development of weather forecasting, and it was not until the invention of the telegraph in the mid. 19^th century that weather data from an entire country could be transmitted to a central point and correlated for the making of a forecast. Today electronic computers are employed regularly to provide weather predictions for industry, agriculture, and the general public.