Pre-Reading Questions.

Look at the picture and answer these questions.

1.How many important imaginary lines that circle the earth?
Suggested answer : There are five lines.
2. Do they have the same name?
Suggested answer : No.
3.What runs around the center of the Earth?
Suggested answer : Equator.
4. What is on north of Equator?
Suggested answer : The Tropic of Cancer.
5.Which one is in the south pole?
Suggested answer :The Antarctic Circle.

Reading Passage
Now read the passage below. You can look up the meaning
of the words in bold in the Vocabulary Study Section that
follows.

3.1 Geography of the Earth

There are a number of imaginary lines that circle the
Earth perpendicular to its axis.
The Equator runs around the centre of the Earth splitting
it equally north and south.
 The Tropic of Cancer encircles the Earth 23.5° north of
the Equator. During the seasons, this is the furthest point
north that the sun can appear to travel.
The Tropic of Capricorn encircles the Earth 23.5° south
of the Equator. It is the furthest point that the sun appears to
travel south.
The Arctic Circle is 23.5° from the North Pole. When
the North Pole is pointing away from the sun, all areas inside
this circle stay in perpetual darkness.
The Antarctic circle is 23.5° from the South Pole.
Again it represents an area that the sun never reaches during
certain times of the year.

3.2 Latitude and Longitude.

To find a place exactly, you need crossing lines that
create an intersection. This is a grid system. One grid system
is used by mapmakers all over the world. It helps you locate
any place on Earth. It is known as the latitude and longitude
grid.
-Latitude
Halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole is
an imaginary line, the equator.
The equator goes around the middle of Earth like a belt. It
divides our planet into the Northern Hemisphere and the
Southern Hemisphere. The equator is a line of latitude. The
other lines of latitude are north and south of the equator.
They are parallel to the equator. Parallel lines run in the same
direction and are an equal distance apart at all points. They
never meet. Thus, lines of latitude are also called parallels.
They run east-west around the globe.

-Longitude
Another set of imaginary lines helps us measure distance
east and west. These are lines of longitude. Each line of
longitude runs from the North Pole to the South Pole. These
lines are also called meridians. Each meridian travels halfway
around the Earth. Along its imaginary journey it crosses each
line of latitude once. These intersections mark an exact
location for any point on Earth.
Longitude lines are measured in degrees, just as latitude.
However, there is no natural starting or stopping point for
east and west. So mapmakers need a place to begin. They call
that line of longitude the prime meridian. Its address is zero
degrees longitude, or 0° longitude.
 Vocabulary Study
imaginary not real, but produced from เป็ นมโนภาพหรือ
จินตนาการ
pictures or ideas in your mind:

perpendic not leaning to one side or the ตัง้ ฉาก

ular other but exactly vertical

split to divide or separate something ซึ่งแยกออก

into different parts or groups, or

to be divided into different parts
or groups

perpetual permanent ตลอดกาล

represent to be a sign or mark that means แทน ตัวแทน

something
create to make something exist that สร้าง

did not exist before

intersectio a place where roads, lines etc ทางสี่แยก

n cross each other, especially

where two roads meet

grid a set of numbered lines printed เส้นกำาหนดจุด

on a map so that the exact

position of any place can be
referred to:

latitude the distance north or south of เส้นรุ้ง เส้นขวาง

ขนานกับ
the equator (=the imaginary เส้นศูนย์สูตรของ
line around the middle of the โลก

world), measured in degrees

longitude the distance east or west of a เส้นแวง

particular meridian (=imaginary

line along the Earth's surface
from the North Pole to the
South Pole), measured in
degrees

parallel two lines, paths etc that are ขนาน

 parallel to each other are the
same distance apart along their
whole length:

measure to find the size, length, or การวัด ปริมาณที่วัด

ได้
amount of something, using
standard units such as inches,
metres etc:

meridian one of the imaginary lines from วงกลมที่ลากผ่านขัว้

โลกเหนื อขัว้ โลกใต้
the North Pole to the South และบนพื้นผิวโลก
Pole, drawn on a map of the
Earth

prime most important สำาคัญที่สุด

Recalling Information
1. Grid system is used by ………………. all over the world.
Suggested answer : mapmakers
2. Longitude lines are measured in…….., just as latitude.
Suggested answer : degrees
3. So mapmakers need a place to begin. They call that line of
longitude the prime meridian. Its address is ……….degrees
longitude.
Suggested answer : zero
4. Parallel lines run in the same direction and are an equal
distance apart at all points. So they would never ……...
Suggested answer : meet
5. Based from the passage given what do we call a set of
imaginary lines helps us measure distance from east to west ?
Suggested answer : Longitude.