Week 11 – Reading

EXTREME WEATHER
Vocabulary

to become very cold (below 0°C) and

freeze over covered in ice
cool down to lose heat and decrease temperature

pour down to rain very heavily

dry up to lose water and become dry

come out to appear (often from behind something)
Vocabulary

to change from bad to better weather

clear up conditions
to raise or move something up, e.g. an
put up
umbrella or your hand
block out to stop something like light or noise from
getting somewhere
rise above to increase and go over a certain amount
to move far from you by the force of the
blow away
wind
cool down blow away
come out put up
block out pour down
freeze over dry up
clear up rise above
Activity 1: Language practice
Fill in the blanks with the words given in the box.

1) Some people soak their feet in cold water in the summer to

cool down
____________.
blow away in this wind!
2) Hold your hat or it will ___________
3) Sunglasses help protect your eyes, but they do not
____________
block out the sunlight completely.
4) It's not very nice here in the rain, but when the sun
comes out it's totally different.
____________,
poured down this morning while I was out shopping. I had
5) It ____________
to change my clothes when I got home.
6) The garden is very wet now, but I'm hoping it will
dry up
__________ in time for the children's party.
put it ______
7) This umbrella's broken – I can't ______ up properly.
I'm getting really wet!
freeze over in winter, and the
8) Canals in Russia often ______________
boats can't move.
clear up
9) I'm hoping the weather will _____________ because I don't
want to go cycling in the rain.
rise above
10) When temperatures ______________ 40°C, we close the
school and tell children to stay at home.
Activity 2: Reading
Read about the climate in Madagascar on a travel website. Then write true, false, or not given next to the
statements.

MADAGASCAR – WHEN TO GO
Madagascar has two seasons, a warm, wet season from November to
April, and a cooler dry season between May and October. However,
different parts of the country have very different weather.
The east coast is hotter and wetter, with up to 4,000 mm of rainfall per
year. In the rainy season, there are strong winds blowing up almost
everything, so they can cause a lot of damage. Avoid visiting eastern
Madagascar between January and March because there is extreme
weather. It usually pours down unexpectedly. The dry season is cooler and
more pleasant.
 The high, central part of the country is much drier and cooler. About
1,400 mm of rain falls in the rainy season, with some thunderstorms, but
the summer is usually sunny and dry. It can be cold, especially in the
mornings, with freezing showers, and it may snow in mountain areas
above 2,400m, and the area freezes over for several days.
The west coast is the driest part of the island. Here, the winter months
are pleasant with little rain, cooler temperatures, and blue skies. The
summers can be extremely hot, especially in the southwest. This part of
the country is semi-desert, and only gets around 300mm of rain per year.
1) Madagascar has four seasons: spring, summer, autumn
and winter. FALSE
TRUE
2) There is more rain in January than in June in Madagascar.
3) The wet season is colder than the dry season. FALSE
4) It hardly ever rains in central Madagascar. FALSE
5) The wettest part of the island is the east. TRUE
6) January-March is a good time to visit eastern Madagascar.
FALSE
7) There are hurricanes on the east coast. NOT GIVEN
8) The center of Madagascar is the coldest part. TRUE
9) People usually go skiing when it freezes over in the central
part of Madagascar. NOT GIVEN
10) Snow sometimes falls in Madagascar. TRUE
11) The west coast has the best weather in December. TRUE
12) The north-east is hotter than the south-east. NOT GIVEN
13) Life in the western part is difficult. NOT GIVEN
Activity 3: Paraphrasing

1) Avoid visiting eastern Madagascar between January and March because

there is extreme weather.
→ Don’t visit … eastern Madagascar from January to March because
the weather is extreme.

extreme weather, avoid traveling to eastern

→ Because of the …
Madagascar between January and March.

2) The west coast is the driest part of the island.

→ The driest part …of the island is the west coast.