,Unit 2,Climate and Territory,CONTENTS,Teaching Aims,Have a general idea of climate and territory of the UK. 2. Understand the climate and territory. 3. Master the difficult words and expressions.,After studying this unit, you are required to:,Text A Climate of the United Kingdom,Text A Preview:,英国位于北纬50度至60度之间，气候温和，冬无严寒，夏无酷暑，属温和湿润的海洋性气候。英国受盛行西风控制，全年温和湿润，四季寒暑变化不大。每年二月至三月最为干燥，十月至来年一月最为湿润。英国虽然气候温和，但天气多变。一日之内，时晴时雨。多变的天气也为人们提供了经常的话题，在英国甚至最沉默寡言的人也喜欢谈论天气。,Text A Reading Comprehension:,Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F) according to the passage. 1. Regional climates in the United Kingdom are influenced only by the Atlantic Ocean. ( ) 2. Though the UK is mostly under the influence of the maritime tropical air mass from the south-west, different regions are less susceptible than others when different air masses affect the country: ( ) 3. Wales and the south-west of England are the most exposed to the maritime tropical air mass which brings warm moist air. ( ),4. As the Atlantic has lost much of its heat throughout the autumn and winter, spring is generally a calm, cool and dry season. ( ) 5. In summer, thunderstorms mainly occur in the north and west and are less frequent and severe in southern, eastern, and central England. ( ) 6. Climatic differences at this time of year are more influenced by latitude and temperatures are highest in southern and central areas and lowest in the north. ( ) 7. Autumn in the United Kingdom lasts from October to November, which is notorious for being settled. ( ),Text A Reading Comprehension:,8. The United Kingdom often experiences an “Indian Summer” in Autumn. ( ) 9. In winter, the only areas with significant snowfall are the Scottish highlands and the Pennies.( ) 10. On most occasions some potent depressions may move in from the north in the form of “Polar Lows”, introducing heavy snow and often blizzard-like conditions to parts of the United Kingdom, particularly Scotland. ( ),Text A Reading Comprehension:,Text A Notes:,1. The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the worlds oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106,400,000 square kilometers (41,100,000 sq mi), it covers approximately twenty percent of the Earths surface and about twenty-six percent of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to Atlas of Greek mythology, making the Atlantic the “Sea of Atlas”.,Text A Notes:,2. The Azores High, (also known as North Atlantic (Subtropical) High/Anticyclone, the Bermuda-Azores High or the Bermuda High/Anticyclone in the United States), is a large subtropical semi-permanent centre of high atmospheric pressure found near the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean, at the Horse latitudes. It forms one pole of the North Atlantic oscillation, the other being the Icelandic Low. The system influences the weather and climatic patterns of vast areas of North Africa and Europe. The aridity of the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Basin is due to the subsidence of air in the system.,Text A Notes:,3. The Great Storm of 1987 occurred on the night of 15/16 October 1987, when an unusually strong weather system caused winds to hit much of southern England and northern France. It was the worst storm to hit England since the Great Storm of 1703 (284 years earlier) and was responsible for the deaths of at least 22 people in England and France combined (18 in England, at least four in France).,Text A Notes:,4. An Indian summer is a meteorological phenomenon that occurs in the autumn. It refers to a period of considerably above normal temperatures, accompanied by dry and hazy conditions, after there has been a killing frost.,Text A Notes:,5. The Scottish Highlands is a historic region of Scotland. It was culturally distinguishable from the Scottish Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when English replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands. The term is also used for the area north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east. The Great Glen divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands.,Text A Notes:,6. The Pennines are a low-rising mountain range, separating the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East. Often described as the “backbone of England”, they around the northern and eastern edges of Greater Manchester, through the Yorkshire Dales past the Cumbrian Fells to the Cheviot Hills on the Anglo-Scottish border. North of the Aire Gap, the Pennines give out a western spur into Lancashire, the Forest of Bowland, and south of the gap is a similar spur, the Rossendale Fells and the West Pennine Moors.,Text A Notes:,7. A hardiness zone is a geographically defined area in which a specific category of plant life is capable of growing, as defined by climatic conditions, including its ability to withstand the minimum temperatures of the zone (see the scale on the right or the