English Vocabulary in Use Pre-intermediate and Intermediate » Unit 6: The physical world

Word List
  • canal
  • cave
  • climate
  • contrast (n)
  • cover (v)
  • east
  • Earth [planet]
  • in the south
  • in the world
  • landscape
  • minus
  • north
  • north-east
  • north-west
  • ocean
  • on earth
  • over [more than]
  • planet
  • rainforest
  • region
  • south
  • south-east
  • south-west
  • surface
  • waterfall
  • west
Exercises

6.1 ‣ Look at the map of Switzerland and complete the sentences.

  1. Zurich is .
  2. The Jura mountains are _____.
  3. Geneva is _____.
  4. St Gallen is _____.
  5. Basel is _____.
  6. Lake Constance is _____.
  7. Locarno is _____.

6.2 ‣ Test your knowledge. Can you complete these sentences without looking at the opposite page?

  1. Two thirds of the of the Earth is covered in water.
  2. Vostok in Antarctica is the _____.
  3. El Azizia in Libya is the _____.
  4. The Krubera-Voronja _____ is the deepest in the world.
  5. The Beijing–Hangzhou Grand _____ is the longest in the world.
  6. At 979 metres the Angel Falls is the highest _____ in the world.
  7. The Amazon is the largest _____.
  8. The largest _____ in the world is the Pacific.
  9. The _____ we live on is called the Earth.

6.3 ‣ Complete the sentences.

  1. Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the .
  2. In the autumn, the ground is _____ in leaves that have fallen off the trees.
  3. You find this animal in the semi-desert _____ of Australia.
  4. Brazil is a country of _____: large empty areas inland, and cities near the coast.
  5. The Amazon rainforest _____ 40% of the South American continent.
  6. Mountains and lakes are typical of the _____ in Switzerland.
  7. It was a freezing night. The _____ was well below zero.
  8. Switzerland _____ of three main geographical regions.
  9. It takes the moon just under 28 days to go round the _____.
  10. People say Cape Town in South Africa has a wonderful _____: sunny for much of the year, and never too hot or very cold.
  11. The _____ from London to Paris is 340 kilometres; that’s less than the _____ from London to Edinburgh.
  12. When the temperature fell to _____ 10 _____ Celsius, all the schools in the town closed.

6.4 ‣

Over to you

Answer the questions about your country and your region.

  1. 1What are the highest and lowest temperatures?
    _____
  2. Do you like the climate?
    _____
  3. Are there any regions which have a very different landscape from the rest of the country?
    _____
  4. Do you have any long canals, or famous caves or waterfalls?
    _____
  5. How would you describe the landscape in the region where you live?
    _____
  6. What’s the distance from the place where you live to the next big town?
    _____
Answer Key
A ‣ Facts

Two thirds of the surface1 of the Earth2, is covered in, water.

El Azizia in Libya is the hottest place in the world, where temperatures of over3 57 °C (57 degrees Celsius) have been recorded.

The coldest place on earth is probably Vostok in Antarctica, which reached a temperature of minus 89 °C.

The Krubera-Voronja Cave near the Black Sea coast in Georgia, is the deepest cave in the world. It is over 2000 metres deep.

The Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal is the longest canal in the world. It is 1,794 kilometres long.

The highest waterfall in the world is the Angel Falls in Venezuela. It is 979 metres high.

The Amazon Rainforest is the largest rainforest in the world, covering 40% of the South American continent.

The Pacific is the largest ocean in the world, and is nearly twice the size of the Atlantic Ocean.

1the top or outside part     2the planet we live on     3more than

Language help

Cover can mean that something is over something else, e.g. The surface was covered in water; The ground was covered with snow. Cover can also refer to the size of something, e.g. The Amazon rainforest covers 40% of South America, or the distance you travel, e.g. We covered ten miles in one day.
B ‣ Geography

Switzerland consists of [is made or formed from] three main geographical regions [areas in a country or the world]: The Swiss Plateau, The Jura, and The Alps. Switzerland is a land of contrasts [big differences], with completely different landscapes [the appearance of an area of land]. The climate [weather conditions] can also change within a very short distance. For example, Ascona in the south has an almost Mediterranean climate, but the Dufour Peak in Valais has a very cold climate. The distance between the two is just 70 kilometres.

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