Weather, fauna and flora

Cudzie jazyky » Angličtina

Autor: diana
Typ práce: Referát
Dátum: 19.10.2017
Jazyk: Angličtina
Rozsah: 1 232 slov
Počet zobrazení: 5 582
Tlačení: 250
Uložení: 260

WEATHER, FAUNA AND FLORA

Slovakia has a moderate continental climate. A year is divided into 4 seasons: spring, summer, autumn (Am/ fall) and winter. Each season lasts about 3 months.

Spring

Snow and ice melts as it is getting warmer and warmer. Spring is often connected with grass growing, blossoming of plants, migratory birds are coming back from the southern countries. Everything is visibly vivid, full of greenery, full of life. At the spring equinox days are as long as nights – 12 hours. The first flowers appear: dandelions (púpava), daffodils (narcis), forget-me-nots (nezábudka), lilies of the valleys (konvalinka), violetsand tulips. Birds such as swallows (lastovička) and cuckoos (kukučka) come back from the south. The weather is unpredictable and changeable. The temperatures are often below zero at night but days may be quite warm. Sometimes the sun shines and soon after it rains.

Summer

It is the warmest season of the year; often characterized by heat waves and followed by either droughts then fires (Australia), or by thunderstorm and floods, landslides; in warmer countries even by hurricanes, tornadoes etc. There are lots of storms in summer – it gets dark and cools down, there is a strong wind, thunder and a flash of lightning. It is dangerous to stay under a tree during a storm because the lightning might hit it. After the storm we can sometimes see a rainbow. Summer is also a time for strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries and blackberries. Normally summer is associated with hot weather suitable for spending most of the time outside by the water, sunbathing or swimming or just doing nothing; as vast majority of people have their summer break/holiday. At the summer solstice days are longest and the nights are shortest.

Autumn (BE) / Fall (AE)

Autumn, known as fall in the US or Canada, is considered to start with September equinox and is often accompanied by rains especially in November. Temperature cools down in the mornings, and even during the days. It is the season of melancholic atmosphere. The sun sets earlier and rises later, days get shorter, nights get longer. Sometimes we can still enjoy some days of Indian summer. It is the time of harvest, people usually gather vegetables and fruits from their gardens and fields, we pick apples, pears, plums and gather potatoes.Grass turns yellow and it dries. Leaves become yellow, orange, brown and by November trees become bare.A lot of people go mushrooming. Birds fly to the south. The weather is unsettled, the sky is often cloudy, mornings are dull and it looks like rain. It becomes damp, chilly, wet and rainy.

Winter

The temperature varies from cold to chilly or absolutely freezing. There are snowfalls, icy wind and hard frosts. The nights are longer and the days are shorter. Freezing weather often occurs with blizzards and snowdrifts. In the snow-covered country animals may face difficulties finding something to eat. On the other hand, people can enjoy skiing, throwing snowballs, building snowmen, sledging, sliding and skating on lakes which are frozen. The temperature is often below zero. The roads become icy and slippery.

CLIMATE AND PEOPLE

The weather also influences people's mood and physical conditions. If the weather is fine, people are happy, in good mood, they laugh a lot, enjoy life, they are full of energy. If the weather is bad, people are depressed, bored, sentimental, slow, sleepy, melancholic.

 The weather also affects our health: a lot of people suffer from headaches, feel pain in their bones, some suffer from rheumatism, insomnia etc. For some people dark, cold winter days can also cause medical problems. Those who suffer from seasonal affective disorder often find it difficult to concentrate, it is caused by a lack of sunshine. There are other seasonal illnesses, such as winter flu, sunstroke, hay fever.

CLIMATE AND ANIMALS

The weather affects animals in the same way as it influences people. Many animals are adapted to the weather. Animals living in the coldest parts of the world (seals, polar bears) have thick layers of fat under their skin to protect them from cold. Polar bears have hair on their feet which help them not to slip on ice.

Some animals hibernate at winter, during this time they use stored fat and water. Some animals (squirrels) store food for winter. Others change their hair before and after winter. Birds fly to the south hemisphere.

On the other hand, animals' behaviour can predict the weather. For example: swallows fly lower before rain, ants are seen a lot before rain etc.

THE HIGH TATRAS ‒ FAUNA AND FLORA

The richness of fauna and flora and the beautiful scenery make the High Tatras an attractive area for tourism. The flora of the High Tatras is typical of the mountains and alpine regions. The area is covered by spruces (smreky) and pines (borovice). They help to retain a large amount of rain in the soil, preventing floods. The alpine zone is the area of alpine grasslands (pastviny) and low bushes. The peaks are usually bare rocks or with some lichens (lišajníky) or mosses (machy). All plant life in the national park is protected by law.

We can find over 1500 species of various plants, including the oldest protected flower of Slovakia - the edelweiss (plesnivec), which is on the list of endangered species, together with some other plants - primrose (prvosienka), pulsatilla (poniklec), snowdrop (snežienka), carnation (klinec), gentian (horec) etc. As they are in danger of disappearing from the world, it is important to protect them.

As for the fauna it is possible to see brown bear, boar (diviak), lynx (rys), wildcat, wolf, otters (vydra), mountain eagles (orol), chamois (kamzík), marmot (svišť), viper (vretenica), various kinds of deer and other animals. 

The chamois (”mountain goat”) is the symbol of the High Tatras National Park and also creates its logo. It also belongs to the endangered species of animals, together with great bustard (drop), brown bear, gray wolf, golden eagle, lynx, otter etc.

GROWING FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

Recently there has been a considerable decline in agricultural production. In our conditions we can grow wheat, potatoes, corn, sugar beet, sunflower etc. We have a lot of meadows and pastures for grazing sheep and cows.

In our gardens we can grow some flowers - tulips, daffodils, violets, roses...

vegetables: potatoes, tomatoes, carrot, parsley, onion, garlic, cabbage, kohlrabi, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, radish, lettuce...

fruit: apple trees, plums, pears, cherries, currants, gooseberries, nut trees...

herbs: mint (mäta), basil (bazalka), dill (kôpor)...

Rules how to behave in the High Tatras

  • protect the mountain nature
  • do not drop litter
  • do not scare off animals, be quiet
  • do not pick mountain plants, bushes
  • do not kindle a fire
  • do not shorten your trail, walk only on marked trails and paths
  • in case of danger or a threat, call the Mountain Rescue Service
  • look at the weather forecast, remember that the weather conditions can change in just a few minutes
  • select the trip based on your ability and state of training, don't overestimate your capabilities
  • if possible, don’t go to the mountains alone, it’s safer to be accompanied by someone else.
  • comfortable shoes are the crucial thing for each mountain lover.
  • your backpack should also contain: wind and rainproof jacket, second set of warm clothes (e.g. socks, gloves and cap), medical kit, food and drinks, torch, map and compass
  • camp only in designated areas
  • tell people where you are going
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