Animals & Environment
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30 Sept 2026
A man walks across frozen lake in February. The lake, which used to freeze every winter, froze this year for the first time in seven years. BRIAN EDEN/MOMENT OPEN/GETTY IMAGES
How Climate Change is Making Weather Freeze in Place
Warm-up → Read & Listen → Check Understanding → Language → Use It
WARM UP
Section: Warm Up
Think Ahead: Which detail do you think appears in this story?
a) Hot summer days that stay for weeks
b) Snow that turns green in spring
c) Rain that moves fast across mountains
Ask:
(1) What kind of weather do you like best?
(2) Does the weather change quickly in your town?
VOCABULARY
stuck (/stʌk/, adjective)
Meaning: Fixed in one place and not moving.
Example: The red toy car is stuck under the soft bed.
heatwave (/ˈhiːtweɪv/, noun)
Meaning: A period of very hot weather.
Example: We ate cold ice cream during the long summer heatwave.
stream (/striːm/, noun)
Meaning: A continuous flow of air or water.
Example: A strong stream of cold air moves across the sky.
flood (/flʌd/, noun)
Meaning: A large amount of water covering land.
Example: Heavy rain causes a big flood on the farm road.
slow (/sləʊ/, adjective)
Meaning: Moving with low speed.
Example: The old green turtle is very slow today.
warm (/wɔːm/, verb)
Meaning: To make or become hot.
Example: The bright sun helps to warm our cold hands.
Weather brings rain, wind, and sun to our towns. Usually, weather patterns change quickly every day. Now, scientists see a big problem in the sky. Weather stays in one place for a long time. It gets stuck for many days or weeks.
Why is this happening? Our planet Earth is growing warmer. The high air currents move more slowly than before. A fast wind stream usually pushes rain away. When air moves slowly, clouds stay over one town. This causes a heavy flood on streets.
In summer, hot air stays over cities for weeks. This long event is a hot heatwave. It makes people and animals feel very tired. Scientists study the sky to help us prepare. They want everyone to stay safe when weather stops moving.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
(1) Is the weather hot or cold today?
(2) What do you do on rainy days?
(3) Do you like hot summer days?
(4) How can we stay cool in a heatwave?
(5) Why do scientists study the sky?
FILL IN THE GAPS
FILL THE GAPS
Section 1: Fill in the Gaps
Word Bank: flood / heatwave / slow / stuck
Weather brings rain, wind, and sun to our towns. Usually, weather patterns change quickly every day. Now, scientists see a big problem in the sky. Weather stays in one place for a long time. It gets _______(1) for many days or weeks.
Why is this happening? Our planet Earth is growing warmer. The high air currents move more _______(2) than before. A fast wind stream usually pushes rain away. When air moves slowly, clouds stay over one town. This causes a heavy _______(3) on streets.
In summer, hot air stays over cities for weeks. This long event is a hot _______(4). It makes people and animals feel very tired. Scientists study the sky to help us prepare. They want everyone to stay safe when weather stops moving.
Section 2: Main Idea
What is the main idea of this story?
a) Weather stays in one place longer because Earth is warmer.
b) Scientists do not like sunny summer days.
c) Rain always moves very fast across every town.
UNDERSTANDING
Section 3: True or False
(1) Weather patterns always change quickly today. T/F
(2) A slow air stream lets clouds stay over one town. T/F
(3) Heatwaves can make people feel very tired. T/F
Section 4: Put Events in Order
Order the events from 1 to 3:
( ) Rain clouds stay over one town for many days.
( ) The planet Earth grows warmer.
( ) High air currents begin to move more slowly.
LANGUAGE
Section 5: Vocab Match
(1) stuck
(2) heatwave
(3) stream
(4) flood
(5) slow
a) A long period of very hot weather
b) Fixed in one place and not moving
c) Water covering land after heavy rain
d) Moving with low speed
e) A continuous flow of air or water
USE IT
Section 6: Discussion Builder
(1) When the weather is stuck, the rain ______ over the town.
a) stays
b) jumps
(2) Warm air makes the sky winds move ______.
a) slowly
b) loudly
Section 7: Sentence Unscramble
(1) Unscramble the sentence:
[A: stays] [B: The] [C: hot] [D: for days.] [E: weather]
(2) Unscramble the sentence:
[A: rain] [B: Heavy] [C: big] [D: a] [E: causes] [F: flood.]
ANSWER KEY
Section: Warm Up Answer: a
Section 1: (1) stuck (2) slow (3) flood (4) heatwave
Section 2: a
Section 3: (1) False (2) True (3) True
Section 4: 3, 1, 2
Section 5: (1)-b, (2)-a, (3)-e, (4)-c, (5)-d
Section 6: (1) a (2) a
Section 7: (1) B-C-E-A-D (The hot weather stays for days.) (2) B-A-E-D-C-F (Heavy rain causes a big flood.)
Section 8: Open-ended student answers.
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