#03-003: Zones, Solstices, and Equinoxes

The earth's geographical zones
(Wikipedia)

---

Note: Lily and Antonio continue the conversation about geography that they started in Lesson #03-002, and will finish in #03-004.

---

Get Ready: Which "geographic zone" do you live in? What is it like?

---

Lily, from China, and Antonio, from Spain, continue their discussion about geography in the Common Room of their dorm.

Lily: Hi, Tony. Ready to tackle more latitude and longitude facts?

Antonio: Shoot!

Lily: OK, last time we talked about the five important Circles of Latitude and the Poles.

Antonio: Let me recite. From north to south, it goes: North Pole, Arctic Circle, Tropic of Cancer, Equator, Tropic of Capricorn, Antarctic Circle, and South Pole.

Lily: You remembered!

Antonio: <pointing to his temple> Like a steel trap!

Lily: Good. Between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn is an area called "The Tropics" or the "Torrid Zone."

Antonio: The sun is always between those two points, right?

Lily: Uh-huh. Each Tropic line is the furthest limit of the sun's travel north or south.

Antonio: OK.

Lily: Now, between each Tropic and the Arctic and Antarctic Circles are the Northern and Southern Temperate Zones. And north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic are the Frigid Zones or "polar regions."

Antonio: OK, got it. Frigid, Temperate, Torrid, Temperate, Frigid. Tell me again about the solstices and equinoxes?

Lily: Well, speaking from the perspective of the Northern Hemisphere, when the sun reaches the Tropic of Cancer in June, that's the Summer Solstice, the longest day and shortest night in the year. As it travels south and crosses the equator in September, that's the Autumn (or Autumnal) Equinox.

Antonio: "Equinox" means day and night are equal, right?

Lily: Right. And then at the Tropic of Capricorn there's the Winter Solstice in December, and then when it moves north across the equator again, it's the Spring or Vernal Equinox in March.

Antonio: This is all the other way around for people in the Southern Hemisphere, isn't it?

Lily: You're really getting the hang of this!

Antonio: Aw, shucks. Listen, gotta run. Can we do longitude next time?

Lily: Sure! Take care.

Antonio: Thanks. 'Bye.

--------

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographical_zone

---

Practice: Match the term to its definition below:

1. aw, shucks
2. frigid
3. get the hang of something
4. gotta run
5. hemisphere
6. Like a steel trap!
7. perspective
8. recite
9. Shoot!
10. tackle something
11. temperate
12. temple
13. torrid

1. try to do something
2. side of the head, behind the eyes
3. mild
4. Go ahead.
5. very hot
6. very cold
7. repeat from memory
8. point of view
9. a joke that once one learns something, it can never "escape"
10. half of a ball (like the earth)
11. pretending to be embarrassed
12. become good at something
13. I have to go.

Answers are in the first comment below.

---

Submitted to the Shenzhen Daily for January 9, 2012

This lesson received 224 visits on my old site between January, 2012, and July, 2021.