Unit 6. Is the Earth in Danger? » Стр.50 (2)

Read the text and complete it with the phrases (a-i). The word «climate» means b (1) the average weather conditions that are observed during a long period of time. They include average temperatures, winds and precipitation. The term «climate change» means c (2) global warming happening during the iast 100 years. The weather conditions are always changing, even during a day. For example, there can be a warm sunny day f (3) in the middle of winter in February or a very cold day in August. Recording temperatures every day lets scientists establish d (4) average global temperature. Nevertheless, it was found that the a (5) temperature is not staying the same and our planet is actually getting warmer. It is called c (6) global warming and it is a reason for climate change. But it is not a new phenomenon. There were periods when the climate became warmer, h (7) causing ice to melt and our planet was covered with water. There were times when the Earth was very cold; these e (8) ice ages were characterised by territories covered with snow and ice. So, these great changes in the climate happened very g (9) gadually over thousands of years.