ANSWER KEY

Pet Practice – The UAE’s Landscape and Climate

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven sovereign states: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al Qaiwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. Located mainly along the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, the country faces the Arabian Gulf to the north and the Gulf of Oman, which is part of the Indian Ocean, to the northeast. To the east is Oman, to the south and west is Saudi Arabia and to the northwest is Qatar.

In the south and west of the country, the land is mainly desert, with sand dunes, salt flats and a few oases. The largest oases are Al Ain, 160 km east of Abu Dhabi and Liwa in the southwest. At Al Ain, date palms are grown. Liwa consists of about 30 oases spread out over the desert.

In the Arabian Gulf there are reefs, numerous shallow inlets and more than 100 islands. The capital of the country, Abu Dhabi, is located on one of these islands. The city has so many parks and gardens that it is called "The Garden City of the Gulf." In the northeast are the Hajar mountains. Beyond the mountains, on the east coast, which faces the Gulf of Oman, there is a strip of fertile land that has been used for agriculture for thousands of years.

Hot summers and mild winters characterize the UAE. From December to March, the weather is pleasant, with temperatures averaging 28°C in the daytime and 14°C at night. From May to September, temperatures can reach more than 45°C. Some rainfall occurs, mainly during the winter. Generally, rainfall does not exceed 13 cm a year. Inland, in the desert area bordering on the Empty Quarter, the summers are extremely hot. The temperature can rise to 50°C, the sand gets as hot as 80°C and it seldom rains.

For the Bedouin tribes who live in the desert, changes in weather once meant the difference between life and death. Emiratis have learned to pay attention to northerly winds named Shamaliya that indicate changes in weather characterized by rain, thunderstorms and violent dust storms.

Summary Fact Sheet

Official Name:United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Capital:Abu Dhabi

Type of Government:Federation of 7 emirates, each ruled

as a sheikdom within the federation,

led by a 7-member Supreme Council.

Population:2.5 million

Area:83,600 sq. km

Major Ethnic Groups:Arabs, South Asians, Iranians

Language: Arabic

Religion:Islam

Unit of Currency:Dirham

National Flag:Red vertical stripe at the hoist and

three equal horizontal stripes of green, white and black

Formation of the country:December 2, 1971

AAW-ILC/Reading/Blue/Pet/pet-UAEland_answers.docRKW- PH

ANSWER KEY

Part 1 - Comprehension

Read the article on the landscape and climate of the UAE. Then answer the following questions by choosing the best answer, a), b), c) or d).

1. The Gulf of Oman is to the ___ of the UAE.

a) east

b) north-east

c) north

d) northwest

2. Which word between lines 1 and 5 means “group”?

a) federation

b) sovereign

c) peninsular

d) gulf

3. The south and west of the country is ___.

a) salty

b) dunes

c) desert

d) east

4. Oases are places where you can find ___ in the desert.

a) salt

b) sand

c) water

d) flats

5. How many islands are there in the Arabian Gulf?

a) 100

b) over 100

c) under 100

d) 1

6. What does “it” (line 12) refer to?

a) Abu Dhabi

b) parks

c) gardens

d) island

7. If land is “fertile”(line 13), it is ___?

a)good for fishing

b)near the mountains

c) very old

d) good for growing things

8. The average difference between day and night temperatures between December and March is ___

a) 14ºC

b) 28ºC

c) 45ºC

d) 13 cm

9. In the desert near the Empty Quarter, the sand can be ___ hotter than the temperature during the summer.

a) 14ºC

b) 28ºC

c) 30ºC

d) 50ºC

10. “Shamaliya” are ___.

a) rains

b) thunderstorms

c) winds

d) dust storms

Part 2 – Fill in the Gap

Read the article below and choose the best word from the table, a), b), c) or d) to fill the gap
The Desert

If there is 1. ___ place in the world I love to be more than any other, it is the desert in the spring. I love to visit the desert a 2. ___ of weeks after the rain 3. ___ fallen and see the millions of flowers that suddenly appear out of the sand. The weather is usually perfect that time of the year too: warm, but not yet 4. ___ hot. In the desert you can sit and enjoy the silence – no annoying mobile phones going 5. ___, no noisy trucks driving past – just silence. Occasionally, a camel or two might walk slowly past, and 6. ___ you are really lucky, you might see a giant lizard or one of the small desert rats, 7. ___ “jerboa”, that hop across the sand like little kangaroos. 8. ___ , it is mainly the silence and the peace that attracts 9. ___ to the desert, and which makes a trip to the desert such a wonderful 10. ___ from the noise and hurry of the city.

1 c / a) an / b) the / c) one / d) some
2 b / a) couple / b) few / c) some / d) two
3 d / a) is / b) was / c) be / d) has
4 b / a) a lot / b) too / c) many / d) much
5 b / a) on / b) off / c) in / d) out
6 a / a) if / b) as / c) by / d) like
7 d / a) name / b) like / c) also / d) called
8 c / a) On the other hand / b) Moreover / c) However / d) In addition
9 b / a) I / b) me / c) my / d) mine
10 c / a) hit / b) snap / c) break / d) weekend

AAW-ILC/Reading/Blue/Pet/pet-UAEland_answers.docRKW- PH