The Matterhorn is one of the most
well-known peaks of the Alps. It is in Switzerland. It is 4,478 meters
high or 14,691 feet. It was first climbed in 1865 by a group of English
mountaineers led by Edward Whymper. While they all reached the peak on
July 14th of that year, on the way down four of the seven men of the
group fell to their deaths. It can be reached from Zermatt on the Swiss
side. The closest airport is in Geneva.
Quel
temps fait-il?
It's important (and useful) to be able to talk about the weather.
View the presentation to see what
expressions are used to talk about the weather in French. Be sure to repeat
after the speaker and try to imitate the pronunciation as best you can.
Practice Use this practice session to become familiar with the concepts of this lesson module.
La Lecture (Reading) Read the following selection and then answer the questions based
on what you have read. Click on the questions to check yourself.
Je m'appelle Bertrand Gautier. Je suis suisse et j'habite
à Genève. Je suis étudiant. J'aime nager. Je n'aime
pas courir. A Genève, il fait frais en octobre. Quel temps fait-il
à Genève en juillet? Il fait chaud. Quel temps fait-il à
Genève en décembre? Oh la la! Il fait très froid.
La Suisse In Unit 3, Le Temps, we are going to learn about Switzerland.
Do you know where Switzerland is? Switzerland is the country you see outlined
below. It is in the center of Europe, to the east of France. The capital
of Switzerland is Bern, located in the German-speaking part of Switzerland.
Three major languages are spoken in Switzerland: German (63.7% of the
population), French (20.4%) and Italian (6.5%). Here are some interesting
facts about Switzerland:
Switzerland is a little bigger than twice the size of New Jersey.
It is landlocked and is made up of mostly mountains, the Alps and
the Jura Mountains.
It has about 7.5 million people.
The average life expectancy for the Swiss is 80 years old.
The official long name is the Swiss Confederation. In French, it is
called la Conféderation Helvétique. That's why
you'll se CH on the back of cars coming from Switzerland.
Our friend, Bertrand Gautier, is a student in Geneva. Do you see where
Geneva is? Click on the map for the website it comes from and more information
on Switzerland.
Let's
look in on the weather in Switzerland Visit
this website to check out today's weather in Geneva Switzerland. Go
to the Discussion 1a and submit the following post.
Write the day's date in French as you learned to do.
Tell us what the weather is like in Geneva today.
Click to look in some other Swiss city and say what the weather is
like in that city on the same date.
Tell us what the weather is like in your city on the same date.
This assignment is worth 16 points.
Unit
Vocabulary
This relates to the general theme of talking
about the weather, clothing, seasons and things you like to do in various
parts of the year. Click on the two links below to see and hear all of
the vocabulary and sentences you will learn here. As you go through the
unit, return to this from time to time to practice this vocabulary.
Practice
Let's
look in on the weather in Switzerland
Unit
Vocabulary