きせつ, The Seasons
Can you guess what the four seasons below are? Listen and repeat after the speaker to practice the name of the seasons.
Click each picture to see the name of the season.
きせつ |
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はる
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なつ
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あき
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ふゆ
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Adam Derewecki. Kyoto, Japan in autumn. From Pixabay.
David Mark. Landscape Japan. From Pixabay.
Kanenori かねのり 三浦. Landscape cherry blossoms. From Pixabay.
Gyro. Enoshima sea bathing. 672962888. iStock/Getty Images Plus.
New Vocabulary
Practice your new vocabulary in this practice activity. Remember that if you spend adequate time in the vocabulary activities, you will become much more comfortable with all elements of learning a foreign language. Vocabulary
Here is a print version of this actvity. You will still need to use the online version to hear any audio.
Reading
Read the following questions and be prepared to answer them.
- 三がつの てんきは どうですか。
- 八がつの てんきは どうですか。
- 一がつの てんきは どうですか。
- あきの てんきは どうですか。
- きょうの てんきは どうですか。
Climate in Japan
Japan's climate is known for its frequent seasonal changes, and when the monsoon rains,つゆ, that sweep over the archipelago from mid-June to early July finally come to an end, high pressure areas move over the Pacific Ocean, plunging the country into the heat of summer. August is the hottest month of the year, and although there are differences between northernmost ほっかいどうHokkaido and southernmost きゅうしゅう and おきなわ, the entire archipelago is assaulted with fierce heat. Midsummer days まなつび in August, when the temperature is 30 degrees Celsius or over, are shown in the table for different parts of the country.
Not only is the temperature high, so is the humidity. Weather reports cite what is called the "discomfort index ふかいしすう" calculated on the basis of temperature and humidity. When this index rate goes over 75, more than half of people feel uncomfortable, when it goes over 80, everyone is uncomfortable. The fact that indices like these become the stuff of television and radio news is an indication of the severe heat of Japan's summers. にほんの なつは むしあついです！
Web Research
Research the climate of a town where one of the following seven high school students live.
- Mizushima Yu: Yokohama
- Oishi Kanta: Tokyo
- Sakai Michi: Sappoto
- Tamaki Shun'ichi: Naha
- Yoshida Kojiro: Himeji
- Yamamoto Takayuki: Kyoto
- Yoo Yoo-Jin: Osaka
Visit the following websites to collect the information that you need:
- Deai: The Lives of Seven Japanese High School Students
- Nature and Climate
- Climate in Japan
- The Weather Underground International Page
Graded Assignments
Please return to the Section 1 Tasks & Assignments folder to complete the graded assignments for Section 1, Part B.