Unit 36 : Nature and the universe

Topic vocabulary
amazing very good, surprising, Her story was quite amazing. extraordinaire,
(adj) or impressive sensationnel
climate (n) the climate of a Mexico is well known for its hot climat
country or region is climate.
the type of weather it
has
countryside areas away from Let’s get out of the city and go to campagne
(n) towns and cities, with the countryside.
farms, fields and trees
environment the natural world, Industries are causing a lot of environnement
(n) including the land, damage to the environment.
water, air, plants and
animals
extinct (adj) If sth such as a type of Dinosaurs are extinct. disparu
animal or plant is
extinct, it no longer
exists
forecast (v) to make a statement Is it difficult to forecast the weather? prévoir
forecast(ed), about what is likely to
forecast(ed),
forecasting happen, often relating
to the weather
forecast (n) a statement about Have you heard the weather prévision
what is likely to forecast for tomorrow?
happen, often relating
to the weather
freezing (adj) very cold; the It’s absolutely freezing in here. glacial
temperature at which
water freezes and
becomes ice
global (adj) including or affecting This is global problem – it affects mondial,
the whole world every country. planétaire
heatwave (n) a continuous period of Britain has been having a heatwave vague de
very hot weather for the last three weeks. chaleur
insect (n) a small animal that Files and mosquitoes are insects. insecte
has six legs and often
has wings
lightning (n) the bright flashes of The ship was struck by lightning éclair
light that you see in soon after it left the port.
the sky during a storm
litter (v) to drop litter The sign said ‘No littering’! laisser des
détritus
litter (n) things that people Pick up that litter and put it in the détritus
have dropped on the bin.
ground in a public
place, making it untidy
local (adj) In or related to a Ask for the book in your local library. local, de
particular area, quartier
especially the place
where you live
locate (v) to find out the exact The hotel is located in localiser, situer
place where sb or sth Wolverhampton town centre.
is; be located: to exist
in a particular place
mammal (n) an animal that is born Humans and monkeys are mammifère
from its mother’s mammals.
body, not from an egg,
and drinks its mother’s
milk as a baby
mild (adj) mild weather is warm It was a mild winter. doux
and pleasant
name (v) to know and say what How many world capitals can you nommer
the name of sb or sth name?
is; to give sb or sth a
 name
name (n) a word or set of words What’s the name of this flower? nom
used for referring to a
person or thing
origin (n) the place or moment Meteorites may hold clues about the origine
at which sth begins to origin of life on Earth.
exist
planet (n) a very large round Mars is sometimes known as the planète
object that moves red planet.
around the Sun or
around another star
preserve (v) to take care of sth in We work hard to preserve historic préserver,
order to prevent it buildings. protéger
from being harmed or
destroyed
recycle (v) to treat waste Let’s recycle those old bottles. recycler
materials so that they
can be used again
reptile (n) a type of animal such Crocodiles are reptiles. reptile
as a snake or a lizard
that lays eggs, and
whose body is
covered in scales
rescue (v) to save someone from The crew of the ship were rescued sauver,
a dangerous or just before it sank. secourir
unpleasant situation
rescue (n) an act of saving sb or Firefighters carried out the sauvetage
sth from danger or dangerous rescue.
from an unpleasant
situation
satellite (n) an object that is sent There are lots of satellites above satellite
into space to travel the Earth.
round the Earth in
order to receive and
send information; a
natural object such as
a moon that moves
around a planet
shower (n) a short period when it Tonight there’s a 50 per cent averse
rains chance of showers.
solar system the sun and the group How many planets are there in our système
(n phr) of planets that move solar system? solaire
around it
species (n) a plant or animal Over 120 species of birds have espèce
group whose been recorded in this national park.
members all have
similar general
features and are able
to produce young
plants or animals
together
thunder (n) the loud noise that Listen to that thunder! tonnerre
you sometimes hear
in the sky during a
storm
wild (adj) a wild animal or plant This behaviour is common in both sauvage
lives or grows on its domestic and wild dogs.
own in natural
conditions and is not
raised by humans
wildlife (n) animals, birds and A lot of the local wildlife is in danger. faune et flore,
plants that live in vie sauvage
natural conditions
Phrasal verbs
blow up to explode Luckily, the bomb didn’t blow up. exploser
blew, blown,
blowing
build up to increase These exercises are good for accroître
built, built, building building up leg strength.
clear up to tidy I’ll clear up if you want to go to bed. ranger
cleared, cleared, clearing
go out to stop burning The fire must have gone off during s’éteindre
went, gone, going the night.
keep out to prevent from Cars should be kept out of the city ne pas entrer
kept, kept, keeping entering centre.
put down to stop holding Emma put her bag down and went poser
put, put, putting upstairs.
put out to make sth stop It took three firefighters to put the éteindre
put, put, putting burning fire out.
put up to put sth on a wall The teachers will put a notice up afficher
put, put, putting (eg a picture) about the new courses.
Prepositional phrases
at most The tickets should cost about €20 at most. au maximum
at the top / bottom (of) What was it like at the top of Mount Everest? au sommet de
What’s it like at the bottom of the sea? / au fond de
in the beginning I found Chinese hard to learn in the au début
beginning, but it’s easier now.
in the distance Is that a car I can see in the distance? au loin
in total In total, we make over €200 for charity. au total
on top (of) He sprinkle sugar on top of the cake. au dessus de
Word formation
centre centre
central They live in central London. central, centre
circle cercle
circular Our dining table is circular. circulaire
danger danger
dangerous It’s dangerous to drive very fast. dangereux
deep profond
deeply That’s when I fell deeply in love with him.
depth What’s the depth of the swimming pool? profondeur
destroy détruire
destroyed, destroyed, destroying

destruction
destruction
destructive
We’ve got to stop the destruction of the local destructeur
environment.
Storms can be very destructive.
fog brouillard
foggy It was so foggy I couldn’t see my feet! brumeux
garden jardin
gardener My grandfather is an amateur gardener. jardinier
gardening Gardening is a very relaxing pastime. jardinage
invade envahir
invaded, invaded, invading
invasion invasion
Julius Caesar led the Roman invasion of
invader envahisseur
Britain.
Local people fought against the invaders.
nature nature
natural It’s an area of great natural beauty. naturel
naturally Is your hair naturally curly? naturellement
pollute polluer
polluted, polluted, polluting
pollution pollution
There are lots of different kinds of pollution.
polluted pollué
Polluted rivers are not safe to swim in.
Word patterns
afraid of I’m afraid of the dark. peur de
aware of I’m not aware of any flights being cancelled. au courant de
enthusiastic about John is really enthusiastic about the karaoke enthousiaste à
competition. (l’idée de)
serious about If you’re serious about being a doctor, I’ll give envisager
you some advice. sérieusement
short of I’m very short of money! à court de
escape from How did they escape from prison? s'échapper de
prevent sb from The wall is designed to prevent the animals empêcher de
from leaving.
save sth from We’ve got to save lots of animals from sauver qqch
becoming extinct. de
think about I’m going to think about that carefully. réfléchir à
thought, thought, thinking
worry about I’m very worried about Tracy. s'inquiéter
 pour
damage to Did the storm do a lot of damage to your causer des
house? dégâts à
an increase in There’s been an increase in traffic in the accroissement
town centre recently. de