Language for Living
LISTEN
Carmen is taking a break. Vic Pontrelli is coming into the lunch room.
Carmen: Vic, you’re all wet. How is it outside?
Vic: It’s terrible. It’s raining and windy.
Carmen: Does it rain very often here?
Vic: Not very often, but when we have a winter storm, it rains hard.
Carmen: Isn’t it always warm and sunny in California?
Vic: No, not always. It’s usually nice, but the weather’s sometimes bad here, too.
Carmen: How are the seasons here?
Vic: It rains in the winter, and it snows in the mountains. It’s cloudy, foggy, and cool in the spring. In the summer, it’s hot, dry, and sometimes smoggy. My favorite season is the fall or autumn. It’s cool at night and warm and clear in the daytime.
Carmen: How hot is it in the summer?
Vic: Here in Los Angeles, it’s about 65 degrees Fahrenheit at night and about 80 degrees in the daytime.
Carmen: How many degrees Centigrade is that?
Vic: I don’t know. I don’t understand Centigrade.
To change Fahrenheit to Centigrade (Celsius), subtract 32 and multiply by 5/9.
To change Centigrade to Fahrenheit, multiply by 9/5 and add 32.
Examples: (65°F – 32) х 5/9 = 18.3°C; (27°C x 9/5) + 32 = 80.6°F
UNDERSTAND
Say True, False, or We don’t know.
1. It’s always sunny and warm in California.
2. It sometimes snows in California.
3. “Fall” means “autumn.”
4. Vic understands degrees in Fahrenheit.
CHALLENGE
What’s 65 degrees Fahrenheit in degrees Centigrade? ______°C
QUESTIONNAIRE
Use Fahrenheit Degrees where relevant.
1. What’s the temperature of this room?
____________________________________________________________
2. What’s a good room temperature?
____________________________________________________________
3. What’s the temperature outside?
____________________________________________________________
4. How’s the weather today?
____________________________________________________________
5. What season is it?
____________________________________________________________
6. What’s normal body temperature?
____________________________________________________________
7. Are you sick if you have a 102 degree temperature?
____________________________________________________________
8. Is 100 degrees hot or warm?
____________________________________________________________
9. Is 70 degrees warm or cool?
____________________________________________________________
10. Is 60 degrees cool or cold?
____________________________________________________________
11. Is 40 degrees cool or cold?
____________________________________________________________
12. Is 32 degrees cold or freezing?
____________________________________________________________
13. How much is 16 degrees Centigrade?
____________________________________________________________
PAIR PRACTICE
Talk with another student. Use the thermometer above.
Student 1: How much is ________ degrees Centigrade?
Student 2: It’s about ________ degrees Fahrenheit.
By Paul J. Hamel
From Better English Every Day