English Vocabulary in Use - 28 Describing the world

rainfall

the amount of rain that falls, for example in a month or in a year

arid

dry

prone to

tending to have a particular negative characteristic

drought

a long period without rain

tundra

area in the north with no trees and permanently frozen ground

vegetation

plant life

coniferous

trees that are evergreen and produce cones

prairies

flat grasslands in Canada and northern USA

evergreen

a tree that does not lose its leaves in the winter and stays green all year round

deciduous trees

trees that shed their leaves and grow new ones each year

paddy fields

fields planted with rice growing in water

cereals

type of grass cultivated to produce a grain, i.e. a food plant like rice, wheat or maize

tend

to take care of

developed

with a modern, industrial economy

manufacturing

producing goods in large numbers

at the forefront

in an important position

generates

produces; creates

developing countries

describes a country that is poor and does not have a modern, industrial economy

are descended from

are related to someone who lived in the past

indigenous

existing naturally in that place

ancestors

relatives from earlier times

migrants

people who move to live in another country or another part of their own country

settled

made their homes

emigrant

someone who leaves one country to settle in another

immigrant

someone who comes to live in a different country