A2Nature·2 min·247 words

Autumn

A country lane with trees in autumn colours near Beilstein, Germany
© Roman Eisele · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Beilstein - Maad - Schmidbachtal mit altem Feldweg am Nonnenwald im November.jpg (Wikimedia Commons)
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Autumn is the season after summer and before winter. In the United States and Canada, this season is also called fall. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is often said to begin with the autumnal equinox in September and end with the winter solstice in December. In the Southern Hemisphere, it runs from the autumnal equinox in March to the winter solstice in June.

In many places in the temperate zone, autumn is a time for harvesting most crops. Deciduous trees (trees that lose their leaves every year) lose their leaves, usually after turning yellow, red, or brown. In many countries, autumn is the time a new school year starts. The period of school between the start of September and the end of December is often referred to as the “Fall Semester”, “Fall Quarter”, or “Fall Term”.

When it is autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, it is spring in the Southern Hemisphere. When it is autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, it is spring in the Northern Hemisphere. On the equator, autumn is very much like spring, with little difference in temperature or in weather. Autumn is a time when most animals are looking for food so they can store up for winter, because they soon will be going into hibernation. The weather gets colder and more windy. In Autumn the hours of daylight and the hours of night are the same. In autumn the weather changes all the time. The weather turns cooler and often windy and rainy.

Questions

  1. A2What do people in the United States and Canada also call autumn?
  2. A2In the Southern Hemisphere, when does autumn begin?
  3. A2What happens to deciduous trees in autumn?
  4. A2What starts in autumn in many countries?
  5. B1It is autumn in Germany, in the Northern Hemisphere. What season is it in Australia, in the Southern Hemisphere?
  6. A2What is autumn like on the equator?
  7. A2Why are many animals looking for food in autumn?

Talk or write about it

  • Describe autumn where you live: the weather, the colours and what people do.
  • In many countries the school year starts in autumn. Is this a good time to start? Why or why not?
Autumn — English reading, level A2 | Krumeto