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Vocabulary, The sun: a friend or an enemy
The SUN: our best friend... our worst enemy?
Summer has now arrived. For many people living in the Northern Hemisphere, summer is the «hot season». For kids, this season conjures up visions of the sea, parasols, sand, and games... for others, it's the mountain or the countryside, wonderful hikes and discoveries.
Most of the time, but quite in an irregular way for a few years or decades, in summer, the SUN shines and brings heat, the pleasure of running in sunshine in his regenerative rays.
Besides giving the pleasure of feeling it caressing your skin, the SUN doesn't have many benificial effects.
I) THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF THE SUN: a shielded and moderate exposure to sunrays,
- may lower blood pressure.
- improves bone health (prevents rickets (rachitism) for the young and osteoporosis for the eldest).
- improves brain function.
- eases mild depression.
- regulates sleep and improves its quality.
- enhances the immune system.
The SUN, is VITAL for LIFE on earth; for all species, it's A REAL FRIEND.
II) When the sun turns out to be DANGEROUS: two different variables are quite important: the intensity of the sun's rays (they vary with the location, the season and the time), and the duration of exposure.
A few unpleasant consequences of the sun and excessive heat...
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A drought/ a parched out land | To be dripping with sweat/ soaked in sweat | To die of thirst * |
* In Donald's situation, you should have stayed inside and ... of course, taken plenty of water with you ...
to be thirsty/ to drink your fill
When there is a heat wave, it's vital to look for shade and shelter, to be correctly hydrated (drink more often and larger quantities of water...), refrain from any violent effort, hydrate your body and screen, put sunscreen, wear loose clothes made of cotton or natural materials.
The HEAT of the SUN can be ...
Boiling | Scorching |
Broiling | Scalding |
Blistering | Stifling |
Oppressive | Steaming |
Roasting | Sizzling |
Searing | Sweltering |
Here are the effects of too much heat and/or sun...
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A heat wave | A heat stroke/ a sunstroke | To be sunbathing/ to bask in the sun |
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To be suntanned | To be sunburnt | A blister |
III) How to be protected from the sun and its consequences?
Clothes (and especially anti UV ones ) are the best protection against the dangerous effects of the sun. The body parts that can't be shielded from the sun by clothes, or which were sensitized, must be covered by a thick layer of sunscreen with a very high protection factor. "Total block" doesn't really exist and must be renewed every other hour and everytime you go to swim.
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A sun hat | Sun glasses/ shades | Sunscreen/ suncream/ sunlotion |
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A fan | Spurts of water in fountains | Sprinklers |
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Cool water with ice | An ice cream | An anti UV shirt |
There you are! So many risks and so much advice...
Let's remember that in the past, and still in some countries such as Japan, the cult of a very pale skin used to triomph and is still undoubtedly the universal solution.
The main point being the defence of OUR PLANET EARTH, the constant fight against pollution, the transmission of these important stakes to our young ones so that what remains of the ozone layer might continue to protect our offspring for thousands of centuries.

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