Instituto Federal de Educao, Cincia e Tecnologia do Rio de Janeiro IFRJ

Campus Nilpolis
Disciplina: Ingls Instrumental

The Earth's Atmosphere

Atmosphere.. The Earth is surrounded by a blanket of air called the atmosphere. The
.
atmosphere is made up of various gases that act as a protective shield for the
Earth and allow life to exist. Without it, we would be burned by the intense
heat of the sun during the day or frozen by the very low temperatures at
night.
Composition.
More than three quarters of the atmosphere is 5
..
made up of nitrogen and most of the rest is
oxygen. However, it is the remaining 1%, a
mixture of carbon dioxide, water vapour and
ozone, which not only produces important
weather features such as cloud and rain, but 10
also has considerable influence on the overall
climate of the Earth, through mechanisms such
as the greenhouse effect and global warming.
Pressure...
The atmosphere consists of five layers, held around the planet by the
force of gravity. As you move upwards through the layers, atmospheric
pressure decreases rapidly with height and the air temperature also 15
changes. It is these, more complicated, changes in temperature which are
used to divide the atmosphere into the layers described below.

Exosphere
Above a height of about 500km is the exosphere, a layer where the
atmosphere merges into space. Satellites are stationed in this area, 500km to
20
1000km from Earth.
Thermosphere
The thermosphere is the fourth layer in the atmosphere, between 80km and
110km above the Earth. Space shuttles fly in this area and it is also where the
aurora lights are found. Auroras are wispy curtains of light caused when the
sun strikes gases in the atmosphere above the Poles.

25

Mesosphere
Beyond the stratosphere the air is very thin and cold. This area is known as
the mesosphere, and is found between 50km and 80km above the Earths
surface.
Stratosphere
The stratosphere is the second layer of air above the Earths surface and
30
extends to a height of 50km. It is here that we find the ozone layer. The ozone
layer absorbs much of the suns harmful radiation that would otherwise be
dangerous to plant and animal life.
Troposphere
The troposphere is the layer closest to the Earth, approximately 11km high.
Weather occurs only in the troposphere because it is this layer that contains
most of the water vapour. Weather is the way water changes in the air, and so 35
without water, there would be no clouds, rain, snow or other weather features.
The troposphere is an unstable layer where the air is constantly moving. As a
result, aircraft flying through the troposphere may have a very bumpy ride
what we know as turbulence. You may have experienced this when flying
before! Because of this turbulence, most jet airlines fly higher above the Earth
40
in the stratosphere. Here the air is more still and clear as they can fly above
the clouds.
(From www.rcn27.dial.pipex.com/cloudsrus/atmosphere.html. Access Jan. 2011)

(A) Ao olhar o texto rapidamente voc consegue perceber que ele trata da atmosfera terrestre. Observe, ento, as
suas partes constituintes. Quais so os blocos retricos que o compem? H sub-blocos? Quais?
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(B) Relacione os trechos esquerda com aqueles direita de modo a formar frases coesas e coerentes em relao
ao texto. Haver trechos sem correspondncia.
1. A atmosfera terrestre...
2. Os gases ao redor da Terra...

(
(

3. Cerca de da atmosfera...

(
4. A mistura de dixido de carbono, gua e
oznio...
(
5. As camadas que constituem a atmosfera (
terrestre...
(
6. A exosfera...
(
7. A termosfera...
8. Os nibus espaciais...
9. Na estratosfera...
10. Os eventos e variaes climticas...
11. Os avies a jato...

(
(
(

12. O clima, que o modo como a gua se

(
transforma no ar,...
(
(

) se formam os gases nocivos vida animal e vegetal.

) costumam voar na estratosfera porque essa camada da atmosfera mais estvel do que a troposfera.
) cercada por um cobertor de gases que proporciona a existncia de vida na Terra.
) ocorrem na troposfera.
) a camada mais externa da atmosfera.
) constitui-se de um conjunto de gases que funcionam como
um escudo protetor.
) encontrada entre 50 e 80 km acima da superfcie terrestre.
) encontra-se a camada de oznio, que absorve a radiao
ultravioleta do sol.
) fazendo com que a presso a e a temperatura caiam rapidamente.
) impedem que se morra de calor durante o dia ou de frio
noite.
) formada de nitrognio e oxignio.
) voam na camada compreendida entre a termosfera e as auroras boreais e austrais.
) responsvel pelo clima geral do planeta.

(C) Transcreva do texto as palavras ou expresses que correspondem aos seguintes termos.
12345678910111213141516171819202122-

Terra
Protetor(a)
Calor
Formado(a), constitudo(a)
Queimado(a)
Congelado(a)
Clima (2 vocbulos diferentes)
Efeito estufa
Aquecimento global
Camada(s)
Presso
Altura
Fino, tnue
Nocivo(a), danoso(a), prejudicial
Perigoso(a)
Nuvem
Chuva
Neve
Instvel
Acima
Calmo(a)
Limpo(a)

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(D) Utilizando-se do vocabulrio do texto, escreva os seguintes sintagmas nominais.

1234-

Mudanas climticas Vida vegetal

Presso atmosfrica instvel Camada protetora de oznio -

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5- Vapor dgua perigoso

6- A radiao prejudicial do sol -

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MACB / macb / 2011.1