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literally - дослівно thrive - процвітати
arbitrarily - довільно precipitation - опади
deficiency – дефіцит, нестача sparse vegetative cover –
рідкісний рослинний покрив
arid – посушливий, арідний steppe - степ
semiarid - напівзасушливий marginal - крайній
counterpart – копія, двійник subsiding air masses –
повітряні маси, що осідають,
знижуються
ascend - підійматися leeward - підвітряний
rainshadow desert – пустеля maritime air masses – морські
дощової тіні (пустеля, де повітряні маси
кількість опадів нижче, ніж на
оточуючій території)
ultimate - основний

Task 2. Read the text.

Distribution of Dry Lands
The word desert literally means deserted or unoccupied.
For many dry regions this is a very appropriate description,
although where water is available in deserts, plants and animals
thrive. Nevertheless, the world’s dry regions are among the least
familiar land areas on Earth outside the polar realm.
Deserts are dry places, but just what is meant by the term
dry? That is, how much rain defines the boundary between humid
and dry regions? Sometimes it is arbitrarily defined by a single
rainfall figure—for example, 25 cm per year of precipitation.
However, the concept of dryness is very relative; it refers to any
situation in which water deficiency exists. Hence, climatologists
define dry climate as one in which yearly precipitation is less than
the potential loss of water by evaporation.
Dryness, then, is related not only to annual rainfall totals
but is also a function of evaporation, which in turn closely depends

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