📖 Part 1: Reading Text

The Water Cycle: Nature's Recycling System

Water is constantly moving around our planet in an endless cycle called the water cycle. This amazing process has been happening for millions of years and is essential for all life on Earth, including here in New Zealand.

The water cycle begins with evaporation. When the sun heats up water in oceans, lakes, and rivers, it changes from liquid into invisible water vapour that rises into the atmosphere. Plants also contribute through transpiration, where they release water vapour through their leaves.

As water vapour rises higher into the sky, it cools down. This cooling causes condensation, where the invisible vapour turns back into tiny water droplets that form clouds. These droplets cluster together, becoming heavier and heavier.

Eventually, the water droplets become too heavy to stay in the air, and they fall back to Earth as precipitation - rain, snow, sleet, or hail. In New Zealand, we experience mostly rain, though snow falls in the Southern Alps during winter.

The final stage is collection. The precipitation flows into streams, rivers, and lakes, or soaks into the ground to become groundwater. This water eventually makes its way back to the oceans, where the cycle begins again. New Zealand's many rivers, like the Waikato and Clutha, are perfect examples of this collection process.

🤔 Part 2: Comprehension Questions

____ Condensation

____ Collection

____ Evaporation

____ Precipitation

✏️ Part 3: Summary and Vocabulary

a) When water changes from liquid to vapour, this is called ______________.

b) Rain, snow, and hail are all types of ______________.

c) Water vapour cooling and forming clouds is called ______________.

d) Water flowing into rivers and lakes is part of the ______________ stage.