UNIT 9 NIGHT Lesson 4 B

In some parts of Scandinavia , in the regions ____________________ to the North Pole , the sun doesn ? t set for several weeks of the year in the days leading up to the ____________________ ____________________ .

For someone born near the ____________________ , with twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of night time throughout the year , nothing could be stranger than my ? rst spring and summer in Norway .

As the ____________________ of the winter ____________________ and we progress towards spring , the days become longer , reaching its apex on the longest day of the year . The summer solstice , on the 21st June every year , is celebrated in real Scandinavian style . There are music ____________________ and open - air markets , but most people head to the ____________________ and ____________________
to enjoy barbecues or roast marshmallows on an open ? re .

On the other ____________________ , the Polar Night is the period in winter during which the sun fails to rise , essentially remaining below the ____________________ and thereby creating the ____________________ of over 24 hours of
night .

However , this doesn ? t mean that the ____________________ is pitch black . Instead , what is experienced is several hours of weak ____________________ which gives the impression of an extended hours - long sunset or sunrise . It is
followed by ____________________ or the ? blue hour ? - an ____________________ , ____________________ light that ? lls the sky and everything below it in a ____________________ glow created
by the ____________________ ? ection of light by the ocean and snow . This magni ? cent spectacle is as much a tourist attraction as the aurora ____________________ .

In fact , ? re is central to the ____________________ of the summer ____________________ in Norway .

The town of Ålesund , which we visited for the summer solstice celebration , is famous for its huge ____________________ ? re . For several days
leading up to the big day , a huge ____________________ made of ____________________ crates is erected .
This tower becomes a raging bon ? re on the night of the celebrations , and it is the ____________________ of the town ? s celebrations . The ? re is said to ? wake up ? the earth , providing ____________________ and
____________________ fertility . The ? re represents the Sun , which on this day is at its highest in the sky and thereafter will start to wane ,
with ____________________ shorter days and longer nights .

In Tromsø , located 200 meters north of the ____________________ Circle , Polar Night lasts all winter ? from November to January ? and the sun never ____________________ .
The days ( or rather the daytime heavenly ____________________ ) get ____________________ longer until the Midnight Sun period takes
over from May to July when , ____________________ , the sun never sets . However , despite general belief and studies on ____________________
affective disorder ( SAD ) research suggests surprisingly low rates thereof among locals .

Many ____________________ this inconsistency to a variety of factors , from cod liver oil to ? wake - up ____________________ ? simulating sunrise . Participation in the
wealth of cultural ____________________ also has its effect as well as a broad range of leisure activities available year round . All these combined
encourage people to spend more daily hours outdoors than would ordinarily be the case under similar ____________________ . Perhaps the secret
lies in the beautiful colors of the sky and the soft blue light that pervades the ____________________ , creating a form of natural visual therapy .