Glossary


ancestors – people who lived long ago, from whom we are descended 116


apartheid – the previous government rules in South Africa that kept people from different races separate 59


artificial – not natural, but made by people 108


battery – a place where chickens are kept in rows of small cages 79


borders – dividing lines between provinces or countries 47


borehole – a narrow hole that is dug into the ground for finding water 106


boycotts – when people refuse to take part in something 30


broiler – a chicken reared for meat 79 campaigns – plans to do some things to get a certain result 59


cereal crops – plants grown for their seeds or grain 76


coastline – the line where the land meets the sea 46


commercial farming – farmers grow crops and raise animals to sell 74


communal – shared by a group of people 105 conflict – a fight or argument 59 continents – very large areas of land 51 dairy cattle – cattle reared for their milk 78 defaecating – to get rid of the body’s solid waste 108


democracy – a system where people choose their leaders by voting 60


diarrhoea – a sickness where the person has a ‘runny tummy’ and loses fluids from their body 108


faeces – the solid waste you get rid of when you go to the toilet 108


features – important parts of something 13 global warming – the increase in the temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere


globe – an object in the shape of a ball with a map of the world on it 49


industries – the work of making things in factories 11


injustice – something not being fair or right 59


invention – a thing that somebody has made for the first time 86


justice – something being fair or right 59 key – a list of symbols with their meanings 40


landmarks – things that you can see from far away 13


monsoon – a wind in southern Asia that bring heavy rains 92 monuments – something that is built to help remember a person or event 26 municipality – local government that provides services for a town or district 17


poultry – birds that are reared for their meat and eggs 79


protest – to say that you do not agree with something and you demand that it be changed 63


provincial capital – the town where the leader and officials of the province work 47 purification – removing dirty or harmful things 109


racism – the belief that one group of people is better than another 59


reservoir – a large tank that stores water for a town or a suburb 107


reverse – backwards, back to front, like writing in a mirror 120


sanitation – the equipment and systems that keep places clean 108


satellites – space vehicles that carry all the equipment necessary to receive and send signals 123


service jobs – jobs where people do something for the community, such as a teacher or a doctor 10


settlement – a place where people live together 8


sewage systems – pipes that carry dirty water away 17


sewer – a large pipe that carries dirty water from our houses to the sewage treatment plant 109


shaman – a person who in trance heals people through religious means 117


stock – animals that are kept on a farm 78 subsistence farming – farmers produce food for themselves and their families 74


symbol – a sign or picture that is used in the place of an object 40


trance – like being in a dream, but you are awake; ‘in another world’ 117


visionary – a person with good plans for the future 68


wetland – land that is mostly covered with water 104


128 Glossary


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