Lily, from China, and Antonio, from Spain, continue their discussion in the common room of their dorm.

Lily: Hi, Tony. Ready to tackle more latitude and longitude facts?

Antonio: Shoot!

Lily: OK, last time we talked about the five important circles of latitude and the poles.

Antonio: Let me recite. From north to south, it goes: North Pole, Arctic Circle, Tropic of Cancer, Equator, Tropic of Capricorn, Antarctic Circle, and South Pole.

Lily: You remembered!

Antonio: (Pointing to his temple) Like a steel trap!

Lily: Good. Between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn is an area called "The Tropics" or the "Torrid Zone."

Antonio: The sun is always between those two points, right?

Lily: Uh-huh. Each Tropic line is the furthest limit of the sun's travel.

Antonio: OK.

Lily: Now, between each Tropic and the Arctic and Antarctic Circles are the Northern and Southern Temperate Zones. And north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic are the Frigid Zones or "polar regions."

Antonio: OK, got it. Frigid, Temperate, Torrid, Temperate, Frigid. Tell me again about the solstices and equinoxes?

Lily: Well, speaking from the perspective of the Northern Hemisphere, when the sun reaches the Tropic of Cancer in June, that's the Summer Solstice, the longest day and shortest night in the year. As it travels south and crosses the equator in September, that's the Autumn (or Autumnal) Equinox.

Antonio: "Equinox" means day and night are equal, right?

Lily: Right. And then at the Tropic of Capricorn there's the Winter Solstice in December, and then moving north across the equator is the Spring or Vernal Equinox in March.

Antonio: This is all the other way around for people in the Southern Hemisphere, isn't it?

Lily: You're really getting the hang of this!

Antonio: Aw, shucks. Listen, gotta run. Can we do longitude next time?

Lily: Sure! Take care.

Antonio: Thanks. 'Bye.

Notes on the dialogue:

--To tackle something: To try to do something.

--Shoot!: Go ahead.

--To recite: To repeat from memory.

--One's temple: The side of the head, behind the eyes.

--Like a steel trap!: Antonio is joking that his mind "traps" knowledge; once he learns, he never forgets.

--Uh-huh: A casual way to say "yes."

--Torrid: Very hot.

--Temperate: Mild.

--Frigid: Very cold.

--Perspective: Point of view.

--Hemisphere: Half of a ball; "Northern Hemisphere" means the northern half of the earth, etc.

--To get the hang of something: To become good at something.

--Aw, shucks: Antonio is pretending to be embarrassed.