Question

southern and eastern asia today
the river and the sea are both named for the yellow dust that blows off the gobi desert (6)
into their waters. another major river in east asia, further south, is the y (8), also
known as the chang jiang. its headwaters (beginning of a river) are located near the huang hes, and it flows
castward across china before emptying into the east china sea. shanghai, one of chinas most important port cities,
is located at the mouth of this river. at 3,400 miles long, it is the longest river in china.
two major bodies of water located in southern and eastern asia are frequently the source of regional conflict. the
s c sea (9), located off the southeast coast of the continent, has
been in dispute in recent years due to chinas maritime (sea - based) claims to its waters, as well as its construction of
artificial islands (mostly for military use) within the sea. the sea of japan (12), meanwhile,
located off the northeast coast of the continent between the korean peninsula (11) and japan,
is claimed by multiple nations. particularly in dispute is the seas name. with the exception of japan itself, most
other countries in the region refer to this body of water simply as the \east sea.\
china has the worlds largest population at nearly 1.4 billion people; however much of this population is
concentrated in the south and east. the north of china is less populated due to the presence of the gobi desert,
while western china faces similar environmental challenges from the taklimakan desert (5).
there are six countries - in - focus in southern
and eastern asia.

• china (2) is located in

the heart of east asia, and has the worlds
largest population.

• southwest of china, across the himalayas,

lies the second most populated country in the
world, i (1).

• southeast of china, along the coast of the

south china sea, is the country of
vietnam (3). during the
days of european colonialism, this country
was part of an area known as french
indochina.

• rival sister countries north

korea (4) and south korea (5)
are both located on the korean peninsula in
east asia.

• japan (6), in eastern

coastal asia, is composed of four main
islands and more than 6,800 smaller islands.
the c (weather conditions in an area over a long period of time) of southern and
eastern asia varies tremendously (a lot) depending on each countrys geography. india, for example, has many types
of climate: snow and ice in the northern mountains, hot and dry plains in the central plateau, and steamy tropical
weather along the southern coast. most indians rely (depend) on agricultural work, so much of the population tends
to live along r like the ganges and its tributaries (rivers and streams flowing into a larger
river or lake). the climate of india is also shaped by seasonal winds called m,
which can bring heavy, destructive rainstorms off the indian ocean.
similar to india, china also has a wide variety of climates. china is cutoff from much of the moisture and
precipitation (rain) that india receives from the indian ocean because of the himalayan mountains. with
d like the taklimakan and gobi dominating western and northern china, most the
countrys population is found in the south and east in the fertile river v of the huang
he and yangtze. here the soil is especially fertile for agricultural use.
the climate of japan is greatly affected by o currents from the pacific. it, too,
experiences monsoons like china and india, as well as tropical hurricanes called t

Explanation:

• For the first blank, "climate" fits as it refers to weather conditions over a long period.
• For the second blank, "rivers" makes sense as people rely on them for agricultural work.
• For the third blank, "monsoons" are the seasonal winds that affect India's climate.
• For the fourth blank, "deserts" like Taklimakan and Gobi are in China.
• For the fifth blank, "valleys" are where the population is concentrated near rivers.
• For the sixth blank, "ocean" currents affect Japan's climate.
• For the seventh blank, "typhoons" are tropical hurricanes in Japan.

Answer:

climate, rivers, monsoons, deserts, valleys, ocean, typhoons