Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a certain time or over a certain short period. It is connected with atmospheric pressure, temperature, rainfall, cloudiness and wind. The weather

ABOUT THE WEATHER

Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a certain time or over a certain short period. It is connected with atmospheric pressure, temperature, rainfall, cloudiness and wind. The weather usually depends on the season. The season is characterized by a distinctive temperature, rainfall, vegetation and the like, which occur at different times in different regions and is determined by the position of the Earth in relation to the Sun. Rain, snow, hail, sleet, frost, and dew are all parts of the weather. So are cold spells, heat waves, clouds, breezes, gales, thunderstorms, and hurricanes. Weather can be good, bad, fine, excellent, beautiful, rainy, snowy, stormy, dry, hot, cold, warm, cool and pleasant.
In some parts of the world the weather stays very much the same day after day. In other places it often changes. A summer day that starts out bright and sunny may end with a thunderstorm. In the same way a cold and cloudy winter morning may be followed by a clear and spring like afternoon. In places where the weather often changes, everyone is interested in it. But not everyone wants the same kind of weather. A farmer may want a rainy day because his crops need rain. His neighbour may want a sunny day because it is time for him to harvest. Some people may be glad to see a heavy snowstorm because they want to go skiing. Others may not like the snow at all because it blocks the roads and makes travelling hard. Not everyone is happy when there is a week of warm, sunny weather in early spring. Some people know that the snow is melting so fast that rivers will flood. Even if a person does not mind heat or cold or rain or snow, the weather is important to him. Bad weather may ruin crops so that food will cost more. It may cause forest fires, flood homes and so on. The weather affects the lives of all of us in many ways.
We have learned to change the 'weather' inside our houses. We can make the air warmer, or we can cool it. We can put more moisture in it if it is too dry. Or, if it is too damp, we can take some of the moisture out of it. We can turn on lights if it is dark and cloudy out of doors. And by simple turning of the switch of an electric fan we can start a pleasant breeze blowing.
Even out of doors we began to experiment with changing the weather. We can make fogs disappear from aeroplane landing fields and we can cause rain. But we probably still have to take the weather as it comes.
The English are famous for their weather as it is very changeable, never the same two days running. But foggy weather is the very worst. The thick white fog rolls in from the sea all over the country. It is dark in the middle of the day and people cannot see their way, buses and cars crawl along slowly with their lights on, blowing their horns. It is natural for the English to use the comparison “as changeable as the weather” of a person who often changes his mood or opinion about something. “Other countries have a climate, in England we have weather”. This statement is often made by the English to describe the meteorological conditions of their country.
The weather is the favourite conversational topic in England. When two Englishmen meet, one of their remarks is almost certain to be about the weather. When the British go abroad they often surprise people of other nationalities by this tendency to talk about the weather, a topic of conversation that other people do not find so interesting.

The English also say that they have three variants of weather: when it rains in the morning, when it rains in the afternoon or when it rains all day long. One day it rains, the next day it may be sunny and the next it can be cold. You can never be sure of a dry day. In fact, London gets no more rain in a year than most other major European cities. Generally speaking, the further west you go, the more rain you get. But the popular belief that it rains all the time in Britain is not true.
Though it may not rain very much altogether it rains quite often all the year round and that's why Britain is such a green country, with long rich grass for the cattle and sheep, and beautiful lawns in the gardens. Everyone who comes to Britain says that it looks like one great beautiful park. The British people love their country and take care of it.

The climate in Great Britain

The climate in Great Britain is generally mild and temperate due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. The south-western winds carry the warmth and moisture into Britain. The climate in Britain is usually described as cool, temperate and humid. The weather is the favourite topic of conversation in Britain. When two Englishmen are introduced to each other, if they can't think of any thing else to talk about, they talk about weather. When two people meet in the street they will often say something about weather as they pass, just to show their friendliness. Every daily paper publishes a weather forecast. Both the radio and television give the weather forecast several times each day. The English also say that they have three variants of weather: when it rains in the morning, when it rains in the afternoon or when in rains all day long. Sometimes it rains so heavily that they say "It's raining cats and dogs". Rainfall is more or less even throughout the year. In the mountains there is heavier rainfall then in the plains of the south and east. The driest period is from March to June and the wettest months are from October to January. The average range of temperature (from winter to summer) is from 15 to 23 degrees above zero. During a normal summer the temperature sometimes rises above 30 degrees in the south. Winter temperatures below 10 degrees are rare. It seldom snows heavily in winter, the frost is rare. January and February are usually the coldest months, July and August the warmest. Still the wind may bring winter cold in spring or summer days. Sometimes it brings the whirlwinds or hurricanes. Droughts are rare. So, we may say that the British climate has three main features: it is mild, humid and changeable. That means that it is never too hot or too cold. Winters are extremely mild. Snow may come but it melts quickly. In winter the cold is humid cold, not the dry one. This humid and mild climate is good for plants. The trees and flowers begin to blossom early in spring.
• What's your favorite season and why?
• Are there any special traditions associated with different seasons in your country?
• What crops are produced in which seasons in your country?
• Do you think weather patterns are changing? If so, why do you think this is?
• Do you know any interesting myths or stories about weather?
• Which do you like better hot weather or cold weather?
• What month gets the most rain in your country?
o What month gets the most rain around here?)
• What's the average temperature in your country in the summer time?
o How about in the winter?
• Do you think that in recent years we are losing our four distinct seasons?
• What kind of climate do you prefer when choosing a place to go on vacation?
• What is the best season to get married?
o Can you think of other activities in which one season may be better than another?
• In your opinion, which season is the most beautiful?
• Do you think weather affects the way people feel?
• How can extreme weather conditions affect the economy and social life in countries?
• What are the different kinds of weather?

• What is the weather like in your country for each season?
• What some of the different kinds of weather?
• What is the relationship between weather and natural disasters?
• How to you depend on the weather reports on TV?
• Why is it important to know future weather conditions in advance?
• When would knowing tomorrow's weather change you plans?
Comment:
Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” John Ruskin, English writer and critic

The Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are one of the most spectacular reminders of the debt we owe to the Greeks.
The original Olympic Games were held every four years in honour of Zeus, the supreme god of Greek religion. The first record of the games dates from 776 B.C., but it is certain that they existed prior to that. They were held continuously for over 1.000 years until they were abolished in the reign of King Theodosius about 392 A.D. The Olympic festival was a great unifying bond between the Independent city-states of Greece.

The important sports in the original Olympic Games were running, jumping, wrestling, throwing the discus and throwing the javelin. Only men competed and they wore no clothes in order to have greater freedom of movement. Each competitor had to take the Olympic Oath - a promise to behave in a sportsman-like fashion.

The modern Olympic era began in 1894 when Frenchman Baron Pierre de Coubertin decided to revive the ancient Greek tradition of celebrating health, youth and peace with a sports festival. Baron de Coubertin created the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the first modem Olympiad took place in Athens in 1896. Since then the Olympic Games have been held every four years with only two exceptions because of the two world wars.

Even though the modern Olympic Games embrace the whole world, the connection with Greece is still very strong. A lighted torch is brought all the way from Greece, carried by a relay of runners, in order to light the Olympic Flame which bums all through the Games. As in ancient Greek times, the competitors still take the Olympic Oath. The long-distance race is still called the Marathon. Marathon was a village about 26 miles from Athens. In the year 490 BC the Greeks defeated a powerful Persian army at that spot. After the fierce day's fighting a soldier volunteered to bring news of the victory to the anxious citizens of Athens. He ran all the way and after gasping out the message. "Rejoice, we conquer!" he collapsed and died.

One important rule of the Olympic Games is that the competitors must be amateurs. This rule has been under a lot of pressure in recent years because modem sport is so professional and competitive. Athletes train for years to take part in the Olympics and some countries spend much more than others on equipment and facilities. But despite these pressures, the amateur rule remains.

In modern times the Olympic movement has become an enormous and expensive organisation, It's controlled by the International Olympic Committee, which consists of members from all the participating countries. The IOC is based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It chooses the locations of both summer and winter games (both take place once very four years, with winter games half a year before summer Olympiads). It also controls the rules of the competitions and selects new Olympic sports. The famous flag of the IOC shows five rings of different colours linked together. The rings represent the five continents.

Aviation weather

Weather is composed of a number of elements such as the temperature and humidity of the air, atmospheric pressure, the speed and direction of the wind, air visibility and of special phenomena such as fog, storms and others.
Pilots need the information about weather conditions along the route of flight and at the destination aerodrome. The object of the meteorological service is to contribute to safety, efficiency and regularity of air traffic.
There exist some sources of aviation weather information: surface observation, radar observation, automatic meteorological observation, pilot reports and others.
At every airport there is a meteorological station which is equipped with special instruments recording all changes in the atmosphere. They indicate air pressure and temperature, record wind speed and direction as well as the movements of clouds. All the observations are summed up on special weather charts. The observations at the airports are made every 30 minutes and every 15 minutes if the weather suddenly gets worse or better.
Preparing for the flight the pilot is to get the latest weather information and weather forecasts along the planned route and at the point of destination and the alternates.
At a great number of met. stations situated along the airways complete weather observations are made and then transmitted to weather forecast centres by telephone, telegraph, radio and thousands of miles of teletype circuits. Thus, the pilot has a complete picture of the weather.
20-30 minutes before entering the aerodrome area the controller gives the pilot full information about the terminal weather. At many airports the information helpful for landing and take off is continuously broadcast on a navigational aid frequency. Prior to descent the pilot requests the actual weather and aerodrome conditions for the airport he is going to land.
It is considered that landing of an aircraft is probably the most difficult operation which a pilot has to perform and the standards of visibility required are higher than for any other phase of flight.
It is known that fog, rain and clouds often affect the aircraft operation. For many decades attempts were made to make flying independent of weather conditions or, in other words, to allow an aircraft to land under very low or zero visibility.
Now there exist several categories set up by ICAO:
Category I - 200 ft ceiling and 1/2 mile visibility;
Category II- 100 ft ceiling and I/4 mile visibility;
Category III - landing under zero-zero conditions.
Met. services for aviation require much work to collect data and prepare weather charts. This work is especially difficult for long-distance flights over vast areas with different climatic conditions.
Nowaday met. services for aviation are almost fully automated. Automated Surface Weather Systems are installed at the airports of many countries. The System provides for the measurements, processing and display of the following meteorological parameters: wind direction and speed, air temperature and dew point t°, runway visual range, minimum cloud height, barometric pressure.
The use of lazers makes it possible to give pilots all the necessary information when they land under low visibility conditions. The introduction of these systems has greatly increased the reliability and safety of flights.
Satellite meteorology has become an independent area of science. Weather forecasts based on information from outer space make forecasts more accurate and help to save a great sum of money annually.

At present the work of meteorologist becomes easier thanks to computers which make calculations quicker and due to them the weather forecast service is becoming more reliable. The use of satellites and computers greatly increases the accuracy of weather forecasts.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-21