B) Describe the weather in your own country, its specific part or your own region. Use topical vocabulary (point 3).

1. a) Read the text about life in the Nordic countries and find:

Ø another word for ‘Nordic’, used to refer to countries such as Norway;

Ø manufactured items produced in those countries;

Ø items of clothing important for a cold country;

Ø examples of winter sports

The region north of the Arctic Circle is known as ‘The land of the midnight sun’ because the sun never sinks below the horizon during the summer time. This means that in the winter the sun never rises above the horizon and there is very little sunlight.

Try to imagine living in a country where sometimes there are only a few hours of daylight for the winter months of the year. People wake up in the dark, go to work in the dark and return home at night in the dark. Normal temperatures are often around 0⁰ C, although they can drop much lower and outdoors everyone wears furs, hats, boots, gloves and scarves to keep warm. Ordinary trees and houses, mountains and parks are suddenly transformed by the brilliance and sparkle of snow and ice, which make the long dark nights seem lighter.

Scandinavia is famous for its glassware, candles and light wooden furniture. In winter you quickly understand why. Candles burn in houses and in the windows of hotels, shops and restaurants. Shop windows glitter with displays of crystal vases, glass tableware and sculptures as well as brightly colored wooden toys and jewelry made of local gemstones. All of those things bring color and light to winter days.

Of course, with ice and snow come the winter sports. Skis come in many shapes and sizes as Scandinavian children usually learn to ski at a very early age. Although downhill skiing in the mountains is popular, cross-country skiing is also common and can be practiced in the flatter parts of the region. Snowboarding, which is rather like surfing, is also common on the ski slopes, particularly among the younger skiers. Ice sports are popular, too. Not only can you go ice skating on many of the thousands of frozen lakes but fishing through a hole in the ice is also popular.

B) Say as many words as possible about your reaction to life in a cold climate. Include what you found strange or surprising, what the advantages and disadvantages might be and whether or not you would like to live in a cold place.

1. a) There are a lot of sayings and expressions with weather in English. Here are ten well-known ones for you to match with their meanings.

Sayings and expressions	Meanings
1. Make hay while the sun shines	a. extremely happy
2. Come rain or shine	b. disappeared without trace
3. Every cloud has a silver lining	c. in dreamland and completely unrealistic
4. It never rains but it pours	d. even a difficult situation may have some good aspects
5. A storm in a teacup	e. to take advantage of an opportunity
6. It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good	f. a big fuss made over unimportant matter
7. On cloud nine	g. to save something so that you can use it if bad times come
8. Gone with the wind	h. in any event, whatever happens
9. Saving for a rainy day	i. someone usually profits from every misfortune
10. Head in the clouds	j. troubles don’t come along and one problem will bring others

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