A Rainy Day Episode

It had been raining hard the whole morning when I had to leave my house. I wanted to take an umbrella, but I saw that out of my five umbrellas there was not a single one which I could use. I decided to take all the five umbrellas and have them repaired*. When I was going out, my wife asked me to bring her umbrella back.

"From 8 to 9 I shall be taking a walk," she said, "and I shall need it." I went to a repair shop.

"I want to have my umbrellas repaired," I said. "I shall call for them on my way home." At one o'clock in the afternoon I felt hungry and went to a restaurant, I sat down at a table and ordered lunch. A few minutes later young woman with an umbrella in her hand, came in and sat down at the same table.

After lunch I got up, took the woman's umbrella, and was about to leave the restaurant. I must tell you I am a very absent-minded man. "This is my umbrella," cried the woman.

"Excuse me," I said returning the umbrella to her. "I am awfully sorry."

In the evening on my way home, I called for the umbrellas which were ready by that time, and went to the nearest underground station. There I got into a carriage, put five umbrellas by my side and began to read a newspaper. Suddenly I heard a voice:

"Oh, you have had a very successful day today, haven't you?" I looked up and was surprised to see the same young woman — my companion at lunch. She was looking at my umbrellas and smiling.

* to have them repaired — починить их

2.

A film crew was making a film in the desert.

One day an old Indian went up to the director and said, "Tomorrow, rain."

The next day it rained.

A week later, the Indian went up to the director and said, "Tomorrow, storm."

The next day there was a hailstorm.

"This Indian is incredible," said the director.

He told his secretary to hire the Indian to predict the weath­er. However, after several successful predictions, the old Indian didn't show up for two weeks. Finally the director sent for him.

"I have to shoot a big scene tomorrow," said the director, "and I'm depending on you. What will the weather be like?"

The Indian shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't know," he said. "Radio broke."

crew— команда (корабля); hail — град; hailstorm — гроза с выпадени­ем града; incredible — невероятный; hire — нанимать (на работу); predict — предсказывать; show up — показываться, ока­зываться; shoot — стрелять; зд. снимать (фильм); scene — сцена (в фильме, спек­такле); depend (on) — зависеть (от); shrug — пожимать (плечами); shoulder— плечо

3.

It was autumn, and the Indians on the remote reservation asked their new Chief if the winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was a new Indian Chief in *a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets, and when he looked at the sky, he couldn't tell what the weather was going to be.

Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he replied to his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect wood to be prepared.

But also being a practical leader, after several days he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, "Is the coming winter going to be cold?"

"It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold indeed," the meteorologist at the weather service responded.

So the Chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more wood in order to be prepared.

A week later he called the National Weather Service again.

"Is it going to be a very cold winter?"

"Yes," the man at the National Weather Service again re­plied, "it's going to be a very cold winter."

The Chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of wood they could find.

Two weeks later he called the National Weather Service again.

"Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?"

"Absolutely," the man replied. "It's going to be one of the coldest winters ever."

"How can you be so sure?" the Chief asked.

The weatherman replied, "The Indians are collecting wood like crazy!"

remote— отдаленный, удаленный; chief— зд. вождь; since — зд. так как; reservation— резервация; society — общество; nevertheless — тем не менее; to be on the safe side — чтобы обезопасить себя; reply— отвечать; tribe — племя; indeed — действительно; в действительности; village — деревня, поселок; collect — собирать; wood — дерево (материал), лес; practical — практический; прак­тичный; leader— лидер; idea — идея; booth — будка (телефонная); respond — отвечать; in order— с тем, чтобы; scrap — кусок, клочок; absolutely — абсолютно; crazy — сумасшедший, безум­ный

4.

Although he was a qualified meteorologist, Hopkins ran up a terrible record of forecasting for the TV news program. He became something of a local joke when a newspaper began keep­ing a record of his predictions and showed that he'd been wrong almost three hundred times in a single year.

That kind of notoriety was enough to get him fired. He moved to another part of the country and applied for a similar job. One blank on the job application called for the reason for leaving his previous position.

Hopkins wrote, "The climate didn't agree with me."

although — хотя; terrible — ужасный; record — зд. список, счет; forecast — прогнозировать (по­году); something of a local joke — что-то вроде местной шутки; keep a record — вести счет; notoriety — дурная слава; fire — зд. увольнять с работы; similar — подобный; blank — пустое место для запол­нения (в документе); call for — требовать; previous — предыдущий; climate — климат

XI. Выполните следующие задания.

1. Speak about the climate of your area.

2. Say what kind of weather you prefer and what your favourite season is. Explain why

3. Ask your friend where he likes to have his summer holidays and why.

4. Explain the English saying: "Other countries have a climate, in England we have weather."

5. Say if the weather forecast is reliable.

6. Say what the weather forecast for today was and make a forecast for tomorrow. Begin with: "I think it may..."

7. Write a letter to your friend or relative

a) from a rainy and dull place;

b) from a sunny and cheerful place.

8. Make up a weather forecast for the coming summer from the point of view of:

a) an optimist;

b) a pessimist.

XII. Переведите следующие предложения на английский язык.

1. — Какая сегодня погода? — Идет снег, но сегодня не так холодно, как вчера. 2. Прошлым летом было меньше солнечных дней, чем в это лето. 3. Чем сильнее мороз, тем лучше я себя чувствую. 4. В такую холодную погоду купаться нельзя, можно простудиться. 5. Ты можешь говорить погромче? Мне не слышно. 6. Погода в Санкт-Петербурге неустойчивая. Когда выходишь на улицу, может быть тепло и солнечно, но надо всегда брать с собой зонтик. Через несколько минут может пойти дождь, и станет холодно. 7. Иногда в апреле бывает тепло, как летом. 8. Погода в Анапе была ужасная. Целыми днями поливало, как из ведра. Мы не купались в море и не загорали. Мне кажется, это самый влажный город на Черном море. 9. Нам надо возвращаться, скоро пойдет дождь. 10. Вам следует надеть более теплую одежду. Никогда нельзя знать наверняка, к вечеру может подуть холодный ветер. 11. Где более влажный климат — в Британии или в Японии? 12. Если не знаете, с чего начать разговор, можете поговорить о погоде. Это всегда удобно. 13. Можете не брать зонт, я взяла свой. 14. Осень была любимым временем года Пушкина. Его можно понять, когда посетишь Михайловское осенью. Природа там прекраснейшая, особенно ранней осенью, пока листья еще не опали. 15. Мне здесь нравится, здесь всегда сухо и тепло, небо ясное, дождей может не быть все лето. Это лучшее время для проведения отпуска. 16. Вы не сможете устроиться в отеле, если не закажете комнаты. Вам следует сделать это заранее. 17. — Зонтик взять? — Не надо. Прогноз погоды говорит, что дождя не будет, но к вечеру погода может ухудшиться. 18. Отойди, пожалуйста, в сторону, мне ничего не видно. 19. Неужели это он? Этого не может быть!

XIII. Прочитайте рассказ:

British Climate and Weather

The climate in Great Britain is mild and temperate due to the influence of the Gulf Stream.

“Other countries have a climate; in England we have weather”. This statement is typical of the English and true. In no other country than England can one see four seasons in a single day. A cold morning can change to a fine afternoon and evening. And a nasty morning can change to a fine afternoon. At midday may be the temperature fall down by about fifteen degrees. And then, in the afternoon, the sky will clear, the sun will begin to shine and for an hour or two it will be summer. English weather is never the same two days running. That is why it is natural for the British to use the phrase “as changeable as the weather” of a person who often changes his mood or opinion about something.

The British 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.

The weather is the favourite conversational topic in England. They are always talking about the weather.

The best time of the year in Britain is spring and early summer. Nature awakens from its long winter sleep. The birds come back from the warm lands. The trees begin to bud and green leaves appear. The sun is warm. The weather is fine.

The two worst months in Britain are January and February. They are cold, damp and unpleasant. The best place in the world is to be at home by the big fire.

Summer months are rather cold and there can be a lot of rainy days. So most people plan to go abroad for the summer.

The most unpleasant aspect of British weather is fog and smog. This is extremely bad in big cities and especially in London.

The fog spreads everywhere, it is in the streets and it creeps into the houses. Cars move along slowly, but still street accidents are frequent in the fog. People cannot see each other. They creep along the houses touching them with their hands not to lose their way or not to be run over by a car.

XIV. Переведите и инсценируйте следующий диалог:

— Какая там на улице погода?

— Пока моросит.

— А что слышно по радио? Каков прогноз?

— Ты же не веришь метеорологам! Говоришь, что их предсказания всегда неверны.

— Именно поэтому я и спрашиваю. Если радио предска­зывает дождь, то будет солнечная теплая погода. Если метеорологи говорят о жаре, то пойдет дождь или снег.

— Сегодня к вечеру будет около двадцати пяти градусов тепла, солнце и никакого ветра. Завтра жара усилится, но дождя не будет.

—Все ясно. Сегодня начнется гроза, а завтра будет смерч и выпадет рекордное количество снега.

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