Seasons and weather!

Ukraine has a moderate-continental climate, England has a rather damp climate, and the USA has an equable continental climate.

The weather changes with the changing of the season. Consider autumn for example. In autumn the sky is often cloudy, the sun hides behind the clouds. Its rays have already lost their strength. The air is moist. Days get shorter and the nights longer.

As autumn is a rainy season, the weather is mostly dull. But there is a spell of sunny weather in late September, which we call Indian summer, when the sun shines brightly, the sky is cloudless and there is a carpet of multicoloured leaves on the ground. It is golden autumn. But in any case nature begins to fade away.

Later the frost will cover ground at night and remind us about winter coming. Strange as it may seem, I prefer autumn to any other season. It is the time of harvest, tasty fruit and vegetables, the time of beautiful golden leaves.

But many men – many minds. Some people are fond of winter. They consider winter to be the healthiest season. We can go in for winter kinds of sports: skating, skiing, and tobogganing. In winter the sun shines rarely, its rays are pale, it sets early and rises late. The air is frosty, snowflakes slowly fall to the ground, the rivers are frozen and covered with thick sheet of ice. The icicles glitter in the sun. Children enjoy being out-of-doors. They like to make a snowman and throw snowballs. Their cheeks are burning with frost.

By the end of the winter the temperature rises and the snow begins to melt. Thaw sets in. The sun grows warmer and soon tiny green leaves will appear. Thin new blades of grass come out, the fruit trees begin to blossom. “April showers bring May flowers” as the proverb says. Everything looks magic covered with green carpet. We are all welcomed by spring. Nature looks full of promise. Spring is the season of hopes.

After spring the summer comes. People usually like summer, because they have their holidays. It’s a good time for going to the seaside or a river beach, to bask in the sun, to become sunburnt, to swim, to pick berries and mushrooms, to gather flowers. We try to spend much time out-of-doors.

But the weather is changeable in summer. Sometimes the heat is oppressive. It is the time of showers, rains and thunderstorms. The days become longer and the nights shorter. Summer is fine, but I don’t like the heat, the mosquitoes and flies.

To cut the long story short, I must confess that every season is beautiful and attractive in its own way.

Questions to answer:

1. What can you say about climate in Ukraine, England and the USA?

2. How does the weather change?

3. What are the attractions of each season?

4. Complete each sentence by choosing the best alternative. Look up any words you are not sure about. 1. They saw ……. of snow falling slowly to the ground. a. blocks b. piles c. flakes d. floods 2. We drove very slowly because the ……. was so thick. a. sunshine b. lightning c. fog d. avalanche 3. The heavy rain caused ………. all over the country. a. drought b. flooding c. tides d. fountains 4. The tree fell to the ground after lightning ………. it. a. soaked b. beat c. struck d. burst 5. Those ………. in the sky say it’s going to rain. a. frosts b. flakes c. mists d. clouds 6. That ………. should dry my washing. a. gust b. puff c. blizzard d. breeze 7. The top of the mountains was ………. in mist. a. covered b. condensed c. vaporized d. drenched 8. The hurricane ………. several buildings on the island. a. exhausted b. destroyed c. blew up d. condensed

5. Match the English weather words with their Russian equivalents. 1) dew a) мороз 2) forecast b)легкий ветерок 3) blizzard c) наводнение 4) thunderstorm d) роса 5) hurricane e) засуха 6) earthquake f) молния 7) humidity g) ливень 8) breeze h) дымка 9) rainbow i) гроза 10) frost j)прогноз погоды 11) shower k) влажность 12) flood l) метель 13) lightning m) ураган 14) mist n) землетрясение 15) drought o) радуга

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16