The worst thing about the climate in England is the thick fog, especially in autumn and in winter. In London the fog is sometimes so thick that cars run into one another.

Climate and weather in England.

The English people say: “There is no climate in England, there’s only weather.”

It is never too hot or too cold in England. This is because of the sea which keeps the island warm in winter and makes the air cool in summer. It is never as cold in winter as on the continent, the rivers and lakes are seldom covered with ice.

The worst thing about the climate in England is the thick fog, especially in autumn and in winter. In London the fog is sometimes so thick that cars run into one another.

The climate influences British architecture very much. British houses have large windows to have more light during winter (windows usually are larger than doors).

But they don’t have double windows as we have here. Few houses have central heating, they have fireplaces instead. British rooms are kept much cooler than is the custom in Central Europe.

British people talk about the weather in England more than anywhere else in the world. That’s because the weather there changes very quickly. It may be warm in the morning and cool in the evening; it may rain in the morning, then you will have a bit of sunshine, and again it rains.

When two Englishmen meet they often begin their talk with

“Fine day, isn’t it?... ”, “Wonderful morning, isn’t it? …”, or “The rain… I hate rain…”, “Nasty day, isn’t it?”, “Isn’t it cold? …”

If two people are introduced to each other they often start talking about the weather if they don’t need to speak on anything else, more serious.

This is how the English writer Jerome K. Jerome, whose book Three Men in a Boat you probably read, makes fun of the Englishmen’s universal “interest” in the weather:

“I wanted to write about something absolutely new, something that nobody else had ever written or talked about before. I spent many days trying to think of something of this kind and I couldn’t.

When I asked for advice, they all advised me to write about the weather. And since that time I was able to think of nothing else but the weather.

It certainly is a very, very, very bad weather. It is so now, at the time when I am writing, and if it isn’t unpleasant when you read this, it soon will be.

It always is wretched weather, according to us in summer we say it’s too hot, in winter that it’s too cold, in spring and autumn it is bad because it is neither hot nor cold. If it is fine, we say the country is ruined because it doesn’t rain; if it rains, we wish for fine weather. If December passes without snow we want to know what has become of our good old winters; and when it snows we are again not happy. We shall never be happy until each man makes his own weather, and keeps it to himself.”

Please, answer the following questions:

1. Why is it never too cold or hot in England? 2. Which is the worst thing about the climate in England? 3. How does the climate in Britain influence its architecture? 4. Why do English people talk about the weather very often? 5. How do weather and climate influence the English architecture? 6. What is the tradition to keep the houses warm in England? 7. What is the favorite subject for a small talk in England? 8. What are some of the ways to start the conversation with a partner in England? 9. What is the most typical thing about the weather in England? 10. Have you read the book “Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome? 11. What advice can you give for a traveler to England? 12. What is ironic about the weather and the English?

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14