Lines Written by a Bear of Very little Brain

On Monday, when the sun is hot,

I wonder to myself a lot:

'Now is it time or is it not,

That what is which and which is what?'

On Tuesday, when it hails and snows,

The feeling on me grows and grows

That hardly anybody knows

If those are these or these are those.

On Wednesday, when the sky is blue

And I have nothing else to do,

I sometimes wonder if it's true

That who is what and what is who.

On Thursday, when it starts to freeze

And hoarfrost twinkles on the trees,

How very readily one sees

That these are those — but whose are these?

On Friday —

II. Finish the poem above that was not completed by Winnie-the-Pooh.

Exercise 30

Fill in the gaps in the sentences below-with one of the following idioms: to catch the wind with a net, not to have the foggiest idea, to chase rainbows, a bit of blue sky, to be snowed under, to be on cloud nine, a storm in a tea cup, thunderous applause, to save for a rainy day, under the weather, to snowball, out of season.

1. When the audience like a pertomance, they show it with...

2. When you feel that you'll never finish your work, you're...

3. When you are completely in the dark about something, you...

4. When a project gets bigger and bigger, it...

5. When you are ecstatically happy, you are...

6. When you feel unwell, you say that you are...

7. When you pursue illusory goals or hopes, you...

8. When you get yourself busy with a useless thing, you...

9. When you lay up money for the future, you...

10. When something is absolutely out of place, it is...

11. When somebody gets some hope at last, he or she gets...

12. When there is a lot of fuss about a small mishap, it is...

Exercise 31

Translate the following proverbs and sayings or give their Russian equiva­lents. Explain their meaning and use them in 3-sentence situations of your own.

1. Every cloud has a silver lining.

2. It never rains but it pour's.

3. Rain before seven, fine before eleven.

4. One swallow does not make a summer.

5. Make hay while the sun shines.

6. Sow the wind and reap the whirl-wind.

7. Everything is good in its season.

8. It is an ill wind that blows nobody any good.

Exercise 32

Translate the quotations and comment upon them.

'There is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.'

John Ruskin

'When two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather.'

Samuel Johnson

'Life, believe, is not a dream,

So dark as sages say;

Oft a little morning rain

Foretells a pleasant day!'

Charlotte Bronte

Exercise 33

0Role Play "Office Gossip after the Summer Vacation".

Setting: The offices of the famous international corporation "Rich People Banks".

Situation: The first working day after a summer vacation. Lunch time. The people speak about their tours to different places during their leaves. They mainly speak about the weather which they were lucky or unlucky to have.

Characters:

Card I- Mr Merryweather, the boss's assistant. He stayed with his wife in a hotel on the Canary Islands for three weeks. The weather was very nice.

Caid II - Cleopatra, the secretary of the boss. She went hiking to the Pennine Mountains in Great Brit­ain. The weather was changeable.

Card III—IV — Nina and Tina, two typists. They went to­gether to a youth camp in France. The weather was warm and sunny.

Card V—VI — Ted and Ned, two computer programmers. They went fishing to the lakes of Norway. The

weather was rainy.

Card VII — Mrs Ames, a clerk. She went to the US to visit her relatives in California. It was very hot.

Card VIII — Mrs James, a clerk. She went to Canada with her husband to some sports events. The weather was cool, but they liked it.

Card IX — Mr Flames, an accountant. He was unlucky not to have had a leave, but to have gone on business to Alaska. It was rather cold there.

Card X — Mr. Blames, a business manager. He went travelling to China. It was hot but rainy.

WRITING

Exercise 1

Prepare to write a dictation. Learn the spelling of the italisized words and phrases from Introductory Reading and exercise 1 on page 274.

Exercise 2

Study the weather in your region for a whole week. Write down your obser­vations. Use the following models.

A.

Monday: Occasional drizzle, bright spells, cold.

Tuesday: Scattered showers, hail and snow over high ground.

Wednesday: Snow showers heavy in the North, sunny pe­ riods, cold.

Thursday: Cloudy with showers of sleet or snow, rather cold.

Friday: Some rain in the South at first, early fog, frost patches.

Saturday: Mainly dry, some bright intervals, milder.

Sunday: Rain at times, temperatures near normal.

B.

Monday: Fog early, followed by dry sunny day.

Tuesday: Rather cloudy with some rain, bright periods.

Wednesday: Changeable with rain at times, near normal temperatures.

Thursday: Rain in places, mainly dry later.

Friday: Showers at first, sunny spells, little change.

Saturday: Rain chiefly in the North and West, sunny in­ tervals.

Sunday: Normal temperatures, max. 20 °C, sunshine.

Exercise 3

Write an essay on one of the following topics.

1. A Lot of People Like Winter (Summer) but I Hate It.

2. How the Weather Can Help People in Difficult Situations.

3. Once I Was Caught in a Rainstorm/Snowstorm.

4. How the Weather Affects Me.

5. I Don't Believe Weather Forecasts; I Believe Weather Lore.

Exercise 4

Write a summary of the following text.

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