Unit 4 climate and weather Active vocabulary

an averaged weather value – усреднённое значение погоды average – средний the amount of sunshine – количество солнечного света the direction of the winds – направление ветра rainfall – осадки в виде дождя subpolar – субполярный subarctic – субарктический wet continental – влажный континентальный subtropical – субтропический semiarid – семиаридный (степной) arid – аридный (засушливый) wet tropical – влажный тропический the climate of the uplands – климат возвышенной местности the climate of the ice sheets – климат ледниковых покровов atmospheric pressure – атмосферное давление humidity – влажность frosty – морозный be frozen over – покрываться льдом; замерзать put forth – пускать (побеги); давать (ростки) buds – почки; бутоны bloom – цвести; цветение; цвет makes everything look fresh – все делает свежим

Read and translate the text:

Climate and Weather

Climate is an averaged weather value for a long period of time (a number of decades): the average summer and winter temperature, the amount of sunshine, the direction of the winds, the average rainfall, and so on.

Climates may be subpolar (it appears in tundra zone, with extremely cold winters), subarctic (the climate of taiga), wet continental, subtropical (hot summer and mild winter), semiarid (mainly the steppe zone), arid (the climate of deserts), wet tropical, the climate of the uplands (variable climatic conditions) and the climate of the ice sheets (the Greenland and the Antarctic).

Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a certain time or over a certain short period of time. Weather is connected with atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity. Weather can be good, bad, fine, excellent, beautiful, rainy, snowy, stormy, dry, hot, cold, warm, cool, pleasant.

There are four seasons in a year; each of them lasts about 3 months. In winter the air is frosty, and it often snows. The rivers and lakes are frozen over. Children are mostly fond of skating, skiing, playing hockey and snowballs. When spring comes, the trees put forth little buds and new leaves. The grass grows green again, the flowers begin to bloom. In summer the days are sunny and bright. Summer rain makes everything look fresh. Autumn comes after summer. The lakes and grass grow brown and yellow. There are a lot of mushrooms in the woods and fruit in the gardens. But autumn is a rainy season, and the weather is mostly bad.

The highest temperature was recorded in Libya (+57,8° С) in September 1922; the lowest temperature –89,2° С – in Antarctica aboard the soviet station “Vostok” in July 1983.

Find equivalents to the following:

The following text will let you know some interesting facts about the weather in Britain: