Unit 5. Nature. Weather and seasons

Vocabulary

Weather and Seasons

The sun is shining. – Сонце світить.

The wind is blowing. – Вітер дме.

It is snowing. – Падає сніг.

It is raining. – Йде дощ.

cold — холодно

warm — тепло

hot — спекотно

cool — прохолодно

chilly — прохолодно, свежо

gloomy/ dull — похмуро

frosty — морозно

foggy — туманно

It is rainy— дощовий (дощова погода)

snowy — сніжний, сніговий (сніжна погода)

windy — вітряно

sunny — сонячно

cloudy – хмарно

cloudless – безхмарно

moist/ damp – волого

dry – сухо

slippery – слизько

a rainbow – райдуга

a rainfall – опади у вигляді дощу

flood – повінь

shower – злива

to drizzle – накрапати, мрячити

thunderstorm – грім

a flash of lightning (it lightens) – спалах блискавки

a snowfall – опади у вигляді снігу, снігопад

(hard) frost – сильний мороз

bitter cold – сильний холод

ice – лід

icicle – бурулька

a snowflake – сніжинка

snow showers – снігопад

thaw (sets in) – відлига (починається)

to freeze – замерзати, мерзнути

to melt – танути

hurricane – ураган

breeze/ gentle wind – бриз / легкий вітерець

gale/ strong wind – буря, шторм/ сильний вітер

storm – шторм

drought – засуха

heat – спека

humidity /moisture – вологість

Additional Words and Expressions

Indian summer – бабине літо

The weather is improving – Погода поліпшується.

It is raining cats and dogs – Ллє як з відра.

The temperature rises (goes up) – Температура піднімається.

The temperature falls (goes down) – Температура знижується

The temperature is about 5 degrees below (above) zero – Температура приблизно 5 градусів нижче (вище) нуля.

We are in a spell of fine weather.– У нас період гарної погоди.

What nasty weather! – Яка жахлива (бридка) погода!

Quite different from the forecast. – Зовсім не те, що в прогнозі погоди.

Fairly hot for the time of year. – Дещо спекотно як на цю пору року.

Rather cold (cool) for the time of year. - Досить холодно (прохолодно) як на цю

пору року.

Nice and bright this morning! – Гарний сонячний ранок!

Windy and cold (cloudy) this afternoon. – Вітряний і холодний (хмарний) день.

Much better (worse) than yesterday. – Набагато краще (гірше), ніж вчора

It's cold today, isn't it. – Сьогодні холодно, чи не так?

What a fine weather today! – Яка гарна сьогодні погода!

What a wonderful morning! – Який чудовий ранок!

What a nice day! – Який гарний день!

Exercise 1. Read and translate the text.

Seasons and Weather

The year is divided into four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter.

In spring nature awakens from her long winter sleep: the rays of the sun warm the earth and the weather gets gradually milder. The birds come back from the warm lands and tiny green leaves appear on the trees. Thin new blades of grass come up and fruit trees begin to blossom. "April showers bring May flowers" as the proverb goes. The fields and meadows look magic. The woods and forests are filled with the songs of the birds. The sky is blue and cloudless. At night, millions of stars shine in the darkness.

When summer comes the weather gets warmer still, the sun shines brightly and sometimes it's very hot. Summer is the most suitable season for holidays. It's a good time for going to the seaside – to bathe in the sun, to swim and to enjoy the bright sunshine. In summer the days become longer and the nights shorter as the sun rises early and sets late in the evening.

June, July and August are probably the most beautiful months of the year although sometimes the sky is overcast with heavy clouds and there are storms with thunder, lightning and hail. It's the farmer's busy season – he works in his fields from morning till night. The grass must be cut and the hay must be made while the dry weather lasts.

Autumn brings with it the harvest-time, when the crops are gathered and the air is filled with the fragrance of ripe fruit. The days get shorter and the nights longer. The woods turn yellow and brown, leaves begin to fall from the trees and the ground is covered with them. In autumn the sky is often cloudy and the sun is not as bright as it was in summer: its rays have already lost their strength.

The air is moist. Days get shorter and the nights longer. Autumn is a rainy season and, therefore, the weather is mostly dull. But there is a spell of sunny weather in late September, which is called Indian summer, when the sun shines brightly_; the sky is rather cloudless and there is a carpet of multicolored leaves on the ground.

Winter is the coldest season. The air is frosty, large snowflakes fall to the ground covering the trees and the roofs of the houses with a white blanket. The rivers, streams, ponds and lakes are covered with a thick layer of ice, they are frozen. Quite often it's difficult to walk because the streets are slippery – going out in such weather is not pleasant. But children enjoy being out-of-doors because they like to make snowmen, to go tobogganing, skating or skiing and to throw snowballs.

The unpleasant time comes when the thaw begins – the temperature rises and the snow begins to melt. As the cars and buses go along the streets, they splash mud and water on the passers-by. By the end of the February the sun grows warmer and soon there won't be any ice but plenty of water. Winter will yield to spring.

Exercise 2. Answer the questions to the text.

1. How many seasons are there in a year? 2. Why do they say that nature awakens from her long winter sleep in spring? 3. How would you explain the meaning of the proverb "April showers bring May flowers"? 4. Which season is the most suitable for holidays? 5. Why do the days become longer and the nights shorter in summer? 6. What is the most typical summer weather? 7. What is the weather like in June? 8. What is the weather like in July? 9. Are there storms with thunder and lightning in summer? 10. Which season is called "farmer's busy season"? 11. What is the weather like in autumn? 12. Is autumn a rainy season? 13. Does it drizzle in autumn? 14. Does the sun shine brightly in autumn? 15. What do they understand by "Indian summer"? 16. Which season is considered to be the coldest one? 17. What is the weather like in winter? 18. Why do children enjoy being out-of-doors in winter? 19. What is your favourite season?