'Seasons and weather'
There are four seasons in a year: spring, summer, autumn and winter. Spring is the time of hope and happiness. Nature is awakening of life again. Trees are bursting in leaf, flowers are breaking into blossom. Spring is a busy season for gardeners who have much to do in their orchards. Rainy and warm weather in spring is good. Summer is the hottest season of all. It is a time of holidays and vacation. People go to the seaside to lie in the sun, to swim in the sea and come back to their work and studies, healthy and full of vitality. In summer at times the heat is almost unbearable. But sometimes there are heavy thunder-storms in summer. Autumn is the time of harvest. In September the weather is fine. October and November are rainy. The sky is most overcast with low and heavy clouds. In October the days are growing rapidly shorter and the sun rays lose their warmth. In November almost all trees have cast off their leaves and stand there bare and lonely. A short spell of warm pleasant weather in autumn is called Indian Summer. Winter is the coldest season of all. In winter though the sun shines, its rays bring little warmth. Nights are long and days are short in winter. In winter the weather is nasty when the wind blows violently and the falling snow strikes the face. Winter is the time for skiing, skating, hockey-playing. On a fine winter day snow is falling in large flakes, covering the ground. The streets and parks are all in white. It's very nice to be in the open air. Yet nobody is sorry when winter is over.
After reading
Explain the words and phrases in bold as in the example.
Spring – a) the season of the year, occurring between winter and summer, during which the weather becomes warmer and plants revive. b) a time of growth and renewal.
Language development
Match the words and pictures.
sunny 2) windy 3) cloudy 4) rainy 5) snowing
Look at today’s international weather chart. Ask and answer questions, as in the example:
e.g.: A: What’s the weather like today?
B: It’s warm but cloudy.
A: What’s the temperature today?
B: It’s 9C.
Vocabulary game
Work in pairs. Choose the words from the list to make sentences. The person with the most points is the winner.
Season, weather, winter, spring, summer, autumn, awake, fill, rainy, cloudy, windy, snowy, sunny, foggy, freezing, wet, cool, nice, fine, cold, warm, hot, temperature, degree, rainbow, storm, lightning, thunder, fog, clear, icy, harvest time, sleet, fruit, ground, wonderful, hope, burst, blossom, orchard, seaside, lie, swim, healthy, overcast, low, heavy, night, day, nasty, strike, skiing, skating, flakes, to be sorry, to be over, the sun, the sky
Use the sentences to describe the weather at the moment.