1. Say which of the statements are true. Correct the false ones.

1. Nowadays there is a wide range of shops catering for different needs.

2. Supermarkets are usually situated in slums.

3. Queuing is one of the main disadvantages of modern supermarkets.

4. Markets are still very popular with the customers.

5. A shopping mall unites numerous separate supermarkets under one roof.

6. Department stores sell all kinds of foodstuffs and clothes under one roof.

7. Specialized shops give people a good chance to save time going shopping.

2. Put one of the following words in the correct space in the passage below.

pay	push	find	spend	take
buy	sell	need	complain	look for

I love shopping! My friends say I like to_____money. It is probably true. There is a good supermarket near me. They have everything you_____for your house. If you need a tube of toothpaste, a bottle of beer or a jar of jam, you can_____it at the supermarket. They_____everything. If you buy a lot of things, you can take a trolley and_____it in front of you. If you don’t need much, you can use a small basket. Then_____the things you want. If you can't_____them on the shelves, ask an assistant for help. When you see what you want, you just_____it from the shelves. When you have everything you want you go to the check-out to_____. If there is anything wrong with the service, customers can_____to the manager. Our supermarket is really super!

3. Make an outline of the text consisting of 5-8 sentences and retell the text according to it.

VI. Seasons and weather

Focus Vocabulary

nature – природа to burst into leaf – зазеленеть earth – земля ray – луч mild – умеренный, тихий meadow – луг, низина cloudless – безоблачный to scorch – обжигать oppressed – подавленный stack – стог hay – сено overcast – затянутый облаками storm – гроза, буря thunder – гром

hail – град glittering – блестящий crop – урожай orchard – фруктовый сад branch – ветка ash – пепел, зола to glimmer – мерцать gloomy – темный, мрачный dreary – тоскливый, печальный to sparkle – искриться snowy – снежный severe – суровый blizzard – пурга wind – ветер

Seasons

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

Spring is the season of hope and happiness. In spring nature awakens from her long winter sleep. The trees are bursting into leaf, the earth is warmed by the rays of the sun and the weather gets gradually milder. The fields and the meadows are covered with fresh green grass. 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.

Summer is the hottest season of the year. The bright sunshine scorches the earth. Not a single cloud is in the sky. It is pleasant to get out of town where no one is so oppressed with the heat and wander around woods, hills and valleys. The fields are green and shorn – here and there big stacks of hay are seen. Though the weather is mainly hot in summer, sometimes the sky can be overcast with heavy clouds and there are storms with thunder and even hail.

But on moves the earth in its race round the sun. The days are becoming shorter, the sun rays are loosing their glittering force and autumn, one of the most picturesque seasons, is approaching. Autumn brings with it the harvest-time, when the crops are gathered in and fruit is picked in the orchards. The days get shorter and the nights longer. The trees turn yellow and red, leaves begin to fall from the trees, and the ground is beautifully covered with them. The sky is grey almost all the time and very often in rains. After autumn comes winter.

Winter is the season of black and white. The coloures are washed away from the trees leaving naked branches black while snow is covering the earth. The snow covers the fences and hedges so that they no longer mark the road over the plain. The clouds are gray like ashes. The red sun flashes through the gray clouds on the windows and they glimmer red. But the pictures of winter are not always gloomy and dreary. The sun in winter can shine from a clear blue sky and the snow sparkles then under it like a jewels.

Winter is not the same everywhere of course. In Serbia for instance and North Canada winter is usually snowy, severe, cold and long lasting. The temperature can fall as low as 50 degrees Centigrade. Blizzards rage for days covering vast areas with a thick layer of snow. On the shores of the Black Sea, on the contrary, winter only means rains and winds. It never snows there.

It can hardly be denied that each season of the year possesses its own charm and has its own beauty and significance to man.