I. Learn the proverbs.

One swallow does not make a summer. – Одна ласточка весны не делает.

Every cloud has a silver lining. – Нет худа без добра.

As you sow, you shall mow. – Что посеешь, то и пожнешь.

It never rains but it pours. – Дождь не просто идет, а ливнем льет. Пришла беда – отворяй ворота.

Rain before seven, fine before eleven. – После дождичка будет солнышко. Серенькое утро – красненький денек.

II. Remember three forms of the following verbs.

blow – blew – blown fall – fell – fallen awake – awoke – awaken get – got – got break – broke – broken dig – dug – dug (копать) light – lit – lit (осветить)

burst – burst –burst (взорваться) shoot (out) shot – shot (прорасти) sow – sowed –sowed/sown (сеять) burn – burnt – burnt (гореть) cling – clung – clung (цепляться, льнуть) stick – stuck – stuck (приклеить, уколоть) sting – stung – stung (ужалить)

shine – shone – shone grow – grew – grown begin – began – begun lie –lay – lain (лежать) set – set –set fly – flew – flown freeze – froze – frozen

III. New words.

Weather – погода. – The naughtiest thing in the world is the weather. It's like a woman who always does the opposite to what you ask her. The weather can be hot, warm, cool or cold. What fine / nice / awful weather! The weather keeps nice (стоит хорошая погода). Will the weather keep? I think the weather is favourable (благоприятна) for a picnic. What do you think of the weather? – The weather is turning bad (портится). Nice weather we are having today! What is the weather like today? – Oh, the weather is beastly (мерзкая) / nasty (ненастная) / stuffy (душная).

Climate – климат. The climate in the Urals is continental. There is the arctic and subarctic climate in the Far North. But in Sochi the climate is subtropical. English people say they have no climate but the weather only. But we can say their climate is mild (мягкий).

Cardinal points – north, west, east, south. East or west home is best. The window of my room faces west. We must go to the north. The weather in the south of our country is always warm. My sister lives in the Far East, in Vladivostok. North – northern, west – western, south – southern, east – eastern. North – west, north – east, south – east, south –west.

Seasons – spring, summer, autumn, winter. There are four seasons in a year – spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Spring months are March, April and May. Summer months are June, July and August. Autumn months are September, October and November. Winter months are December, January and February.

Parts of the day – morning, noon, afternoon, evening, night, midnight. In the morning, at noon, in the afternoon, in the evening, at night, at midnight. We sat up reading for our exams till the early hours in the morning (до первых петухов). Oh, listen, it's already midnight, the clock is striking twelve.

Sun – sunny. The sun goes up / rises in the east and goes down / sets in the west. When the sun rises it is a sunrise / a dawn / a daybreak. When the sun goes down it is a sunset / sundown. At daybreak / at dawn. Don't wake her up at daybreak, she is sleeping so sweetly at dawn. We left the house before dawn/daybreak (затемно). It's getting dark when the sun is setting. It's twilight. When it is almost dark it is dusk. We are happy in summer, we can lie in the sun (загорать). We get suntanned (получаем загар) and sometimes we get sunstroke (солнечный удар). The sparrows bathe in the sunlight (купаться в солнечных лучах). The sun is shining brightly in the sky. A lovely glade (поляна) is sunlit (освещена солнцем) and we decide to make a picnic there. The sun shines dimly (тускло) hardly penetrating through the clouds (едва проникая сквозь облака). Specks of dust danced in the sunbeams (Пылинки танцевали в лучах солнца). The sun burns merciless/ruthless (жжет немилосердно). Sunbeam = sunray.

Moon – The huge moon hung over the village. Our moonlit garden looked mysterious (таинственно). Is the moon waning (убывает)? – No, it's waxing [wæks] / increasing / growing.

Sky and clouds – The sky is bright blue and clear. The sky is dull (хмурое) / grey / low / colourless = whitish (белесое). The sky is heavily cast with clouds (покрыто тучами). The sky is overcast. The day was wonderful, there was bright sun in the mackerel sky (небо с барашками облаков). Sometimes I hate summer because of clouds of dust (туч пыли) and swarms of mosquitoes (туч комаров). Light fleece (перистые) clouds sailed / drifted (плыли) in the sky.

Wind – windy. It's so windy today. A light wind is called a breeze. The curtain was slightly waving with the breath of the wind (дуновения ветра). A gust / blast (порыв) of wind raised a cloud of dust on the road. Hurricanes (ураганы) are very often in Kansas, the USA. The wind is falling down / dying down (стихает). Where is the wind from? - The wind is blowing from the west. There is no wind today, it's calm. We are having calm/still weather (безветрие) today. A sudden strong gust of wind is called a squall (шквал).

Rain – It often rains in autumn. It is raining. A light rain with small drops (каплями) is called a drizzle. When it rains for a long time it's called a steady rain (затяжной дождь). A short but strong rain is called a shower (ливень). A torrent (ливень, поток) is a very strong stormy rain usually with wind. Sometimes the drops of rain freeze in the air [εэ] (воздух) and they fall down in a form of hail (град). Hailstones (градины) are sometimes so large that can kill a man, break through a roof of a car and demolish the crop (уничтожить урожай). When you are caught (застигнуты) in rain you can get wet through (промокнуть до костей).

Thunderstorm – гроза. There are a lot of heavy, dark clouds before a thunderstorm. The air is oppressive (душный) and it is still (неподвижный). Then suddenly you are dazzled (ослеплен) with a flash of lightning (вспышкой молнии) and after that you can hear a distant roll / peal of thunder (раскат грома). Sometimes the claps of thunder (удары грома) can frighten (испугать) you. The thunderstorm is approaching (приближается) very quickly. Flashes of lightning follow one after another, the thunder seems to crash / to roar / to rumble (грохочет) just over your heads. At last the rain starts. But it's very dangerous to be caught in a thunderstorm in an open place. You can be struck with (поражен) a lightning. Don't hide (прятаться) under a lonely tree. Lightning often smites (ударяет, поражает) such trees. Soon it begins to clear up (проясняться). And you can see a rainbow (радугу) in the sky. Sometimes we can watch dry thunderstorms with lightning and thunder but without rain. I think they are very dangerous because of fires (пожаров).

Snow – snowy - снег. It snows in winter. It's still snowing. The snow is falling heavily. Does it often snow in March? The snow lies deep and thick. The ground, trees, roofs of the houses - everything is covered (покрыто) with snow. Large snowflakes (снежинки) are slowly falling down on the ground. High snowdrifts (сугробы) are on the sides of the road. There is hard / bitter frost (сильный мороз) sometimes. In 1977 on the 31^st of December the temperature fell down up to 47 degrees (градусов) below zero (ниже нуля). A lot of people had frost-bitten (отморозили) noses, cheeks and ears. When it's so cold you can get stiff / numb with cold (окоченеть). But when it is about zero thaws (оттепели) begin. There is slush (грязь со снегом) on the road. And you should go very carefully (осторожно) because it's very slippery (скользко). February is famous / well-known for its snowstorms (снежными бурями) and blizzards (вьюгами).

Ice – лед. Ice – icy. In winter icy (ледяные) winds blow. The water is icy-cold. The icicles (сосульки) hang from the roofs of the houses. The icicles glitter (сверкают) in the sun. In winter all rivers, ponds and lakes are frozen. They are covered with thick ice. But in spring the ice is broken and an ice-drifting (ледоход) begins. Ice-floes (льдины) float down the rivers.