Lesson 15

Meet the Parkers

A warm sunny day in the country where Mr. and Mrs. Harry Parker, with their elder son Robert have come for a picnic lunch.

Nora: Do you think it’s too damp to sit on the grass?

Harry: Oh, no. I should think it’s dry enough for that, after yesterday’s sunshine. Well, is it warm enough for you? Who said the English climate is changeable? It hasn’t rained for at least 48 hours.

N: Don’t speak too soon. There is a nasty-looking cloud just coming up behind you.

H: Oh, that cloud isn’t big enough to do any harm.

Robert: What have we got to eat, Mum?

N: Don’t worry, Robert. I’ve got enough food here for a dozen people.

H: Don’t be too quick about spreading that table cloth, Nora. I felt a spot of rain.

N: Oh, dear. What did I tell you? It’s coming on to pour.

R: We’d better run for it.

N: Where to? There’s no shelter in sight.

R: What about that pub we came past?

N: It’s much too far away. Look, there is a barn over there; we’d better run for that.

H: I don’t think it will last long.

N: Long enough to soak us to the skin if we don’t hurry.

R: The English climate isn’t at all changeable, is it, Dad?

Seasons and Weather

March, April and May are spring months. Spring has come, and everything is awakening from its winter sleep. The fields and meadows are dressed in green. There are buds on the trees and the wild flowers once more begin to peep forth. The white snowdrop is one of the first flowers of spring. How lovely it is! Then forget-me-nots, lilies of the valley, violets, daffodils, dandelions, tulips, primroses, lilac and bird-cherry make their appearance. Birds sing their merry songs among the trees and begin to get their nests ready for summer. The gardeners dig the ground and sow seeds in the gardens. The days are warmer, for the bright sunshine has come again. Everything is full of life and joy. Soon the soft spring showers will fall, water the earth and make the seeds grow.

In June summer sets in. June, July and August are summer months. June is one of the most pleasant months of the year. The days are the longest then as the sun rises early and sets late in the evening. The trees are in leaf, roses, peonies begin to blossom and their sweet perfume fills the air. July is the warmest month of the year. Summer is in full beauty. The sky is blue and cloudless. The sun is hot and bright. Sometimes dark clouds gather in the sky. How fast they move along! See, they have hidden the sun. There is no blue sky at all; it’s all black with clouds. It is dark like night. It will rain soon. Now it begins to rain. After the rain the air is remarkably fresh, the flowers smell sweet and the birds sing again.

In September summer yields to autumn. The days become shorter and the nights longer. Apples, pears, plums and nuts, melons and watermelons are now ripe and may be picked. The grain crops have ripened and harvest time begins. Most birds go away to warm countries. The green leaves are fading. They begin to fall off. Some have fallen from the trees and are lying dead on the ground. The leaves are no longer green; they are yellow, red and brown. People go to the forests to pick nuts or to gather mushrooms. It often rains. The rain doesn’t stop, it is drizzling. The weather is nasty, a piercing wind is blowing. It is more pleasant to stay indoors. It is bitterly cold at times. It is muddy; there are many pools of rainwater in the streets. Sometimes it is foggy, and the fog is very thick.

Winter has come at last. There are no flowers in the gardens and the leaves have gone from the trees. The snow lies thick on the ground, and the birds hop about looking in vain for food. Snowflakes are falling thick and fast. Snow lies on the ground, on the bare branches of the trees, on the roofs of the houses. All the rivers and lakes are frozen; everything around looks so beautiful covered with ice and snow. Children play snowballs throwing them at one another.