Describe your appearance and manners, using the new words of the lesson.

 

ТЕМА №3: SEASONS

Практические вопросы

1.Описание времен года.

2. Погода в Соединенном Королевстве.

Задания для отработки практических навыков

Read the following text

SEASONS

There are four seasons in a year: spring, summer, autumn and winter. Every season is beautiful in its own way.

When spring comes nature awakens from its long winter sleep. The days become longer and the nights become shorter. The ground is covered with emerald-green grass and the first flowers. The air is fresh, the sky is blue and cloudless, and the sun shines brightly. The trees are in full blossom. The nightingale begins to sing its lovely songs, and sweet melodies may be heard from every wood and park. The days are warm and everything is full of life and joy.

Spring is followed by summer. The weather is usually fine in summer, but it can be very hot, especially in July. Sometimes there are storms with thunder and lightning. In summer people try to get away from the city noise and spend more time in the open air. They pick mushrooms and berries in the forest, swim in the rivers and lakes, go fishing and boating. Most people prefer to have their holidays in summer.

Autumn begins in September. The days become shorter and the nights become longer. The leaves turn yellow, red and brown and fall to the ground. Most birds fly away to warm countries. There is a short spell of dry sunny weather in September which is called Indian Summer. It is beautiful times when the sky is cloudless, the trees around are golden, the air is transparent and it is still warm. But gradually it gets colder and colder. It often rains in October and November which makes autumn an unpleasant season.

In winter the sun sets early and rises late. The rivers and lakes are frozen over. Everything is covered with snow. Sometimes it is very cold, about 25-30 degrees below zero. Going out in such weather isn't very pleasant. Winter is a good time for sports. People go in for skating and skiing. Tobogganing is also popular, not as a kind of sports, but rather as fun.

As for me, I like all the seasons, but I think there is nothing like late spring.

2. Answer the questions:

1. How many seasons are there in a year?

2. When does nature awaken from her long winter sleep?

3. Why do we like spring so much?

4. Why do people try to spend more time in the open air in summer?

5. Is summer the best season for tourism?

6. Where did you go last summer?

7. Do you like Indian summer? Why?

8. Do you like late autumn?

9. Whatdo you usually do on a nasty rainy day?

10. What is the weather like in winter?

11. Do you go in for skating or skiing?

12. Were you fond of playing snowballs and making snowmen when you were a child?

13. Most people prefer summer to any other season of the year. What about you?

14. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each season?

3. Translate the following words into Russian and learn them by heart:

Accident, all the year round, aspect, autumn, awaken, awful, be cold, be covered with, be run over by a car, be warm, blow (blew, blown), catch (caught), catch cold, change, changeable, clear, climate, cloud, cloudy, comparison, creep (crept, crept), damp, dark, dull.

Read and translate the text

ENGLISH WEATHER

The weather in England is very changeable. A fine morning can change into a wet afternoon and evening. And a nasty morning can change to a fine afternoon. That is why it is natural for the English to use the comparison "as changeable as the weather" of aperson who often changes his mood or opinion about something. "Other countries have a climate; in England we have weather." This statement is often made by the English to describe the meteorological conditions of their country.

The English also say that they have three variants of weather: when it rains in the morning, when it rains in the afternoon or when it rains all day long.

The weather is the favourite conversational topic in England. When two Englishmen meet, their first words will be "How do you do?" or "How are you?" And after the reply "Very well, thank you; how are you?" the next remark is almost certain to be about the weather. When they go abroad the English often surprise people of other nationalities by this tendency to talk about the weather, a topic of conversation that other people do not find so interesting.

The best time of the year in England is spring (of course, it rains in spring too).

The two worst months in Britain are January and February. They are cold, damp and unpleasant. The best place in the world then is at home by the big fire.

Summer months are rather cold and there can be a lot of rainy days. So most people who look forward to summer holidays plan to go abroad for the summer to France or somewhere on the Continent.

The most unpleasant aspect of English weather is fog and smog. This is extremely bad in big cities and especially in London.

The fog spreads everywhere, it is in the streets and it creeps into the houses. Cars move along slowly, but still street accidents are frequent in the fog. People cannot see each other. They creep along the houses touching them with their hands not to lose their way or not to be run over by a car.

5. Answer the questions:

1. The weather in England is very changeable, isn't it?

2. What comparison do the English use when they want to describe a person whose mood and opinion changes very often?

3. What statement is often made by the English to describe the meteorological conditions of their country?

4. How often does it rain in England?

5. The weather is the favourite conversational topic in England, isn't it? Do you find this topic of conversation interesting?

6. What is the best time of the year in England?

7. When do the English prefer to stay at home by the big fire?

8. How do the English spend their short English summer?

9. What do you know about London fogs?

10. What kind of weather do you like best of all?

11. Where do you get the weather forecast from? Do you always believe it?

12. Which do you like better: when it's cold or hot?

13. What is the weather like today?

14. Do you know the weather forecast for tomorrow?

15. What is the weather like in Moscow in winter (summer, autumn, spring)?

Read the following text

WEATHER AND CLIMATE

Where can you go for a holiday? You have a lot of opportunities. Of course, most people would like to go to the south or to the seaside, but you must consider the weather and the season.

You may want to go to Siberia, for example. The nature is wonderful there. You will never see such a lot of sparkling white snow. You will enjoy frosty fresh air if you go skiing or bear-hunting, but you should remember that it's very cold there -in winter. The temperature may be about 50 degrees below zero.

Some people prefer to spend their holidays in warmer places. There is no warmer place than Africa. It's warm there all the year round. The sun shines every day, but in summer it's too hot and sometimes it's humid there. And you won't be able to go lion-hunting until the sun sets. But when it starts raining, it may rain the whole week. If you want to get sun burnt it's the best place. You can get as sun burnt as the natives.

Anyway choosing a place for your holiday you must consider the weather forecast.

 

Learn by heart

Nice day, isn't it?— Хороший день, не правда ли?

What is the weather like in England? — Какая погода в Англии?

It gets on my nerves. — Это действует мне на нервы.

Just in case. — На всякий случай.

You can never be too sure. — Никогда нельзя быть уверенным.

I suffer terribly from the cold. — Я ужасно страдаю от холода.

It is drizzling now. — Моросит мелкий дождь.

It's raining cats and dogs. — Идет проливной дождь.

What was the weather like yesterday? –– Какая погода была вчера?

I don’t like bad weather. –– Я не люблю плохую погоду.

We’ll be able to go skiing next weekend. –– В следующие выходные мы сможем пойти на лыжах.

Don’t forget to take your umbrella. –– Не забудь взять зонтик.

It becomes warmer in spring. –– Весной становится теплей.

The days become shorter in autumn. –– Осенью дни становятся короче.

How long does Winter last? –– Как долго длится зима?

8. Read the dialogues (work in pairs).

1. – Isn't the weather awful! It's raining cats and dogs. It's very wet. It was fine this morning, so I didn't bring my umbrella.

– Don't worry. You can have mine.

– Thank you very much. It's very kind of you.

2. – Nice day, isn't it? Fairly mild for this time of the year.

– Yes, it is.

– I like such weather. It's snowing, and it isn't very cold.

But I like colder weather I better. After all, winter must be winter.

3. – What is the weather like in England?

– The weather changes in our country more often than in other countries, that's why we say, "Other countries have a climate, in England we have weather."

– Are all the days alike in autumn?

– Oh, no, it may be raining one day and the next day it may be sunny.

– Do Englishmen always have to wear raincoats and carry umbrellas in autumn?

– As a rule, they do.

4. – Lovely day, isn't it?

– Hmm, it's quite nice now, but I'm sure it may rain soon, you know I've got my umbrella with me, just in case.

– Yes, well, it could turn out wet or fine really, our English weather's so very changeable.

– It may be warm and sunny. You can never be too sure.

– But it's getting cold already. I think it'll be cold and dull all day.

– Hmm, it's very cold. My feet are freezing. I suffer terribly from the cold.

– It may snow. The weather forecast said snow in high places.

– 'Hmm, I don't know. But I think it might be windy tonight. —Where's the bus? I'm frozen.

5. – What kind of weather do you like?

– I like all sorts of weather, when it's hot, warm or cold, frosty or cloudy, except windy weather. It-gets on my nerves.

– The English say: there's no bad weather, there are bad clothes.

6. – Hi, Jack. This is Jim. I'm calling from Miami.

– From Miami? What are you doing in Miami?

– I'm on vacation.

– How's the weather in Miami? Is it surely?

– No, it isn't. It's cloudy.

– Is it hot?

– No, it isn't. It's cold.

– Are you having a good time?

– No, I'm having a terrible time. The weather is terrible here.

– I'm sorry to hear that.

7. –The weather's fine today, isn't it?

– Yes, it is. The sun's shining and there are no clouds in the sky.

– It is warm outside, isn't it?

– I shouldn't think so. It's November now.

– Shall I put a coat on?

– As you like. You think you will catch cold, won't you?

– Certainly.

– All right, then.

9. Learn the following words by heart:

emerald-green — изумрудно-зеленый

extremely — чрезвычайно

fall (fell, fallen) падать

fire[faia] — камин

fog — туман

foggy — туманно

freeze — замерзать

frequent — частый

fresh — свежий

frost мороз

get cold-замерзнуть

get sunburnt — загореть

get wet throughпромокнуть насквозь

go abroad— поехать за границу

go boating — кататься на лодке

go fishing — заниматься рыбной ловлей

grass– трава

ground — земля