How many seasons are there in a year?

When does nature awaken from her long winter sleep?

Is summer the best season for tourism?

THE SEASONS AND THE WEATHER

There are four seasons in a year: spring, summer, autumn and winter. Every season lasts three months.

Winter usually begins in December and ends in March. In Russia winter is usually a cold season. It often snows, the rivers and lakes are frozen over. The average temperature is about 5 degrees below zero.

It gets dark early in the evening. It gets light late in the morning. In winter we have the shortest days and the longest nights. It is difficult and unpleasant to get up early in the morning in winter because it is dark and cold, the sky is often grey, nature is sleeping.

But winter is a good time for sports. In winter we can go in for such kinds of sport as skating and skiing. It is very pleasant to go skiing in the country on a bright sunny day. At the end of winter the sun begins to shine as brightly as in spring, but it is not so warm as in spring yet.

Spring comes in March. The sun begins to shine more brightly, the days become longer and the first spring flowers appear everywhere. Everything is so fresh and so beautiful, nature awakens after a long sleep of winter. Everybody enjoys the beginning of spring. The birds return from the South. Everything around is full of life and joy, the sky is blue and cloudless.

At the beginning of spring it is still cold, but at the end of spring it gets much warmer. Sometimes it rains. But the rain does not last long, sometimes there are storms with thunder and lightning, and it is not so warm as in summer.

Summer is the warmest season of the year. It begins in June and ends in August. July is the warmest month of the year. The sky is blue. The sun is bright and hot. In summer we have the longest days and the shortest nights. It rains but the rain is warm and the flower smell sweet. Most people have their holidays in summer and spend a lot of time in the open air. The countryside looks very nice and most people leave town for the country. We can swim and bathe, we can play tennis and football, have a walk through the fields and meadows.

After summer comes autumn. Autumn is the harvest time, when the fruit and vegetables become ripe, the corn gets golden in the fields. Autumn is very beautiful at the beginning when it is still warm and the leaves are getting yellow and red. In late September people enjoy Indian Summer, when the weather is still warm and in the air you can feel gossamer. Little by little the days become shorter and the nights become longer. It gets colder and colder. In October and November it often rains and people put on raincoats and take umbrellas. The streets, the houses, the trees are wet with rain, heavy clouds hang in the sky. But every season is pleasant in its own way.

CLIMATE

In the first place the climate varies according to altitude. On the equator at a height of 8,000 metres it is no warmer than in England at sea level. The highest point is the coldest.

Another factor is the effect of ocean currents. Thus the British Isles lie in the way of the warm Golf Stream. The warm air rising from the Golf Stream surrounds Great Britain and prevents the freezing of the rivers even on the coldest days. In spite of lying at the same distance from the equator Moscow and London have a different climate: the average temperature in London is higher than that in Moscow.

Finally there are the effects of prevailing winds blowing across the Atlantic and carrying warm air, which keeps the winter climate mild, moist and foggy.

The climate of a country is one of the factors that influence the style of its architecture. It can be best illustrated by British residential buildings. The weather in England is often cloudy and there are few sunny days. Therefore, the windows in an English house are of a large size to catch as much light and sunshine as possible.

Since there is much rain in England, typical British houses have high, steep roofs where rain water and melting snow can easily flow down.

Most of the houses have a fireplace which forms the most characteristic feature of an English home.

The plan of an English house also differs from that of the houses where we live. English architects plan some apartments vertically instead of planning them horizontally, so that an English family having a separate apartment lives on two or sometimes three floors with rooms connected with a narrow staircase. They find it the most convenient style of apartment.

An Englishman prefers to have an individual cottage in the suburbs. But the problem of housing brought about great changes into the architectural design of modern houses which differ greatly from those of the older type. The typical features of ah English house are disappearing one by one, which makes it look like a standard residence in any country.

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