Харківський національний університет імені В. Н. Каразіна

Факультет іноземних мов

Кафедра методики та практики викладання іноземної мови

A SPEECH PRACTICE BOOK

Навчальний посібник з усного мовлення

Харків-2018

 

Рекомендовано до друку вченою радою факультету іноземних мое

Харківського національного університету імені В. Н. Каразіна

(Протокол № 3 от 16.03.07)

Рецензент: кандидат юридичних наук, професор кафедри цивільно-правових дисциплін Харківського економіко-правового університету Чобот О. А.

A speech practice book: Навчальний посібник з усного мовлення / М.А. Рубцова, І.В. Рубцов, Ю. Ю. Шамаєва. -X.: ХНУ імені В. Н. Каразіна, 2018. - 144 с

 

61077, Харків, пл. Свободи, 4, Харківський національний університет імені В. Н. Каразіна

Підписано до друку 08.06.2007. Формат 60x84/16. Папір офсетний. Друк ризографічний. Обл.-вид. арк. 9,0. Умов.-друк. арк. 8,37 Наклад 100 прим. Ціна договірна.

 

© Харківський національний університет

імені В. Н. Каразіна, 2018

© М.А. Рубцова, І.В. Рубцов, Ю. Ю. Шамаєва, 2018

SEASONS AND WEATHER

Text A

Our Earth is surrounded by a layer of air called atmosphere. At times air becomes hot and sometimes it becomes cold. This change in air is known as weather. Weather keeps changing daily or hourly. Weather influences our emotions and even the physical state. Weather changes according to the seasons.

 

When weather remains the same for a long period, we call it season. Every season has its specific features of the weather, which are different. In general a season is one of the four periods of the year. Each season lasts about three months and brings changes in temperature, weather, and the length of daylight. We have some months when it is very hot, some months when it rains heavily and some months when it’s cold and chilly. We also have spring and autumn when it’s neither too hot nor too cold.

Some regions don't have all four climatic seasons. In parts of the tropics, for example, temperatures change little, but the amount of rainfall varies greatly, so that these regions have a wet season and a dry season. The Polar Regions, on the other hand, have a light season and a dark season. In these parts of the world the sun shines almost all the time in summer and almost never during winter.

 

Spring

People generally love this time and think it’s the most pleasant season. The days get longer and the nights shorter. It grows warmer. The snow melts, it’s slushy, and there may be floods, mud and dirt. In spring nature awakens from her long winter sleep. The trees open their buds and shoot out new leaves. The meadows grow green; the flowers such as white snowdrops, yellow primroses and dandelions, colourful crocuses appear and begin to bloom. Farmers till the soil and sow the seeds. Nightingales, larks, swallows and other migrant birds come back from the south so as to build their nests, lay and hatch their eggs and sing their merry songs. The corn fields are bright with blue cornflowers and red poppies.

In the spring people celebrate Easter.

Summer

Summer is the warmest season. The sun rises earlier and earlier and sets later and later. In June we have the longest days and the shortest nights. June 21 is the day of the summer solstice, i.e. when the Sun reaches its highest altitude of the year. The weather is usually fine, the sky is blue and cloudless, the sun shines brightly in the sky. It is warm and even hot. At times you can see a rainbow in the sky after a thunderstorm. We bathe in rivers and lakes, go to the seaside, go mushrooming in the woods and pick berries. The hot sun ripens the corn, vegetables and fruit, and the farmers get ready for the harvest. In addition to, lots of people are fond of barbecues in their gardens or at their cottages.

 

Autumn

Autumn, known as fall in American and Canadian English, sets in September and brings shorter days, longer nights and colder weather. The weather starts to get cooler. We start to wear long sleeved shirts, pants, and sweaters. Autumn is a rainy season, the mornings are foggy, it is cloudy and overcast, some people may even suffer from depression, but there may be a spell of fine sunny weather in late September which is called Indian summer, when the sky is clear and the nature is full of bright colors. The ground is covered with fallen leaves, and the trees are red, brown and golden. Trees start to spread their seeds. Acorns are the seeds for oak trees. Pine trees have pinecones for seeds. Some birds leave for the south, some animals, like bears, hibernate for the winter. While most foods are harvested during the autumn, foods particularly associated with the season include pumpkins (which are integral parts of both Thanksgiving and Halloween) and apples, which are used to make the seasonal beverage apple cider.

Winter

Winter is the coldest season, with short days and long nights, with frosts and snow. But it is also a beautiful season when nature is sleeping under a clean soft blanket of white snow. Lovers of winter sports go skiing and skating. Winter is a wonderful season for children, too, who enjoy playing snowballs and making snowmen.

Winter begins on December 21. It freezes and snows. The landscape is covered with snow. Ice and slush make the transport difficult. Children love winter because they like playing with the snow: throwing snowballs and building snowmen. Wintersports are very popular: skiing (downhill or crosscountry skiing), snowboarding, ice skating, sledging and bob sledging. Sometimes there is no snow in winter.

 

We celebrate Christmas (in the Czech Republic also St. Nicholas Day before Christmas), New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

EXERCISE 1. Give Russian equivalents

to awaken from a long sleep; to get shorter, to open the buds; to shoot out new leaves; to till the soil, swallows, to come back from the south; to lay and hatch the eggs; red poppies to set later and later, to ripen; to set in; Indian summer; a clean soft blanket of white snow; to be covered with fallen leaves; to make a snowman

EXERCISE 2. Give English equivalents

время года становиться длиннее; становиться теплее; луг зеленеет; цвести: сеять семена; соловьи; перелетные птицы; вить гнезда; поля, засеянные злаками; васильки, купаться в реках и озерах, готовиться собирать урожай; холодная по­года, дождливое время года, период ясной погоды, мороз, играть в снежки.

EXERCISE 3. Fill in the blanks

1. I think that the most pleasant_________________ is spring

2. In winter children____________________ and________________.

3. Autumn is a____________ season, but there may be a_________________ of fine

weather in late September.

4. In spring nature____________________ the long winter sleep.

5. The farmers get ready for________________

6. _________ birds come back from the south They ______________________ their

nests,_____________ and_________ their eggs

7. Lovers of winter sports______________________ and_______

8. In summer we____________ in rivers and lakes or go to the_________________

9. The_________ fields are bright blue with_____________ and______

10. The hot sun___________ the corn, vegetables and fruit

EXERCISE 4. Answer the questions

1. How many seasons are there in a year? What are they?

2. What is your favorite season? Why?

3. What is the weather like in March? Does it often snow?

4. When does it often rain?

5. What is Indian summer like?

6. When do trees become red and yellow?

7. When does winter set in in this country?

8. What are the typical winter sports?

9. What do farmers do in spring?

 

10. What do migrant birds do when they return from the south?

11. What is the weather like in summer? Where do people usually go?

12. Do you like rainy weather?

13. What weather is to your taste?

EXERCISE 5. Complete the following sentences

1. It looks like________. Take your umbrella.

2. We'll go to the sea-side if___________.

3. The sky is dark, it is covered____________

4. In autumn it often_________.

5. Indian Summer is a spell of good____________ weather

6. The streets are covered with mud and slush when_____________.

7. After a hard frost everything is covered_____________.

8. London is famous for__________

9. You should put on your warm clothes because______________.

10. We can skate when__________

EXERCISE 6. Say something contrary to what you read

1. It's 23 degrees below zero.

2. The weather is very good now

3. The climate of this country is very cold.

4. The temperature is low today.

5. It's very hot at noon.

6. The sky is cloudy now

7. It's raining cats and dogs.

8. It was freezing in the morning.

 

EXERCISE 7. Translate

1. Вчера утром была хорошая погода Небо было голубое и безоблачное. Солнце светило ярко

2. Когда я шел из Университета, небо было затянуто облаками. Было похоже, что пойдет дождь.

3. Зимой обычно холодно. Земля и деревья покрыты снегом Небо серое и облачное Часто идет снег

4. Сегодня дождь льет как из ведра

5. Мой друг из Италии. Климат в Италии очень хороший. Летом там жарко. Иногда идет дождь, но обычно погода ясная

6. Зимой дни короткие, а ночи длинные Сегодня солнце взошло в 9 часов утра В 4 часа дня оно сядет. Зимой холодно, особенно когда дует холодный ветер с севера

7. Идет снег, но ветра нет Земля покрыта покрывалом из чистого белого снега

8. Я очень люблю весну, когда природа пробуждается после долгого зимнего сна Почки на деревьях открываются и выпускают новые листочки

9. Весной луга зеленеют, деревья покрыты свежими зелеными листьями, расцветают васильки Перелетные птицы возвращаются с юга. Они строят гнезда на деревьях и весело поют.

Text В

English weather on the whole is not good. It's very damp, there is a great deal of rain and fog and English summer is usually disappointing. During winter the English expect to have two or three months of extremely good weather, sunshine and hot weather, hot enough to bathe, to go to the sea. But very often when summer comes, summer months are rather cold, much colder than one expects. The weather is very changeable and one never knows when there will be long periods of rain. One can never depend on the weather! So many people, who look forward to the summer holidays, plan to go abroad for the summer. Though the. sea in England is usually, even in the middle of summer, quite cold, those who stay in England go to the seaside Very many people spend summer simply walking and enjoying the beautiful

 

places around. English winter on the whole is not so severe as Russian winter. They have some frosts, snow, it's very cold, damp but it's never too cold to go outside or to enjoy winter sports. They don't have a great deal of snow, it's never deep and sometimes is very little at all. The most unpleasant aspect of English weather is fog and smog. This is extremely bad in big towns and especially in London. In London fogs can be very unpleasant. They can stop traffic and it's hard to bear dampness. When autumn comes, they get a great deal of rain, the weather is very damp and rather nasty.

EXERCISE 8. Give Russian equivalents

on the whole; damp; sunshine; much colder; in the middle of summer; to enjoy the beautiful places around; deep snow, to be unpleasant; to stop traffic; to bear dampness, rather nasty

EXERCISE 9. Give English equivalents

много дождей, исключительно хорошая погода; жаркая по­года; купаться; переменчивая погода, зависеть от погоды, суровая зима, туман.

EXERCISE 10. Answer the questions

1. What can you say about English weather on the whole?

2. What summer weather do the English expect to have?

3. What happens when summer comes?

4. Where do the English go for the summer?

5. What is English winter like?

6. What is the most unpleasant aspect of English weather?

7. What kind of weather do they have in autumn?

EXERCISE 11. Retell Text В

E XERCISE 12. Speak about the weather in your home town

 

EXERCISE 13. Agree or disagree with the following. Extend your sentences wherever possible

1. It is hard to stand the heat when it is damp

2. In my opinion Kharkiv looks at its best in early autumn

3. It is not very pleasant to walk about the streets when it's raining.

4. Summers are not very hot and winters are not very cold in Kharkiv.

5. Autumn is the best season

6. The weather is very changeable in England.

7. There are very many frosty days in winter in England.

8. Frosty weather is very pleasant when it is not windy.

9. In autumn a thick fog spreads in London

10. Indian Summer is a short period of cold weather at the end of summer

EXERCISE 14. Make up a dialogue based on Text B. Imagine that an English friend came to see you. Ask your friend about English weather.

EXERCISE IS. Translate

1. Чудесный день сегодня, не так ли?

2. Вчера тоже был хороший день. Только к вечеру стало пасмурно

3. Сегодня очень низкая температура, около 20 градусов мороза

4. Ужасная погода¹ Идет дождь и очень холодно, сыро

5. Погода в Англии очень переменчива Она может меняться несколько раз в день.

6. Осень здесь обычно сухая и теплая.

7. Зима в Англии не такая холодная и суровая, как на Украине Иногда бывают морозы Снега обычно мало, и он неглубокий

8. Я думаю, будет дождь. Небо посерело и затянуто тучам и

9. Нас ожидает хорошая, теплая, ясная погода

 

10. Осенью в Лондоне ужасный туман. Он останавливает движение, и людям очень тяжело переносить сырость

11. Летом в Англии много дождей Летние месяцы довольно холодные, гораздо холоднее, чем ожидается Поэтому многие англичане уезжают на лето в другие страны

Короткий период теплой погоды в начале осени называют бабьим летом. Многие русские поэты любили это время года

12. — Какая сегодня температура?

— 23'С выше нуля. Сегодня довольно жарко, не так ли?

14. Приближается весна. Дни стали длиннее и теплее.

15. — Какой самый холодный месяц в Харькове?

— Январь.

DIALOGUES

Peter: What lovely weather we are having! I am so glad we have come to the country for the week-and.