Theme: What climate you would like to live in

Plan:   

1. Write down an essay on the topic”   The climate you would like to live in”

Recommendations:Read the given topic and make your essay. Rewrite the unknown words, look up them in the dictionary, read them correctly, translate them and try to understand the material. Pay attention to the content and grammar.

THE CLIMATE OF ENGLAND

The Gulf Stream, a warm current flowing from the Gulf of Mexico round the North of Europe affects the climate of the West coast of Europe, the British Isles and Iceland.

In these western countries summers are not so warm and win­ters are not so cold as in the rest of Europe.

Spring is the season when nature returns to life. Vegetation grows rapidly, for there are periods of sunshine broken by occasion­al showers. Clouds are continually floating across the sky, and after the rain we see a magnificent rainbow.

It seldom gets unbearably hot in summer, as there is generally a cooling breeze from the South-West, but nevertheless the temper­ature may rise to ninety degrees in the shade (Fahrenheit, of course). The weather becomes sultry, the heat grows oppressive, and the air gets stifling. The sky is suddenly overcast with low, black clouds and distant peals of thunder indicate the approach of a thunderstorm. Later, dazzling flashes of lightning are followed almost immediately by a clap of thunder directly overhead, and it pours with rain. Anyone caught in the rain takes shelter, otherwise he may get wet to the skin.

After the thunderstorm the air is remarkably fresh. The thunder has cleared the air. We are in for a spell of good weather again. In autumn the leaves turn yellow and reddish, and fall to the ground. Then most birds migrate to warm countries. Autumn is the season of mist, of windy days, of biting winds, of beautiful sunsets, and miserable chilly days when it drizzles.

A spell of sunny weather in October is called an Indian Summer.

The climate of the South of England is much milder than the climate of Scotland. In the North, the winters are harder. When there" are eight degrees of frost in England, they say that it is freezing hard, and everyone complains of the cold. This is because their damp climate makes them feel the cold more.

On a frosty morning the country is covered with hoar-frost. Icicles hang from the roofs of houses. The rivers and lakes are frozen over. The snow falls, but sometimes it does not last long. The thaw sets in, the snow turns to slush, and walking is extreme­ly unpleasant owing to the puddles of water in the streets, anal to the constant fear of being splashed with mud by a passing car.

The English often grumble about the weather but you should not pay too much attention to an Englishman's complaints about his own climate. The devil is not so black as he is painted.

DIALOGUE

Bill: That was a heavy storm we had last night, wasn't it, Tom?

Tom: It was. You know that big poplar tree in front of our house, don't you? Oneof the biggest branches came down with such a crash that we thought it would break our window-panes. Bill: Really! We have been having this wretched weather for days and days already. I'm sick and tired of it.

Tom: So am I. I wish this weather would clear up. It's about time we had some nice spring weather.

Bill: It's April, you know. "March winds, April showers bring forth Alay flowers."

Tom: I know, but we've had enough of them. Still, I suppose we shouldn't complain. We had a good winter. Never had so many fine cold days before.

Bill: Yes, I enjoyed them too. And the skating. We had a good share of that this winter.

Tom: We did. Now I suppose we'd better put away the skates

till next winter.

Bill:'fraid so. No chance now to use them again.

Tom: What does the forecast say this morning?

Bill: The paper says we're in for a fine spell.

(After English Occasions by A. Johnson)

Vocabulary Notes on the Text

1. to affect — влиять (оказывать влияние) на

Обратите внимание на то, что этот глагол требует после себя прямого дополнения. Например: What affects the climate of your region?

2. in the shade — в тени

He следует смешивать слово shade (не освещенное солнцем, светом пространство) со словом shadow (тень, отбрасываемая каким-либо предметом).

Let's look for the shade — the heat is simply killing me. What a long shadow the tree is casting! It seems longer than the tree itself.

Слово shadow может употребляться в переносном значении, например:

to remain (live) in the shadow оставаться (жить) в тени, неза­меченным

3. Anyone caught in the rain takes shelter— каждый, кого за­ стает дождь, ищет укрытия

to get (be) wet to the skin — промокнуть до нитки (до костей) Syn. expr.: to get (be) wet through.

We are in for a spell of good weather again. — Снова насту­пает период хорошей погоды.

mist (n) — легкий туман fog (n) — густой туман smog = smoke -J- fog

an Indian Summer — соответствует русскому выражению «бабье лето» (т. е. теплые сухие дни осенью)

On a frosty morning the country is covered with hoar-frost — морозным утром все кругом (вся местность) покрыто инеем

Слово country имеет несколько-значений:

а) страна, родина          

The Soviet Army heroically defended our country from fascist

invaders.

б) деревня, сельская местность, местность:

My parents prefer to live in the country. I like this wooded country.

9. The devil is not so black as he is painted. (Proverb) — He так страшен чёрт, как его малюют.