Weekends and Holidays. Travelling

Английский как второй иностранный язык

Учебное пособие для студентов 4 курса

Сыктывкар 2009

ПЕЧАТАЕТСЯ ПО РЕШЕНИЮ РЕДАКЦИОННО-ИЗАТЕЛЬСКОГО СОВЕТА КОМИ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО ПЕДАГОГИЧЕСКОГО ИНСТИТУТА ОТ …

Рекомендовано к изданию заседанием кафедры английского языка КГПИ от 31.08.2009 г., протокол № 1.

Рецензент: Чупрова Н.В., ст. преподаватель кафедры английского языка КГПИ.

Михайлова И.П., Сердюк Е.В.Английский как второй иностранный язык. Учебное пособие для студентов IV курса. –2-ое изд. испр. и доп. Сыктывкар: Коми государственный педагогический институт, 2009. 99 с.

Данное учебное пособие представляет 2-ое издание – переработанное и дополненное. Оно предназначено для студентов IV курса факультета иностранных языков, изучающих английский как второй иностранный. Пособие включает темы, рекомендуемые программой 4 курса второго языка: Погода, Отдых и досуг, Путешествия, Болезни и их лечение, Достопримечательности Лондона, Москвы и Сыктывкара, Спорт в Англии и России.

Ко всем текстам предлагаются послетекстовые упражнения, а также куплеты-рифмовки на употребление времен английского глагола.

© Михайлова И.П., Сердюк Е.В., 2009

© Коми государственный педагогический институт, 2009

Seasons and Weather

Exercise 1.

Seasons and Weather

The year is divided into four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. In spring nature awakens from her long winter sleep. The trees are filled with new life, the earth is warmed by the rays of the sun, and the weather gets gradually milder. The fields and the meadows are covered with fresh green grass. The woods and forests are filled with the songs of the birds. The sky is blue and cloudless. At night, millions of stars shine in the darkness.

When summer comes the weather gets warmer still and sometimes it’s very hot. It’s the farmer’s busy season – he works in his fields from morning till night. The grass must be cut and the hay must be made, while the dry weather lasts. Sometimes the skies are overcast with heavy clouds. There are storms with thunder, lightning and hail.

Autumn brings with it the harvest-time, when the crops are gathered in and the fruit is picked in the orchards. The days get shorter and the nights longer. The woods turn yellow and brown, leaves begin to fall from the trees, and the ground is covered with them. The skies are grey, and very often it rains.

When winter comes, we are obliged to spend more time indoors because out-of-doors it’s cold. We may get fog, sleet and frost. Ponds, lakes, rivers and streams are frozen, and the roads are sometimes covered with slippery ice or deep snow. The trees are bare. Bitter north winds have stripped them of all their leaves.

Exercise 2.

Autumn

Autumn comes after summer. Many people consider autumn to be the most beautiful season of the year. Indeed, autumn is wonderful at the beginning when it is still warm and the trees are getting yellow, brown and red. The trees are losing their leaves and the ground is simply a carpet of many colours. It is the time of harvest and golden leaves; it is the time when nature is quiet and very attractive. Indian summer as we call it.

Little by little the days become shorter. It is the time when nature fades away and cold weather sets in. Very often grey heavy clouds cover the sky bringing rain with them. In October it rains so hard that an umbrella and a rain-coat are necessary if we don’t want to get wet through. Many people then catch a cold and must go to bed. Birds leave for warm countries.

November is the month of fog and rain. It often drizzles for hours. Sometimes it even snows. It gets rather windy and dark clouds appear in the sky. Of course, it is not as cold as in winter yet, but we know that winter is coming. That is why animals in the forests put on their winter clothes and people do the same. In such weather it is more pleasant to stay at home than to be outside. Not by chance people consider this is the worst time of the year and nobody can say he likes it.

Exercise 3.

Winter

Winter has come. The sky is dark, a cold wind is blowing, which drives the heavy clouds across the sky. It is snowing hard. Large flakes of snow are falling, covering the ground, the roofs and the trees with a vast white sheet. Going out in such weather is not pleasant and old people prefer to stay at home. But children enjoy being out of doors.

Look at the children in the picture. They are having a wonderful time. Some of them are making a snow man, others are throwing snowballs. A little boy has brought his sledge and is going tobogganing. Soon the frost will become more severe. The rivers and lakes will freeze over. There will be a lot of snow in the woods. Children and grown-ups will enjoy themselves skating on the ice and skiing in the woods. Russians are very fond of frosty sunny weather when the temperature is not more than 15 degrees of frost. But sometimes the frost is severe, about 25-30° below zero. When it is as cold as that, it is really very unpleasant.

And what is the weather like in England in winter? It is not so cold as in Russia. The temperature seldom falls below 3-4 degrees. The usual temperature is about zero. The landscape doesn’t change very much in winter. The grass remains green all the year round. The air is frequently damp and foggy. It often rains and it seldom snows. The snow, usually, melts very quickly.

Exercise 4.

Spring

Spring comes at the end of March and brings sunshine and warm winds. Sometimes it still snows but the snow does not remain long. During the day the snow is melting in the warm sun, but sometimes at night it freezes. Icicles hang everywhere. In the streets we can see a lot of merry streams and children like to splash in the water. Ponds, rivers and lakes free themselves from ice and the water is high in them. The trees are in full bud and very soon the trees begin to burst into leaf *. Everywhere the first spring flowers and fresh green grass appear. Migratory birds return from warm countries and everywhere we can hear their merry songs. Sometimes it rains, but the spring rain is so warm and so pleasant. In April rain and sunshine are both together and after black clouds we always have clear weather. In May we usually have thunder-storms that are the harbingers of real coming of spring. Everything is so fresh and beautiful and even people look younger.

· = Everything is in bloom. = The trees are putting out their leaves and there are buds everywhere.

Exercise 5.

Summer

Summer is the warmest season of the year. It begins in June and ends in August. In summer we have the longest days and the shortest nights. The longest day of the year is the 22^nd of June. The sun shines brightly. Very often there is no wind and there are no clouds in the sky. But sometimes when the sky is overcast with heavy clouds we may have thunder, lightning and even hail. But usually the rain is warm and does not last long. Quite often after a warm rain we may see a beautiful rainbow in the sky.

Most people have their holidays in summer and spend a lot of time in the fresh air. It is not pleasant to stay in town in summer and many people leave town for the sea and bathe on a hot day in cool water, lie in the sun and do outdoor sports and games.

Summer is the farmer’s busy season.

Exercise 6.

What types of weather are bad and good for doing these things?

Example: Skiing bad: mild weather which makes the snow melt; good: cold, clear days.

1. Planting flowers in a garden

2. Having an evening barbecue

3. Going out in a small sailing boat

4. A day of sightseeing in a big city

5. Camping out in a tent

6. Looking at ships through binoculars

Don’t knock the weather: nine-tenths of the people couldn’t start a conversation if it didn’t change once in a while.

Kin Hubbard

Не обижайтесь на погоду: девять из десяти людей не смогли бы начать разговор, если бы погода периодически не менялась.

Кин Хаббард

Exercise 7.

Olaf: Why do English people so often say something about the weather when they begin a conversation with stran­gers?

Mr. Green: Well, of course, in England the weather's always changing. We never know what to expect. If you were in a country where the weather doesn't change much, it would be difficult to say much about it. But you asked why we talk about the weather to strangers. That's an interesting question. It's probably because the weather's a subject it's quite safe to talk about. It's а way of reaching agreement. I begin by saying, "A cold morning, isn't it?" The other man says, "It certainly is". I say, "It's been cold all week", and the other man says, "Yes, we're having a very cold spring". So far we've agreed about everything. Perhaps I make a remark about something I've seen in the newspaper I say, perhaps, "I see the Italians have beaten us at football again". The other man says, ' "Yes, seven-nil this time". Well, when we've exchanged remarks on subjects of this kind, on which there can be no disagreement, we're beginning to feel friendly. If we'd started with subjects on which disagreement was possible, politics, for example, we might not have become friendly. Language isn't used only for giving or asking for facts.

Mrs. Green: Remarks about the weather are a safe way of opening communicati­on with a stranger. When I go abroad, to a country where I can't speak the language, I always try to learn a few phrases, like "Good morning", "Good afternoon", "Isn't it a nice day", "Please" and "Thank you". People are suspicious of strangers who are completely silent.

Mr. Green: Oh, yes. These words are certainly useful when you come to this country.

(A.S. Hornby. Oxford Progressive English for Adult Learners)

Exercise 8.

SEASONS OF THE YEAR IN ENGLAND

WINTER. Winter in England is milder than in any other country under the same latitude. In winter they have all sorts of weather. Sometimes it rains and sometimes it snows heavily, and they also have fog and frost. December is the stormiest month. January and February are the coldest and the worst. They get many cold, wet days one after another. The coldest weather, when it freezes night after night and remains cold during the day, is much more pleasant than the wet weather. Nothing is more wonderful than a quick walk on such a day! The winters are never cold enough to freeze the rivers. As the ice is rather thin, they seldom skate on the rivers in England. It may snow any time from November to March. In the south of England it doesn’t often snow, but the farther north-east one goes, the longer is the period during which snow may fall. On most days the snow melts either as it reaches the ground or in an hour or two. And still in England in winter it rains more often than it snows. That’s why some English people do not wear heavy overcoats but only warm raincoats. Winter temperatures below 5 degrees are rare.

In winter months strong winds are sometimes very dangerous because cold winds often turn rain into glazed frost. A severe glazed frost is much worse than a snowstorm. Telephone wires and tree twigs get covered with ice. Birds are often unable to fly because their feathers freeze together. However in the middle of February there is often a short period of unsettled mild weather.

SPRING. Really spring-like weather sets in about the middle of March. Grass turns green again. The warm days of late March bring everything in bloom.

April is the month of showers, that is why English people say: “April showers bring May flowers”. When it rains in April everybody knows that it helps things to grow. In April the first cuckoo arrives and starts calling.

May is really one of the pleasantest periods of the year. The orchards are in blossom. Different kinds of the fruit-trees flower at the same time. The weather in May is rather quiet. It doesn’t rain so often as in April, but sometimes thunderstorms break out.

SUMMER. The nearer the summer, the warmer the sun shines. But the summer in England is not so hot as it is on the continent.

Many are the jokes about the English summer – “I was in England the whole summer, but it rained both days” is a typical example. In June the days are the longest and the sun is the brightest. But it often happens that in June the weather is not so fine as it is in May. In June it is often as droughty as it is wet.

In July and August the weather is often fine and warm. There is also enough rain to keep the countryside fresh and green. July is decidedly the hottest month of the year over most of Britain. During a normal summer the temperature sometimes rises above 25 degrees in the south.

AUTUMN. Early autumn is time when Britain’s countryside is clothed in gold and brown. September has fewer rainy days in Britain than any other period of time. It often opens with fine weather. The sun sends down its soft light as if smiling on people and nature. It is not windy. The leaves come down from the trees in a shower of gold and red. It is real Indian summer.

In October it rains much. Besides it is the foggiest month of the year. They often have a thick fog in autumn and in winter. It comes often and stays for weeks together. It may be of different colours. It may be white, yellow and sometimes black because of the smoke of thousands of chimneys. When it is white it is not so bad, though it is more dangerous to cross the street in a white fog than in a black one. But worst of all is the yellow fog. It enters all the houses, all the rooms look quite dim. In a dense fog cars and buses move very slowly. People do not see each other at arm’s length. They walk along groping through the streets because they are afraid to lose their way in the fog.

Exercise 9.

Is the weather in your region as changeable as in Great Britain?

1. Would you agree with the following statements?

– In my opinion, Syktyvkar looks at it best in early autumn.

– Summers are not very hot and winters are not very cold in Syktyvkar.

– Autumn is the best season in our region.

– The weather in our city is very changeable.

– The Sysola affects the climate of Syktyvkar.

– There are many frosty days in our city in winter.

– Frosty weather is very pleasant when it’s not windy.

2. Describe the weather of different seasons in your region.

Exercise 10.

What is the weather like in different parts of Russia in spring, summer, autumn and winter?

Exercise 11.

1. Ask questions to the words in italics.

The weather is wonderful today.

When it rains people wear raincoats and carry umbrellas.

In autumn a thick fog spreads over London.

It snows and freezes in winter.

The ground is like iron and rings under the feet.

The icicles hang from the roofs of the houses.

The rivers and ponds are frozen over in winter.

Many people are sliding and skating on the frozen rivers.

Children like to fight with snowballs.

In March the thaw begins.

A cold wind is blowing from the North.

Exercise 12.

Translate the following proverbs and sayings or give their Russian equivalents. Explain their meaning and use them in situations of your own.

1. Every cloud has a silver lining.

2. It never rains but it pours.

3. Rain before seven, fine before eleven.

4. One swallow does not make a summer.

5. Make hay while the sun shines.

6. Sow the wind and reap the whirl-wind.

7. Everything is good in its season.

Exercise 13.

Translate the quotations and comment upon them.

‘There is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.’

John Ruskin

‘When two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather.’

Samuel Johnson

‘Life, believe, is not a dream,

So dark as sages say;

Oft a little morning rain

Foretells a pleasant day!’

Charlotte Brontё

Exercise 14.

Weekends and Holidays. Travelling

Exercise 1.

Do you like the idea of sitting on the beach with nothing at all to be done? Why? Give reasons.

Pretty Days

How pleasant to sit on the beach,

On the beach, on the sand, in the sun,

With ocean galore within reach,

And nothing at all to be done!

No letters to answer,

No bills to be burned,

No work to be shirked,

No cash to be earned.

It’s pleasant to sit on the beach

With nothing at all to be done.

By Ogden Nash

Exercise 2.

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