Seasons and weather, climate

As we know the weather depends on the season and climate of the country and the latter depends on the geographical position of the country.

Our country, Ukraine, has a moderate-continental climate.

England has a rather damp climate due to the effect of the warm current of the Gulf-Stream. The British Isles are surrounded by the ocean and have an insular climate.

The USA have an equable continental climate, except for Florida and the Mexican coast, where the climate is tropical and subtropical.

The weather changes with the change of the season. Consider autumn, for example. In autumn the sky is often cloudy; the sun hides behind the clouds and then appears again. Its rays have already lost their strength and the sun is not so bright now as it was in summer. The air is moist. Days get shorter and the nights longer. As autumn is a rainy season, the weather is mostly dull. And, of course, it is not attractive. As a matter of fact, I don’t like rain of any kind, even if it just drizzles. But there is a spell of sunny weather in late September, which we call Indian summer, when the sun shines brightly, the sky is rather cloudless and there is a carpet of multicoloured leaves on the ground. It is really golden autumn, as the poets have sung it. But in any case, nature begins to fade away. Later the frost will cover the ground at night and remind us about winter coming. As for me, I am not fond of autumn, but there are a lot of people trying to look at the reverse side of the medal. Strange as it may seem, they prefer autumn to any other season. As they say, it is the time of harvest, tasty fruits and vegetables, the time of beautiful golden leaves, the time when nature is very attractive. But many men – many minds.

Some people are fond of winter. They consider winter to be the healthiest season. In winter we can go in for winter kinds of sports: skating, skiing, tobogganing. In winter the sun seldom shines, its rays are pale, it sets early and rises late. The air is frosty, hard frost sets in, large snowflakes slowly fall to the ground, the streets are slippery with ice. The rivers and lakes are covered with a thick sheet of ice, they are frozen. The icicles glitter in the sun, the temperature falls and the snow may fall thick. Going out in such weather is not pleasant and old people prefer staying at home. But children enjoy being out-of-doors. They like to make a snow man and to throw snowballs. Their cheeks are burning with frost. How bitterly cold it is!

By the end of the winter the temperature rises and the snow begins to melt. Thaw sets in. The sun grows warmer and soon there won’t be any ice but plenty of water. The rivers are in flood.

Nature awakens from its long winter sleep. The birds come back from the warm lands, the trees begin to bud and soon tiny green leaves will appear. Thin new blades of grass come up, the fruit trees begin to blossom. " April showers bring May flowers, " as the proverb goes. Everything looks magic covered with green carpet. The farmers till the soil and sow the seed. We all welcome the advent of spring. Nature looks full of promise. Spring is the season of hopes; it's the season of revival of nature and people's dreams. It's my favourite season, I must admit.

After spring the summer comes. As the great Russian poet Pushkin said, " Oh, summer fine! I’d love you, but for the heat, the mosquitoes and flies! " In fact, sometimes the heat is oppressive. But people usually like summer, because they have their holidays. It's a good time for going to the seashore or a river beach, to bask in the sun, to become sunburnt, to swim, to pick berries and mushrooms, to gather flowers. We try to spend much time outdoors. But the weather is changeable in summer. It is the time of showers, rains and thunderstorms. The days become longer and the nights shorter. We can enjoy resting after hard work during the whole year.

To cut the long story short, I must confess that every season is beautiful and attractive in its own way. And as one of the famous poets says, " I see no reason to speak in prize of any season."

Word List on the Subject " Seasons and Weather, Climate"

Supplementary Word List and Word Combinations on the Subject " Seasons and Weather, Climate"

· sunny periods; bright intervals; bright periods — часом прояснення

· variable cloud — мінлива хмарність

· possible showers — очікуються (можливі) дощі

· showers heavy at times — часом сильні дощі

· scattered showers, of sleet or snow perhaps — скоро-минущі рясні опади у вигляді дощу зі снігом, або можливий снігопад

· mainly dry, but with rain or drizzling at times — переважно без опадів, часом дощі або паморозь (мжичка)

· ground frost early at night — вночі на грунті заморозки

· highest (lowest) day temperature — найвища (найнижча) температура вдень

· the sky is overcast (with clouds) — небо затягнуте [хмарами

· a nasty-looking cloud — страшна хмара

· the clouds promise rain — хмари обіцяють, що буде дощ

· the sun is trying — сонце пробивається

· it is raining cats and dogs — ллє, як з відра; йде сильний дощ; періщить

· it is coming on to pour — зараз поллє [дощ]

· it is raining heavily (hard) — йде сильний дощ

· it is drizzling — мжичить [дощ]

· the sky has veiled itself since the morning — небо затягнуте з ранку

· it looks like rain — схоже на те, що буде дощ

· I've got wet to the bone (I've got soaked to the skin) — я вимок наскрізь

· my clothes are dripping wet (soaking wet) — мій одяг вимок до нитки

· it is sleeting — йде сніг з дощем

· it is sultry; it is suffocating - душно, парко

· the strong wind lessened in force; the wind has abated — вітер зменшився

· the cold sharp wind has almost swept me off my feet — сильний холодний вітер мало не збив мене з ніг

· frost is expected at night — вночі очікується мороз

· we are having a bitter frost — у нас сильний мороз

· What a severe (mild) winter we are having this year. — Яка сувора (м'яка) зима в цьому році.

· the snow is falling thick — сильний снігопад

· large snowflakes are slowly falling to the ground — великі сніжинки повільно падають на землю

· How bitterly cold it is! — Як зимно!

· it is freezing — підморожує, приморожує

· rivers and lakes are frozen — ріки та озера замерзли

· the icicles glitter in the sun — крижані бурульки блищать на сонц

· the snow is half a meter deep — сніг на півметра вглиб

· Don't be frost-bitten. — He обморозься.

· there's a nip in the air — мороз щипле

· I am chilled to the bone — я змерз до кісток

· I am numb — я закляк

· my teeth are chattering with cold — зуби стукають від холоду

· nature awakens from its long winter sleep — ого зимнего сна • природа пробуджується після довгого зимового сну

· thaw sets in — починається відлига

· thin new blades of grass come up — з'являються нові паростки трави

· the weather is improving — погода покращується

· it's too good to last — занадто добре, щоб продовжуватися

· it's going from bad to worse — стає дедалі поганіше

· we are in a spell of fine weather — у нас період гарної погоди

· the weather leaves much to be desired – погода залишає бажати кращого

· There is no bad weather, there are bad clothes (proverb). — Нема поганої погоди, є поганий одяг.