Form 9 Seasons and Weather

                             SEASONS AND WEATHER

        There are four seasons in the year: winter, spring, summer and autumn. Each of them lasts three months.

         Every new year begins in winter, on the first of Janu­ary. .This day is a holiday in our country and people deco­rate their flats with New Year trees.

In Belarus 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. The most un­pleasant thing about winter is that the sun sets early and rises late — especially in December and January. The days are short, the sky is often grey, nature is sleeping and sometimes it gets rather boring.

       But at the end of March the weather gets gradually milder. The sun shines more brightly. The days become longer, snow begins melting. Spring comes and nature awakens after a long sleep of winter. All kinds of plants and flowers (snowdrops, tulips, primeroses, etc.) come out. The grass is amazingly fresh. I can't help loving it. The birds return from the South and make their nests. They look so happy and cheerful. I feel happy with them too listening to their pleasant songs. The farmers begin the sowing campaign. They fertilize the soil, plough the fields, plant trees and vegetables. Everybody is automati­cally much happier in spring. You feel as if you were born anew.

        Spring is followed by summer. The weather gets still warmer and sometimes it is very hot. The sky is blue and cloudless. But sometimes there are storms with thunder and lightning. The gardens are gay with flowers all sum­mer months. The corn gets golden in the fields. In sum­mer people spend much time in the open air. They find time to go to the forest, to swim in the river, to sunbathe. Summer is a vacation time. I like it very much, but my favourite season is spring. As the great Russian poet A.S. Pushkin said: «Oh, summer, fine! I'd love you but for the heat, the mosquitos and flies».

        Autumn comes in September with the beginning of the school year. Early autumn is still the harvest time, the time when fruits and vegetables become ripe. It is also a very beautiful time of the year, when the weather is still warm and the leaves change their colour from green to yellow and red. Everything around is greenish-gold.

       Late autumn is less beautiful. It gets colder, the days are shorter, in the morning it often freezes. Last leaves fall from trees and cover the ground. There's much rain and fog. Birds fly away to warm countries. Low and heavy clouds hang in the sky. The landscape gets rather dull. Nature slowly falls asleep for winter.

       In fact every season has its fine days and is pleasant in its own way. And it is not difficult to see this beauty.

OBSERVING   NATURE

         If people carefully observe nature it can tell them many interesting and useful things.

        Do you know that thanks to observing nature you can forecast weather? "How?" you may ask. By watching birds and animals, insects and flowers. It is known that some insects become more troublesome before a change in the weather. Flies and mosquitoes, for example, begin to hum and bite before the rain. Big blue-black beetles fly only on evenings before nice weather.

      You should know that the smell of flowers in the gar­dens and in the parks is very strong before it rains. Flowers have much sweet nectar before rain and the nectar is good food for insects. So if you see insects flying over flowers in large numbers you should know that it may rain soon.

       Birds and animals also help to forecast weather. Birds fly lower than usual before it rains. If you happen to see a bird hiding its head under its wing, it means that soon it will become colder.

       Even your cat can tell you what the weather will be like. The cat washing behind the ears is telling you about the coming rain. Look at the sky and it will tell you about the weather. A red evening sky tells of good weather the next

day, to say nothing about a little yellow or green sky. A grey sunrise gives promise of a good day too. If you want to fore­cast weather, you must know something about winds too.

The South wind brings wet weather,

The North wind is wet and cold together,

The West wind always brings us rain,

The East wind blows it back again.

        Study nature, observe it and you'll understand that it needs your love and protection.

1. If it is colder (warmer) today than it was yesterday, what can you say about yesterday?
2. When is a raincoat more convenient than an um­brella?
3. When are we glad to see clouds in the sky?
4. Where can you find shelter from the rain?
5. Why do we enjoy the shade of a tree in summer?
6. Which direction does a north wind blow?
7. What will you do if it is 10° C, heavy rain, gale force winds.
8. (The forecast says it'll be quite cold  and it's going to rain heavily.

     And it's going to be extremely windy. So it sounds like a  day to

      stay at home and do some reading.)

9. How many seasons are there in the year?
10. What are they?
11. How long does each season last?
12. What are the winter (spring,  summer,   autumn) months?
13. What is the weather like in winter (spring, summer, autumn)?
14. In what season of the year does nature return to life?
15. What is the nature like in spring?
16. Which season is the hottest in the year?
17. Why do people like to have their holidays in summer?
18. Do you stay in town or do you go to the country in summer?
19. What season is the harvest time?
20. Is the weather pleasant in September?
21. Does it often rain in autumn?
22. What is the shortest (longest) day of the year?
23. What is the busiest season of the year?
24. Which is your favourite season and why?
25. What is the weather like today?

What can depend on the weather?