7 (#8, 11) Seasons and Weather______________________________

♦ There are four seasons in a year: spring, summer, autumn and winter. Every season is beautiful in its own way. When spring comes nature awakens from its long winter sleep. The days become longer and the nights become shorter. The ground is covered with emerald-green grass and the first flowers. The air is fresh, the sky is blue and cloudless, and the sun shines brightly. The trees are full of blossom. The nightingale begins to sing its lovely songs, and sweet melodies may be heard from every wood and park. The days are warm and everything is full of life and joy. After all spring is a time of love. So three months a year we fall in love with the whole world. Spring is followed by summer. The weather is usually fine in summer, but it can be very hot, especially in July. Sometimes there are storms with thunder and lightning. In summer people try to get away from the city noise and spend more time in the open air. They pick mushrooms and berries in the forests, swim in the rivers and lakes, go fishing and boating. Most people prefer to have their holidays in summer. But when picking mushrooms and berries. Autumn begins in September. The days become shorter and the nights become longer. The leaves turn yellow, red and brown and fall to the ground. That is why there is one more name of this season. It is also called Fall. Most birds fly away to warm countries. There is a short spell of dry sunny weather in September which is called Indian Summer. It is a beautiful time when the sky is cloudless, the trees around are golden, the air is transparent and it is still warm. But gradually it gets colder and colder. It often rains in October and November. That is why autumn is an unpleasant season for many people but not for me. In my opinion autumn is the most beautiful season. To my mind it is the time of thinking about what you have done this year when you still have enough time to correct your mistakes. And then comes winter. In winter the sun become very lazy and sets early and rises late. The rivers and lakes are frozen over. Everything is covered with snow. Sometimes it is very cold, about 15-20 degrees below zero. Going out in such weather is not very pleasant. Winter is a good time for sports. People go in for skating and skiing. Tobogganing is also very popular, not as a kind of sports, but rather as fun. As for me, I like all seasons, but as I have already said, I think there is nothing like autumn.

♦ Climate is the weather a certain place has over a long period of time. Climate has a very important influence on plants, animals and humans and is different in different parts of the world. Some scientists think that the world is becoming hotter. If you compare Moscow winter and summer temperatures at the beginning of our century and at its end you will see that climate has really changed. Winters have become warmer. Sometimes there is little snow in January, and there were winters when it rained on the New Year’s Eve. Many people say that it is so because of the greenhouse effect.

♦ The year is divided into four seasons: winter, spring, summer, and autumn. Each season has its good and bad sides. But we can.t forget that in different countries, even in different parts of the country the climate is different. ќOther countries have a climate, in England we have weather› . the English say, because the weather changes more often than in other countries. British winters are mild and springs are cool because of the winds that blow from the Atlantic Ocean. They blow 2 days out of every 3.

In spring sunshine and showers follow each other so often during the day that an umbrella or a raincoat is absolutely necessary in England. The weather in spring is generally mild but sometimes the days are cold. In England summer is the hottest season. It.s time for holidays. People go to the seaside to sunbathe, to swim. Most of vegetables and plants can die from the drought if they aren.t washed. The summer nights are short, but they are wonderful. As for autumn it isn.t so nice. It.s a season of winds and beautiful sunsets. The leaves turn yellow and reddish and fall to the ground and the birds migrate to warm countries. A spell of sunny weather in September is called Indian Summer or .Golden Autumn.. In England September and October are

warm and dry, but November is the foggiest month. In winter in England they have all sorts of weather. Sometimes it rains and sometimes it snows. In England it isn.t so cold in winter as in our country and they don.t get so much snow as we get here in Russia. The rivers in England never freeze, that.s why children there go skating very seldom. When there are 8 degrees of frost in England everyone complains on the cold.

Oh, I nearly forgot to say that the worst thing about the climate in England is thick fog. It is sometimes so thick that cars may run into one another. Each season is good in its own way but my favorite season is summer. Because you can go to the seaside, swim and sunbathe and eat more fruit and vegetables.