PART I. CLIMATE. SEASONS AND WEATHER
1. Topical Vocabulary
1) WEATHER
weather (n. U) - if you talk about the weather, you say whether it is hot or cold
outside or whether it is raining, snowing, windy, etc.:
- What was the weather like on your vacation?
- We want to have a picnic on Saturday, but it depends on the weather.
- If the weather keeps fine till Saturday, we’ll go to the forest to pick snowdrops.
hot / warm / wet etc. weather
- a period of warm sunny weather
- I don’t feel like going to work on my bike in wet weather.
weather forecast - a report on television or radio saying what the weather will be like:
- Here is the weather forecast for Central Europe.
- What does the weather forecast say? - Scattered showers.
it (pronoun) - you can use it when you are saying what the weather is like:
- What is it like in Spain at this time of the year? Is it really hot?
it’s lovely / nice / awful etc.
- Isn’t it nice today?
- It is very close and humid today.
it’s cold / sunny / cloudy etc.
- The weather forecast says it’s going to be cloudy tomorrow.
- It is unbearably hot today.
climate ( n. C) - the usual weather conditions in a particular country or area:
- Queensland has a warm tropical climate.
- ... flowers that will not grow in a cold climate.
- arctic / continental / mild / moderate / tropical / subtropical / insular /
dry / equable / wet / humid / damp / moist climate
2) GOOD WEATHER
good weather - weather that is sunny and warm:
- We go to Greece every Easter, and we usually get good weather.
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glorious / beautiful / gorgeous / marvellous (adj., especially spoken) - very sunny and warm:
- a beautiful sunny morning
- a glorious summer
- We had three weeks of absolutely gorgeous weather.
- What glorious weather we are having today!
nice / lovely / bright (adj., especially British) - pleasantly warm and sunny:
- Morning, Bill. Nice weather, isn’t it?
- What lovely weather!
it is a nice / bright day / it’s a lovely morning etc.
- It’s a lovely day, why don’t we go for a walk?
fine (adj.) - if the weather is fine, it is not raining and the sky is clear:
- Next week will be fine but a little cooler.
- a fine spring evening
dry (adj.) - if the weather is dry, it does not rain:
- If it stays dry, I’ll hang out the washing.
- The dry weather will continue for several days.
- the dry season (dry - drier - driest)
sunny (adj.) - if the weather is sunny, the sun is shining:
- It is going to be sunny all day.
- a lovely sunny afternoon (sunny - sunnier - sunniest)
sunshine (n. U) - warm bright light from the sun:
- We sat on the patio enjoying the autumn sunshine.
- Northern regions will start dry with some sunshine.
in the sunshine
- The children ran out to play in the sunshine.
in the sun - where the sun is shining down:
- I’m just going to lie here in the sun and get a nice tan.
3) BAD WEATHER
bad weather - when it is raining a lot or very cold:
- The game was cancelled because of bad weather.
awful / terrible / horrible / nasty / beastly / filthy / wretched / hazy / dull / dreary (adj., especially spoken) - very unpleasant, cold, wet etc.:
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- Awful weather, isn’t it?
- It’s been absolutely horrible all day.
- What a dull day!
- The weather was so beautiful yesterday.
4) WEATHER THAT CHANGED A LOT
unsettled (adj.) - if the weather is unsettled, it keeps changing and it often rains:
- Tomorrow will continue unsettled, with showers in most areas.
changeable (adj.) - likely to change suddenly = variable:
- changeable weather with strong winds and some sunshine
5) RAIN
rain (n. U) - water falling from the sky in small drops:
- The rain was falling against the window.
- We haven’t had a drop of rain ever since last month.
- The rain has laid the dust.
- It looks (feels) like rain.
- These clouds promise (omen) the rain.
- A drizzling piercing rain continued all day.
- The rain was accompanied by a strong wind.
- It’s spotting with rain.
in the rain
- I like walking in the rain.
- I was (got) caught in the rain.
- I’ve been standing in the rain for an hour.
heavy rain / lot of rain / a pelting rain / a downpour / a torrent
rain falls = comes down from the sky
it’s raining - use this to say that rain is falling:
- Look! It’s raining again.
- Is it still raining?
- It rained all day yesterday.
- Take a coat in case it rains.
- It rained now and then.
- It keeps on raining.
it’s raining hard / heavily (= raining a lot)
- It had been raining heavily and the ground was very soft.
- It’s raining cats and dogs.
- It’s raining pitchforks.
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it’s pouring (esp. spoken) - use this to say that it is raining very hard:
- As soon as I got outside it started pouring.
- It’s pouring.
- It’s coming on to pour.
it’s pouring with rain
- It was pouring with rain, and she had forgotten her umbrella.
it’s drizzling (esp. spoken) - use this to say that it is raining a little, with very
small drops of rain:
- I think I’ll walk to work, it’s only drizzling.
- It drizzled a little and then ceased. Will it clear up do you think?
a drizzling rain = a drizzle
wet / rainy (adj.) - if the weather is wet or rainy, it rains a lot; if smth. is wet, it
has a lot of liquid on it or in it; if someone is wet, their clothes and hair are wet.
- wet weather
- a rainy weekend in November
- It has been wet all week.
- You had better change out of those wet clothes.
- The grass was wet after the rain.
to get wet = to get caught in the rain
- Hurry up with the umbrella, I’m getting wet!
to be soaking wet / wet through = very wet
- A pipe has burst and the carpet was soaking wet.
- By the time the bus arrived, we were wet through.
- When it began raining I got caught in the rain and was soaking through.
to be all wet = very wet (wet - wetter - wettest)
- Oh no! My socks are all wet now!
to be (get) drenched / soaked (adj.) - if you are drenched or soaked you are ex-tremely wet, so that drops of water are falling from your clothes:
- By the time we got home we were all drenched.
- I’m soaked through! I’ll have to go and change.
to be (get) soaked to the skin = completely soaked
- I was exhausted, and soaked to the skin.
- I’m wet to the bone!
- I’m simply soaked through!
- I’m wet like a drowned cat!
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- I’ve got a good ducking.
damp (adj.) - something that is damp is slightly wet:
- Clean the counter with a damp cloth.
- My hair was still damp.
Note: Use damp to say that something is wet especially in an unpleasant way:
- a dark, damp cellar
-It was a cold, damp, windy night.
- At first I hated the damp weather in Britain.
moist (adj.) - smth. that is moist is slightly wet, and this is the way it should be:
- Water the plants regularly to keep the soil moist.
- The cake mixture should be slightly moist, but not sticky.
soggy (adj.) - smth. that is soggy is softer than usual and looks or feels
unpleasant, because it has become wet:
- horrible soggy toast
- He always leaves the towels in a soggy heap on the bathroom floor.
when the air feels wet = humid, damp
humid (adj.) - humid air or weather is hot and wet in a way that makes you feel
uncomfortable:
- the humid heat of a tropical rainforest
- Summers in Tokyo are hot and humid.
shower (n. U) - a short period of light rain:
- It was just a shower, so we didn’t get too wet.
heavy showers - when a lot of rain falls during short periods
- Heavy showers are forecast for the weekend.
torrent (n. C) - a large amount of water moving very rapidly and strongly in a
particular direction; a raging torrent - a very violent torrent:
- After five days of heavy rain the Telle river was a raging torrent.
torrential rain = very heavy rain
the rainy season / the Monsoon (n. sing.) - a time when it rains a lot in hot
countries
thaw (n. sing.) - a period of warm weather during which snow and ice melt:
- The thaw begins in March.
6) SNOW AND ICE
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snow (n. U) - soft white pieces of frozen water that fall from the sky in cold
weather:
- The tops of the mountains were still covered with snow.
- Large flakes of snow are falling.
snow falls
- Some snow is expected to fall on high ground.
- The snow is falling thick.
deep snow - a lot of snow that has fallen on the ground
- Tony and I trudged home through the deep snow.
it’s snowing - use this to say that snow is falling:
- Look! It’s snowing!
- Do you think it’s going to snow tonight?
it’s snowing heavily / hard - snowing a lot
- It snowed heavily all day long.
snowfall (n. C, U) - the amount of snow that falls, or the amount that falls in a
particular period of time:
- Heavy snowfalls are forecast.
- We had a heavy snowfall.
snowdrift (n. C) - a deep mass of snow piled up by the wind:
- It’s snowing hard. There are huge snowdrifts everywhere.
- Snowdrifts surrounded us from all sides.
snowstorm (n. C) - a storm with strong winds and a lot of snow
snowflake (n. C) - a small soft flat piece of frozen water that falls as snow:
- Snowflakes blind your eyes and you can hardly see a yard in front of you.
- Large flakes of snow are falling.
snowdrop (n. C) - a European plant with a small white flower which appears in
early spring:
- If the weather keeps fine till Saturday, we’ll go to the forest to pick snowdrops.
hail (n. U) - frozen raindrops that fall as small balls of ice:
- Hail was battering the roof of the car.
sleet (n. U) - a mixture of snow and rain.
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slush (n. U) - partly melted snow:
- The hailstones were turning into slush on the road.
frost - 1. (n. U) white powder that covers the ground when it is very cold
(= hoar-frost)
- The grass and trees were white with frost.
2. (n. C) very cold weather, when water freezes:
- It’s pleasant when the frost lasts and there’s a nip in the air.
- The frost breaks.
late / early frost
- Even in May we can sometimes get a late frost.
sharp / hard / severe / ringing frost - extremely cold weather
- It was a ringing frost.
- Our pipes burst in the hard frost.
frosty (adj.)
- frosty winter mornings
- The air is frosty.
icy (adj.) - covered with ice and very slippery (icy / icier / iciest):
- Be careful! The roads are icy this morning.
icicle (n. C) - a long thin pointed piece of ice hanging from a roof / other
surface:
- Look! The icicles are sparkling in the sun.
slippery (adj.) - a slippery surface is so smooth or wet or icy that it is difficult to
stand or walk safely on it:
- Be careful! The floor is very slippery.
- Ice is making the roads slippery today.
7) CLOUDY
cloudy (adj.) - if the weather is cloudy, there are a lot of clouds in the sky.
- a cloudy day
- cloudy / cloudier / cloudiest
dull (adj.) - if the weather is dull, it is cloudy and there is no sunshine.
- It will be dry but dull this morning, with the possibility of showers
later in the day.
grey (adj., especially written) - cloudy and not at all bright
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- It was a grey winter morning.
to be overcast (with clouds) (adj.) - if the sky is overcast, it is very cloudy and
dark, and there will probably be rain:
- I think it’s going to rain, the sky is very overcast.
- The sky is overcast with heavy clouds.
cloud (n. C/U) - a white or grey mass in the sky, which rain falls from:
- There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky.
- These clouds promise (omen) rain.
- The dark cloud covered the sky.
- The clouds are dispersing / lifting and the sun is appearing again.
thick / dense cloud = a lot of cloud
- Dense cloud prevented the rescue helicopter from taking off.
cloudless (adj.) - a cloudless sky is clear and bright:
- The sun is shining in a cloudless sky.
fog (n. U) - thick cloudy air near the ground, which is very difficult to see
through:
- Watch out for patches of fog in low-lying areas.
thick / dense fog = a lot of fog
- Dense fog is making driving conditions difficult on many roads.
the fog lifts / clears = it goes away
- The fog has almost cleared, our plane will be able to take off soon.
foggy (adj.)
- a foggy November evening
mist (n. U) - wet light cloud near the ground, which is difficult to see through
clearly:
- The mist along the valley had gone by 10 o’clock.
misty (adj.)
- It may be misty in the east in the morning.
8) WINDY
windy (adj.) - if the weather is windy, there is a lot of wind:
- It was so windy that I could hardly walk straight.
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wind (n. C/U) - a moving current of air near the ground:
- We walked home through the wind and rain.
- The wind is getting stronger.
- A cold biting wind almost swept me off my feet.
the wind blows
- A strong wind was blowing from the East.
in the wind
- The curtains flopped free in the wind.
- The flags fluttered gently in the wind.
strong / high / piercing wind
- Strong winds caused damage to many buildings.
a gust of wind = when the wind suddenly blows strongly:
- A sudden gust of wind blew the paper out of his hand.
a puff of wind / a breath of air = a sudden small movement of wind, air
- The weather was calm and there wasn’t even a puff of wind.
- There is hardly a breath of air. Not a leaf is stirring.
breeze (n. C) - a gentle pleasant wind:
- A nice cool breeze came in off the sea.
slight / gentle breeze
- A gentle breeze ruffled her hair.
gale (n. C) - a very strong wind:
- The fence was blown down in the gale last night.
9) HOT
hot (adj.), hot / hotter / hottest
- Isn’t it hot today?
- It was unbearably hot yesterday.
- We had three weeks of very hot weather.
heat (n. U) - hotness, warmth; when smth. is hot, especially the air in a room or
outside:
- Several of her plants had died in the heat.
- In the desert, the heat of the day is soon lost when the sun goes down.
- The heat is so oppressive. I’m roasted alive!
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boiling / scorching (adj., especially spoken) - extremely hot:
- It’s boiling in here!
- It was scorching on the tennis court.
boiling hot / scorching hot
- a boiling hot day in August
- Open the door, it’s boiling hot in here!
broiling (adj., American especially spoken) - weather that is broiling is very hot
and makes you feel uncomfortable:
- The day of the pony race was broiling hot.
- the broiling heat of the Mississippi summer
sweltering (adj.) - weather that is sweltering is very hot and makes you feel
tired and uncomfortable:
- Lucy came to call one sweltering afternoon in July.
- the sweltering summer of 1995
Note: sweltering is used especially in written descriptions.
heatwave (n. C) - a period of time when the weather is much hotter than usual:
- The heatwave continued throughout August and into September.
- We’ll have a heatwave, I fear.
warm (adj.) - slightly hot, especially pleasantly:
- It was nice and warm in the sunshine.
- I’m looking forward to some warmer weather.
- These plants only grow in warm climates.
mild (adj.) - mild weather is pleasant because it is not as cold as it usually is:
- a mild winter
- It seems quite mild for February.
humid (adj.) - if the weather is humid, the weather is hot and wet in a way that
makes you feel uncomfortable:
- Tokyo is very humid in summer.
sultry (adj.) - weather that is sultry is unpleasantly hot with no wind:
- How sultry the weather has become!
stifling (adj.) - a room or weather that is stifling is very hot and difficult to
breathe in:
- How stifling the air is! I’m simply melting!
close (adj.) - very warm in a way that it is uncomfortable because there seems to
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be no air:
- It’s very close and humid today.
drought [draut] (n. C/U) - a long period of dry weather when there is not enough
water for plants and animals to live:
- We had a drought last summer. It didn’t rain for six weeks. The earth became rock-hard and a lot of plants died.
10) COLD
cold (adj.)
- a cold January morning
- This is the coldest winter we’ve had for years.
- There was a very cold winter last year.
it’s cold = the weather is cold
- Put your gloves on, it’s cold outside today.
freezing cold = extremely cold
- It gets freezing cold at night in the mountains.
bitterly cold = extremely cold and unpleasant
- a bitterly cold north wind
- It’s bitterly cold today! I feel like ice in the snow.
the cold (n. singular) - cold weather; use this to emphasize how unpleasant and
uncomfortable it is outside:
- Come in, don’t stand out there in the cold.
- Come in out of the cold.
cool (adj.) - cold in a pleasant way, especially after the weather has been hot:
- a cool sea breeze
it’s cool = the weather is cool
- Although the days are very hot, it’s much cooler at night.
chilly (adj.) - rather cold, in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable:
- It was getting chilly outside, so we went back into the house.
- chilly / chillier / chilliest
frosty (adj.) - very cold, when everything is covered with a thin white layer of
ice, and the sky is often very bright and clear:
- a bright frosty morning
freezing (adj.) - extremely cold, so that rivers, streams etc. turn to ice:
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- The freezing weather continued all through February.
- It’s freezing out here. Can’t we go inside?
freezing cold = the weather is extremely cold:
- It was freezing cold outside and my hands were numb.
Note: Don’t say «very freezing». Say «absolutely freezing».
a nip in the air = coldness in the air:
- There’s a nip in the air.
- The air is nipping.
11) STORM
storm (n. C) - a period of very bad weather, when there is a lot of rain, wind,
and sometimes thunder or lightning:
- The Spanish ships were wrecked in a storm.
rainstorm / snowstorm / icestorm
- Anderson disappeared in a snowstorm while climbing the Alps.
stormy (adj.)
- stormy weather
- The sky was starting to look stormy.
thunderstorm (n. C) - a storm when there is a lot of thunder and lightning:
- There was a spectacular thunderstorm that night.
- There is a thunderstorm hanging about.
thunder (n. U) - the loud crashing noise that you hear in a storm:
- They could hear thunder rumbling in the distance.
- There is a thunder cloud over there.
- It sounds like thunder.
clap of thunder / peal of thunder / roll of thunder = one sudden noise of thunder
- Peals of thunder were heard.
lightning (n. U) - a bright flash of light in the sky during a storm; flash of
lightning
- A flash of lightning lit up the whole sky.
blizzard (n. C) - a storm with a lot of snow and strong winds:
- He had to drive home through the blizzard.
- A blizzard is a dangerous thing.
hurricane / typhoon (n. C) - a severe storm with very strong winds that causes a
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lot of damage:
- The hurricane devastated Florida and killed at least 40 people.
Note: Hurricanes happen in the Western Atlantic Ocean. Typhoons happen in the Western Pacific Ocean.
tornado (n. C) - a small but very violent part of a storm, in which a powerful twisting mass of air appears, causing a lot of damage. Tornadoes usually happen in the central area of the US:
- A tornado destroyed twelve homes in Ashport, Tennessee yesterday.
12) WE ARE IN FOR...
we are in for... : - a spell of good weather
- some rain, a storm, a frost
- We are in for a cold winter.
2. Text A
Weather
The naughtiest thing in the world is the weather. It’s like a capricious woman who always does the opposite to what you ask her.
When you want to go for a picnic in the open air you ask the skies to remain clear and the day to be fine. Nervously you switch on the radio and listen to the weather forecast. You tremble with joy to hear that it’ll stay warm and dry with bright sunshine and moderate breeze. Your imagination draws a hot summer af-ternoon and yourself saying: "Nice weather we are having today!” You take a lot of food and no warm clothes, go to the countryside but ... do not get anything sunny. You get it cloudy and cool with intermittent drizzle which ends with a thundery shower. The sky is so heavily cast with clouds, the downpours follow one another with such frequency, the rumbling of thunder and flashes of light-ning are so frightening that you’ve got no illusions left. You throw away the food and go back hungry and angry. And when you are already approaching your home soaked to the skin it suddenly brightens up. Oh, Goodness!
Each summer every student survives through the best of his or her life - an examination session. Then many students plead: "Please, weather, stay cloudy, chilly and even cold with brisk northerly wind and rain torrents leaving pools and puddles everywhere, especially on the playground. And I’ll be a good stu-dent.” The radio promises: "Patchy light drizzle with showery outbreaks of rain.” But the "patch” is never in the right place. Instead the skies send heat and excellent weather for a sun tan. Everyone knows that sun tan never helps at ex-ams.
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And it is always like this. When you go skiing and want to have frosty weather with a lot of snow, it starts thawing and your skis sink in the slush. In-stead of a snowfall and hoarfrost on the trees you get excellent sleet. The weather does not feel any pangs of remorse.
When you go in the car to the country, enjoying nice weather and a beautiful view of a rainbow in the blue sky, you pay no attention to some haze on the ho-rizon. Some time later a thin mist in the distance turns into a thick fog and you spend a lovely two hours instead of one at the steering wheel.
When you plant some much-cared-for flowers in the garden, either a ground frost or a hail storm kills them. Digging muddy flowerbeds one feels exasperated: "What beastly weather we’ve had this week! And it keeps nasty! Wretched!”
To tell the truth, sometimes the weather is ashamed and turns for the better. But not always. More often it sticks to its own pattern and after a short warm spell turns bad again. Why is it always like this? Maybe, because the weather likes surprises and wants to bring in adventures to our life, breaking the boring routine with marvellous happenings?
In England, where the weather seems to change every minute, you might imagine that people’s moods would reflect these changes. But the English are regarded as an undemonstrative and rather placid race.
For myself, I know I am affected by the weather. There is a big difference in my energy levels during the different seasons. In winter I have nothing like as much enthusiasm for doing things as I have in the summer. Even on sunny days I find it difficult to make myself do anything more than I have to. While not get-ting particularly depressed during winter, I do feel rather like a hibernating ani-mal. The one exception to this is when I go to the mountains - in spite of the freezing temperatures, I feel exhilarated by the fresh, clear air and once more ready for anything. Unlike most people, I love the wind. I have never experi-enced a tornado or a real hurricane, just a strong gale, and I find it thrilling. The wind gives me both physical and mental energy. It sweeps away all my stale thoughts and gives me the feeling of being able to start again. It makes me feel much more creative, but at the same time slightly mad.
In contrast to this happy feeling produced by the wind, my lowest time is on days of grey skies and constant rain. Then, it doesn’t take much to make me short-tempered with people; also, the ability to make sensible decisions seems to go out of the window at this time.
My wet weather mood contrasts greatly with my sunny day behaviour. I no-tice two changes in me - one which is more dramatic than the other. If we have a period of dull weather followed by a bright sunny day, I feel cheerful, happy and full of joy, as if a burden has been lifted from me. If this one sunny day is fol-lowed by more and more sunny days, my mood settles down into one of con-tentment, openness and a feeling of physical well-being. My face relaxes, as does my body, and I feel able to cope with everybody and everything.
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There is no doubt that the weather plays an important part in my behaviour. Sometimes, however, it is difficult to distinguish between a weather-related mood and just a bad temper. It’s very easy to blame the weather!
2.1. Notes on Text A
Intermittent (adj.) happening, then stopping, then happening again, with pauses in between; not continuous.
Thundery (adj.) (of the weather) giving signs that thunder is likely.
Rumble (v) to make or move with a deep rolling sound.
Patchy (adj.) made up of or appearing in patches.
Remorse (n) great sorrow and a feeling of guilt for having done wrong.
Exasperate (v) (usu. pass.) to annoy or make extremely angry, esp. by testing the patience of.
placid (adj.) calm, peaceful.
Hibernate (v) (of some animals) to be or go into a state like a long sleep during the winter.
Contentment (n) quiet happiness; satisfaction.
2.2. Additional Vocabulary
Cold weather
Chilly - cold, but not very; frost - thin white coat of ice on everything; sleet - rain and snow mixed; slush - dirty, brownish, half-snow, half-water; to settle - to stay as a white covering; a blizzard - snow blown by high winds; a snowdrift - deep banks of snow against walls, etc.; the ground starts to thaw - change from hard, frozen state to normal; ... the ice melts - change from solid to liquid under heat.
In Scandinavia, the chilly days of autumn soon change to the cold days of winter. The first frosts arrive and the roads become icy. Rain becomes sleet and then snow, at first turning to slush in the streets, but soon settling, with severe blizzards and snowdrifts in the far North. Freezing weather often continues in the far North until May or June, when the ground starts to thaw and the ice melts again.
Warm / hot weather
Close - warm and uncomfortable; stifling - hot, uncomfortable, you can hardly breathe (душный, удушающий); humid - hot and damp, makes you sweat a lot; scorching - very hot, often used in positive contexts (знойный, палящий); boil-ing - very hot, often used in negative contexts (палящий, обжигающий); mild - warm at a time when it is normally cold. Note also: We had a heatwave last month (very hot, dry period).
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Wet weather
This wet weather scale gets stronger from left to right.
DAMP → DRIZZLE → POUR DOWN / DOWNPOUR → TORRENTIAL RAIN → FLOOD
Autumn in London is usually chilly and damp with rain and drizzle.
It was absolutely pouring down - or - there was a real downpour.
In the tropics there is usually torrential rain most days, and the roads often get flooded - or - there are floods on the roads.
This rain won’t last long; it is only a shower (short duration).
The storm damaged several houses (high winds and rain together).
We got very wet in the thunderstorm (thunder and heavy rain).
Hailstones were battering the roof of our car (small balls of ice falling from the sky). Note also hail (uncountable).
The sky’s a bit overcast; I think it is going to rain (very cloudy).
We had a drought last summer. It didn’t rain for six weeks.
Mist and fog
Nouns and adjectives: haze (легкий туман, дымка) / hazy (туманный, подер-нутый дымкой, неясный) - light mist, usually caused by heat; mist / misty - light fog, often on the sea, or caused by drizzle; fog / foggy - quite thick, associ-ated with cold weather; smog (= smoke +fog) - mixture of fog and pollution.
Wind
There was a gentle breeze on the beach, just enough to cool us.
There is a good wind today; fancy going sailing?
It is a very blustery day; the umbrella will just blow away ( to bluster - буше-вать о буре).
There has been a gale (= a strong wind) warning; it would be crazy to go sailing.
People boarded up their windows when they heard there was a hurricane on the way.