In this section you will find some texts about the 4 seasons, exercises, and poems. The section will help you to enrich your vocabulary and make up your own story about the climate in your region and your favorite season. The poems will give you an idea how the seasons can be described in poetry. Who knows, maybe you will write your own poem... Some students say that it is a piece of cake. So, you never know, just do it!
Weather is hot,
Weather is cold,
Weather is changing
As the weeks unfold.
Skies are cloudy,
Skies are fair,
Skies are changing
In the air.
It is raining,
It is snowing,
It is windy
With breezes blowing.
Days are foggy,
Days are clear,
Weather is changing
Through the year.
Summer
The earth is warm, the sun’s ablaze,
it is a time of carefree days;
and bees abuzz that chance to pass
may see me snoozing in the grass.
Winter
The birds are gone, the world is white,
the winds are wild, they chill and bite;
the ground is thick with slush and sleet,
and I can barely feel my feet!
***
Red sky at night,
Shepherd’s delight;
Red sky in the morning,
Shepherd’s warning.
(Anonymous)
Fall
The leaves are yellow, red, and brown,
a shower sprinkles softly down;
the air is fragrant, crisp and cool,
and once again I’m stuck in school.
Spring
The fields are rich with daffodils,
a coat of clover cloaks the hills,
and I must dance, and I must sing
to see the beauty of the spring!
***
If bees stay at home,
The rain will soon come.
If bees fly away,
It’ll be a fine day.
(Anonymous)
Read the text and enjoy the poems.
Autumn starts in September. Autumn days are cool and short. The earth moves away from the warmth and light of the sun. The 22-nd of September is the day of autumnal equinox. It means that the day is as long as the night. After that the nights become longer, and the days shorter.
Animals are getting ready for winter. Some of them store seeds in underground tunnels they have dug. Squirrels bury nuts to eat later, when food is hard to find.
In early autumn, many crops are ready to be harvested. You can pick apples, pumpkins, tomatoes, and squash. For some crops, autumn is a time to plant. Winter wheat is planted, too.
Many insects die in cold weather. But first they lay eggs that will hatch in the spring. Some birds go away to warmer countries.
It often rains; there are lots of pools of rainwater. It is muddy outside, a piercing wind blows, and you don’t feel like going for a walk. It’s better to stay indoors.
Suddenly the days can become hot again, just like in summer! This mild, dry, hazy time can last a few days or weeks. This pleasant time of the year is called “Indian Summer.” Why is it called so? They say because in early days of the American colonies, the American Indians told colonists they could look forward to this pleasant time of year during autumn.
Autumn is a time for those who like to walk in the forest and pick up mushrooms. In autumn, the trees stop growing. Their leaves turn red, golden, brown...
Autumn nights are chilly. Early morning dew freezes and becomes frost that looks like a thin layer of snow. It covers plant leaves and kills them. When you go outside, you can see your breath in the cold air.
In late autumn, the earth moves farther and farther away from the sun. Each day is shorter than the one before. There is less sunlight, so the days are cold.
Rain of Leaves
by Aileen Fisher.
It’s raining big.
It’s raining small.
It’s raining autumn leaves
in fall.
It’s raining gold,
and red, and brown
as autumn leaves
come raining down.
It’s raining everywhere
I look.
It’s raining bookmarks
on my book.
September
by John Keats.
Golden in the garden,
Golden in the glen,
Golden, golden, golden-
September’s here again.
Golden in the tree tops,
Golden in the sky,
Golden, golden, golden-
September’s passing by.
October
by Ogden Nash.
The month is amber,
Gold and brown.
Blue ghosts of smoke
Float through the town.
Great V-s of gees
Honk overhead,
And maple leaves
Are fiery red.
Frost bites the lawn,
The stars are slits
In black cat’s eyes
Before she spits.
At last small witches,
Goblins, hags,
And pirates armed
With paper bags
Their costumes hinged
On safety pins,
Go haunt a night
Of pumpkin grins.
Brooms
by D. Aldis.
On stormy days
When the wind is high,
Tall trees are brooms
Sweeping the sky.
They swish their branches
In buckets of rain,
And swash and sweep it
Blue again.
Ex.1. In the right column there are some words and phrases from the text “Autumn”, in the left – their definitions or synonyms. Can you match the right and the left columns?
1) to freeze
2) tunnel
3) to dig
4) to store
5) to bury
6) crops
7) insect
8) to hatch
10) hazy
11) chilly
12) dew
13) frost
14) layer
15) piercing wind
16) mud
a) to hide; to cover from view
b) wet earth
c) to keep
d) to come forth from eggs
e) to make a hole in the ground
f) condensed atmospheric vapor
g) a wind that “comes under your clothes”
h) to change into ice
j) frozen vapor
k) soft, gentle
l) food plants
m) a single thickness, coating
n) underground pathway
o) foggy, misty
p) a tiny animal
Ex.2. What is wrong in the sentences below?
1. Autumn starts in August.
2. The days become shorter than the nights after the 1-st of September.
3. On the 22-nd of September the day is twice longer than the night.
4. In autumn the birds start building their nests.
5. Vegetables and fruit are not ripe yet.
6. Gardening starts in autumn.
7. Nothing is planted in autumn.
8. Autumn is a time when lots of insects appear.
9. Warm days in autumn are called “Indian Summer” because the first colonists came to America in summer and were greeted by the Indians.
10. In autumn the trees start growing.
11. Their leaves are fresh green.
12. Autumn nights are warm.
13. Morning dew looks like diamonds on the green grass.
14. Frost covers plant leaves and helps them to stay green longer.
15. In late autumn, the earth moves faster and faster to the sun.
16. Rain is always warm in autumn. Everybody enjoys autumn rain.
