Unit 5 Talking About the Weather

Session 3 Section III Maintaining a Sharp Eye Section IV Trying Your Hand

Talking About the Weather Passage Ⅱ British People Like Talking About the Weather

Warm-up questions Do you know something about the weather conditions in Britain? changeable

Warm-up questions 2. How do English people usually start their conversations? Why?

Talking About the Weather Reading of the passage British People Like Talking About the Weather passage

Find out the topic sentences and summarize the main ideas Reading comprehension Find out the topic sentences and summarize the main ideas for each paragraph.

Reading comprehension Para. 1 The topic sentence: The first sentence. The main idea: Weather in Britain is changeable.

Reading comprehension The topic sentence: The first sentence. The main idea: Some British customs are related to the weather there. Para. 2

Reading comprehension Para. 3 The topic sentence: The first two sentences. The main idea: British people talk about weather frequently because it is interesting and changeable.

Reading comprehension The topic sentence: The last sentence. The main idea: Talking about weather is an easy way for British people to begin their conversation. Para. 4

Reading comprehension Fill in the blanks and then read aloud. The climate in Britain is very c_________. Sometimes it can be c___, r____, w_____ and s____ all in the same day. Generally, it r____ a lot, especially in the north and the west. Most of the time, the weather is quite m___― never too h___ nor too c___. In summer, it is usually w____. hangeable old ainy indy unny ains ild ot old arm

Reading comprehension Role play the situation. A Chinese student is going to study in Britain, and he is asking a British student studying in China about the weather conditions in Britain and the British student happily gives the information.

Useful words and expressions a. depend on (1) change according to (2) need someone or something for help or to be able to do something

Useful words and expressions a. depend on Whether we’ll go out for a walk depends on the weather. Don’t always depend on your parents since you are an adult now.

Useful words and expressions b. variable changeable; not steady various variety varied variable Many people know that the weather in Britain is ____________.

Useful words and expressions c. be reluctant to do not willing to do; slow to act He is very reluctant to accept the fact that his sister has married a foreigner.

Useful words and expressions say or do sth. to make people feel more relaxed d. break the ice Sometimes talking about the weather is a way of breaking the ice between strangers.

Section IV Trying Your Hand

Applied writing: Weather report Sample analysis A weather report or forecast is a very useful aid in our daily life. Knowing the usual format for giving a weather forecast helps us a lot in understanding a weather forecast in English.

Applied writing: Weather report Sample analysis Figures, measurement units, graphics, weather terms, and broken short passages are often used to forecast weather conditions. In general, the language used to forecast weather should be concise, clear, familiar and vivid.

Applied writing: Weather report Sentences used to describe weather: 1. Tomorrow is going to be fair. 2. It’s foggy in the morning and it’ll be clear and fine this afternoon. 3. Tomorrow will be overcast with drizzle.

Applied writing: Weather report Sentences used to describe weather: 4. It is expected to be partly cloudy in the next two days. 5. Tomorrow we can expect cloudy, windy and cold weather. 6. The wind will be light with little change of the temperature.

Exercises Key to Ex. 2: Weather outlook for the urban area: It’ll be cloudy today, and later turn to be partly cloudy, the highest temperature will be one degrees and the lowest temperature will be four degrees below zero.

Exercises Key to Ex. 2: It is expected to be partly cloudy in the next two days. The wind will be calm with little change of the temperature.

Simple past and present perfect Sentence Writing: Simple past and present perfect Sample snalysis The simple past tense is used to prefer to a past action that does not continue, while the present perfect tense is used to show actions which started in the past and are still continuing, or actions which happened in the past, but have an effect till the present.

Exercises Key to Ex. 6. The weather was terrible yesterday. In fact, it has been awful for several days. 2. She has worked in this office for 5 years. 3. I paid a visit to the Great Wall last year and had a very good time there.

Exercises Key to Ex.6. 4. We have never spoken to each other since we quarreled last time. 5. Turn down the TV a bit. The weather forecast hasn’t begun yet.

Assignments 1. Recite the first and the last paragraphs of Passage II. 2. Read and learn by heart the new words in Unit 6. 3. Prepare the speaking activities in Section I of Unit 6.

Reading of the passage The most important thing to remember about the weather in Britain is that it often changes. You can wake up to a beautiful blue sky and then it starts raining during breakfast. Similarly, you may decide not to go for a picnic because it's too wet--then later it's fine. Because long periods when the weather stays the same day after day aren't very common in Britain, the kind of weather you get will depend not only on the time of year, but also on luck.

Reading of the passage The weather in Britain may explain a lot about what you find here. For example, the opportunities for people to meet outside depend a lot on the weather, so you won't see people meeting and spending time together outdoors as much as you do in warmer countries. This may give some visitors the idea that the British are not very friendly. The weather helps to explain eating customs too; a large hot breakfast, for example, is a good idea on a cold dark morning.

Reading of the passage Foreigners are often amused that the English spend so much time discussing the weather. An important reason for this is that the climate in Britain is interesting and variable. Because the weather changes frequently, there's always something to say about it, and this is probably the commonest way for strangers to start a conversation. At places like bus stop you might hear conversations start like this: 1st person: Lovely day, isn't it? 2nd person: Yes, isn't it.

Reading of the passage Then they may go on to talk about what the weather has been like recently or what it'll be like next. Another reason is that the British people are reluctant to converse about personal matters with people who are not friends. Mentioning the weather is also a useful way to greet someone you pass on the street; it's inoffensive to begin a conversation with someone you don't know at a social event. A comment on a nice day or a personal complaint about the rain is an easy way to break the ice.