This message is for Sergey YEZHOV

Good afternoon Sergey!

I am pleased to send you some highlights of the week’s news together with your exercises for this week.

So, what has been happening around the world this week?

GOOD WEEK FOR:

Anyone who wants to breathe the air of the valleys of Wales. Specially bottled Welsh air is now being made available to Welsh people living abroad who wish to be reminded of their homeland. The bottle are available from www.walesinabottle.com and cost £24 each!!! (US$43)
The modern man, after new research shows that British men spend an average of two hours a day on household chores. The study found that the average man spends about half an hour a day cooking and washing up and almost 40 minutes buying groceries. In the 1960s men spent just 83 minutes each day on household tasks.
London zoo, which has launched a new exhibit - a herd of humans. The "Human Zoo" features eight adult humans in an enclosure. You can see a photo here Sergey.

BAD WEEK FOR:

A Chinese man living in Russia, who has been storing his dead friend at his warehouse for the past two years. When questioned by Police the man explained: "I just thought it would be easier to store the body myself. There's so much bureaucracy here I knew the paperwork would be endless. I have a large industrial freezer in my warehouse."
A British man, who received a letter from the Royal Mail Post Office saying that if he didn't pay his £300 phone bill, he would be hospitalised. The letter continued: “If you thought the terrorist events of July 7 and July 21 were bad, that is nothing compared to what will happen to you." A spokesperson from Royal Mail denied the letter was anything to do with the company, and said it was investigating.
Security, with the news that 43% of British burglars have fitted alarms on their own homes (while only 33% of law-abiding homeowners have an alarm fitted). 30% of British burglars have even fitted security cameras to their homes.
A British couple, who have lost their dog and are so desperate that they are offering a £40,000 reward. The couple have re-mortgaged their home and sold their wedding rings to raise the money. The couple already have 5 other dogs.
Hungarian women, with the news that a Budapest mayor wants to introduce tough new dress codes for the city’s administrators. The mayor believes that only female staff with "completely perfect legs" should wear miniskirts, which should be no shorter than two to three centimetres above the knee. The mayor also dislikes the fashion for crop tops: "Few women have well-trained bellies worth showing to people." He reportedly even wants the city to legislate on the thickness of women’s stockings during the various seasons.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Two dogs sit on the bed at a pet love motel in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The rooms come complete with a heart-shaped mirror on the ceiling and a headboard resembling a doggy bone.

And now for your homework Sergey:

This week’s homework is about The Weather:

1. Basic Vocabulary

The climate refers to the general weather conditions in a place. For example:

Parts of southern Romania have an almost Mediterranean climate for part of the year. Some people think pollution is causing climate change in many parts of the world.

In countries with a tropical climate there is a dry season and a rainy season. In Europe there are four seasons. Sergey , translate these into your language:

1. spring…………..

2. summer…………….

3. autumn…………..

4. winter…………..

British English autumn = American English fall.

2. What’s the weather like?

Now Sergey , match the sentences on the left with the related sentences on the right:

1.	It was sunny and very hot.	a.	We had thunder and lightening.
2.	We had a lot of rain.	b.	There were a few wintry showers.
3.	It snowed on and off.	c.	It was quite misty.
4.	It was very windy.	d.	It was very overcast.
5.	It was dull and cloudy.	e.	There was a bit of drizzle.
6.	We had some light rain.	f.	There was quite a breeze.
7.	It was a bit foggy.	g.	We had a bit of a heatwave.
8.	There was the most awful storm.	h.	It was very wet.

Now put the following adjectives into the correct pattern below:

lovely

miserable

beautiful

horrible

fabulous

glorious

terrible

foul

9.	What ……………/……………/……………/……………/ weather! It hasn’t stopped raining all day!
10.	What ……………/……………/……………/……………/ weather! Let’s go down to the beach!

A breeze is a fairly strong wind. It is not as strong as a gale.
Fog is much thicker than mist.
Drizzle is very fine rain.
If it is overcast, it is very dull.
Wintry showers is used on weather forecasts to mean a little snow.

When would you expect to see a rainbow?

3. Weather collocations

Match each group of adjectives with one of the nouns on the right:		Now complete these expressions with a word on the right:
1. light, steady, heavy, torrential	a. storm	6. a gust of	f. ice
2. light, stiff	b. fog	7. a ray of	g. bad weather
3. dense, thick, patchy	c. sky	8. a sheet of	h. wind
4. severe, tropical	d. breeze	9. a blanket of	i. sunshine
5. clear, blue, grey, cloudless	e. rain	10. a spell of	j. snow

4. Temperature words

Sergey , use these words to complete sentences:

freezing	cool	mild
warm	humid	chilly

1.	It’s absolutely ……………out. I’d put a coat on if I were you.
2.	We’ve had lovely sunshine. It’s been so …………… I’ve been on the beach every day.
3.	I was on holiday in Thailand last month. It was so …………… all the time. Thank goodness the hotel had air-conditioning.
4.	It was pretty hot down at the beach but there was a lovely …………… breeze.
5.	It’s a bit …………… in here. I think I’ll pout the heating on.
6.	We haven’t had a bad winter at all. It’s been very …………… for the time of year.

5. Wet weather

Sergey , choose the correct ending for each sentence:

1.	It’s pouring ………………………………………..
2.	I’m soaked! I just got caught ………………………………………..
3.	It looks like it’s going to rain. If I were you, I’d take ………………………………………..
4.	The weather’s terrible. I hope it clears up ………………………………………..
5.	It suddenly started pouring down. I had to shelter ………………………………………..
6.	My feet are soaking wet. I got out of the car and stepped ………………………………………..

a.	a bit later.
b.	in a doorway.
c.	an umbrella.
d.	in a huge puddle.
e.	in that heavy shower.
f.	with rain out there!

When the rain is very heavy, we say that it’s pouring. It is rare for people to say that it’s raining cats and dogs. This is an idiom taught by English teachers, but seldom used!

6. Weather forecasts

Sergey , use the correct form of the verbs to complete the forecast:

rise

fall

reach

remain

Tomorrow the south will again (1) …………… warm and dry. Temperatures could (2) ……………25°C during the afternoon. In the north, the day will start quite cool, but temperatures will (3) …………… gradually during the day. Later in the week the weather will turn cold and night-time temperatures could (4) …………… as low as 8°C.

Now use these words to complete the next forecast:

wintry

icy

melt

sleet

frost

Tonight will be cold and most parts of the country can expect an overnight (5) …………… Tomorrow will also be bitterly cold with (6) …………… showers in many places. Rain or (7) …………… will turn to snow, especially on high ground, later in the day. Roads will be (8) …………… and drivers are advised to take extra care. At the weekend daytime temperatures could fall below zero and there will be snow in most parts of the country. Monday will be a little warmer and by Tuesday morning the snow will begin to (9) …………….

7. Vocabulary notes

Sergey , here are some notes on special expressions used to talk about the weather:

1.	When a clear sky becomes cloudy, we say, “It’s clouding over”. When it improves, we say, “It’s clearing up”.
2.	A long spell of unusually hot weather is called a heatwave. A cold spell is sometimes called a cold snap.
3.	Another word for chilly is nippy.

Have a lovely weekend Sergey! I will write to you again next week with the answers to this week’s exercises, more news and your exercises for next week.

Best wishes

Paul

Paul STEVENS - Director

Mayflower College, 1 Radford Road, Plymouth, Devon, UK
Tel. 44-1752-673784 Fax. 44-1752-671537
Email: english@maycoll.co.uk Internet: http://www.maycoll.co.uk (in 19 languages)

Good afternoon Sergey!

I am pleased to send you some highlights of the week’s news together with your exercises for this week.

So, what has been happening around the world this week?

GOOD WEEK FOR:

BAD WEEK FOR:

A British couple, who have lost their dog and are so desperate that they are offering a £40,000 reward. The couple have re-mortgaged their home and sold their wedding rings to raise the money. The couple already have 5 other dogs.