Seasons and Sayings: Exploring Weather and Cultural Perspectives

1. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading BR_MAIN Warm-up Questions Background Information Extended Reading Free Discussion

2. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Before Reading_1.1 Warm-up Questions 1. Which season is the most unforgettable to you? Can you use a song or saying to express your opinion? Expressions that might be used for stating preferences: As far as I’m concerned, the best ... From my point of view, the best ... I’d go for ... because ... I’d much prefer ... because ... ... is preferable because ... I’d rather have ... because ...

3. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Before Reading_1.2 《四季歌》 ■

4. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Before Reading_1.3 Warm-up Questions 2. Which season does the singer like best? She has both likes and dislikes in each season.

5. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Before Reading_1.4 Famous sayings related to seasons: 读经宜冬，其神专也；读史宜夏，其时久也；读诸子宜秋，其致别也；读诸集宜春，其机畅也。 Winter is good for reading the classics, for one’s mind is more collected. Summer is good for reading history, for one has plenty of time. Autumn is good for reading the ancient philosophers, because of the great diversity of thought and ideas. Finally, spring is suitable for reading literary works, for in spring one’s spirit expands.

6. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Before Reading_1.5 Famous sayings related to seasons: April hath put a spirit of youth in everything. — William Shakespeare 四月赋予万物青春朝气。 ——莎士比亚

7. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Before Reading_1.6 Famous sayings related to seasons: Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. — Albert Camus 秋天是第二个春天，此时每一片树叶是一朵花。 ——加缪，法国作家

8. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Before Reading_2_1.1 Background Information weather terminology snow: frozen precipitation in the form of ice crystals. 下雪 blizzard: wind of 35 miles per hour or more with snow and blowing snow reducing visibility to less than 1/4 mile for a period of at least three hours. 暴风雪

9. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Before Reading_2_1.2 sleet: rain that freezes into ice before reaching the ground. 雨夹雪/冰雹 freezing rain: rain that freezes on impact with a surface at a below-freezing temperature. 冻雨 sleet freezing rain

10. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Before Reading_2_1.3 ice storms: freezing rain which builds up after hitting cold surfaces. 冰暴 wind chill (chill factor): In the winter, weather forecasters often give two outside temperatures. One is the actual temperature of the air, and the other is a measurement of how cold the air feels. A wind chill factor can tell the cooling effect of the wind. 风寒指数 ice storms wind chill

11. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Before Reading_3_1 Extended Reading Listen to the following information for a better understanding of the text. While listening, please fill in the blanks with the information you hear. Directions: Paralyses Heavy Snow Paralyses Parts of China Heavy snow has brought many parts of China to a standstill. Rescue teams are scrambling to clear roads, deal with accidents and reconnect electricity lines. And there is more snow to come. _________ standstill Rescue teams _________ _____________ ■

12. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Before Reading_3_1 Heavy snowfall in east China’s Anhui province has affected the transmission of power out the towers that form part of a major cable network sending electricity to Shanghai from the Three Gorges Project. Electricity supply has been temporarily rerouted. The repair work will take about two weeks. Continuous snow is creating havoc for peak season travel across the country. In southwestern Guizhou province, nine highways are completely closed, bringing delays to over 10,000 people. snowfall _________ transmission ——————— cable _____ temporarily rerouted ____________________ havoc ______ delays highways ______ _________

13. service stations Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Before Reading_3_2 Emergency Emergency plans are being put into action. The local government is supplying free food and accommodation to those caught in the bad weather. Road links between Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Tibet have now reopened. 131 people who were stranded have been rescued by local police. Luckily, no one was injured . But in badly-hit central China’s Hunan province, the local weather bureau is warning more snow is on its way. In preparation, grit is being used on highways and service stations are stocking extra food. Further snowfall is predicted to arrive in central and eastern China next week. ___________ accommodation ———————— Autonomous _____________ injured _______ bureau _______ _______ stocking _________ _______ predicted _________

14. Animals: Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Before Reading_4_1 Free Discussion How can we plan for a healthy and happy winter?

15. Human beings: 1) Get out the humidifier. 2) Take baths rather than showers. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Before Reading_4_2

16. 3) Apply a good moisturizing lotion once or twice a day. 4) Stay warm indoors. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Before Reading_4_3

17. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Before Reading_4_4 Do’s: Find a new hobby, plan some indoor projects, make a list of old friends to call, encourage family members to visit more often. Don’t wait until you are lonely and sad. (At that point you won’t have the emotional energy to reverse the problem.) All of us are better people after surviving a winter. Survival is the trick.

18. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Globe Reading_main Skimming Part Division of the Text Further Understanding

19. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Globe Reading_1_1 Skimming The title of the text is self-explanatory. You may well predict that the passage is about a winter that is not to be forgotten. But why is it a memorable winter? The writer gives many details to make his point. Go over the text rapidly and get as much information as you can; ignore the fine details, of course. Then, fill in the grid with what you have learned from your first rapid reading.

20. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Globe Reading_1_3 The following list of the main details is for your reference. Time: early January to late March in the depths of the country Place: Events: unpleasant memories Outside 1. beautiful snow scene turned into ugly frostbound sight 2. birds growing tamer and waiting at the doorstep 3. water frozen almost instantly

21. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Globe Reading_1_3 Inside 1. central heating inadequate and uncooperative; oil-stoves unavailable 2. draught coming in through windows, doors and holes in the walls 3. water-pipes frozen 4. sitting inside in overcoats One good thing — eggs not broken when dropped The thaw — water squirting from pipes bringing about a “flood”

22. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Globe Reading_1_4 Part Division of the Text Directions: Please divide the text into 3 parts and summarize the main idea of each part. Parts Paras Main Ideas 1 1~2 An introduction to the cold winter. 2 3~8 Outdoor and indoor descriptions of the winter. 9 The snow finally thawed as late March came. 3

23. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Global Reading_2_1 Further Understanding Multiple Choices • Snow began to fall at round about the beginning of New Year. Round about is closest in meaning to: • A. close to • B. about • C. nearly • D. roughly ( ) B

24. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Global Reading_2_2 2. Snow continued on and off for approximately ten days. The phrase in italics means: A. sometimes B. from time to time C. without stopping D. on and on ( ) B

25. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Globe Reading_2_3 3. Every ugly patch and corner of our garden was smoothed over. “Was smoothed over” means: A. was even and flat B. was made to shine C. was smooth D. was no longer even ( ) A

26. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Globe Reading_2_4 • 4. Hungry birds too, in search of scraps of food, made delicate impressions on its surface. The phrase in italics has all the following meanings except: • A. looking for • B. searching for • C. trying to find • D. discovering ( ) D

27. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Global Reading_2_5 5. We fed the birds with chopped up meat. Chopped up meat means nearly the same as all the following except: A. minced meat B. very small pieces of meat C. ground meat D. chunks of meat ( ) D

28. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Globe Reading_2_6 6. To make matters worse there were tiny holes in the brickwork of many of the rooms. The phrase in italics means: A. Above all B. And the problem was that C. On top of it all D. And what was worse ( ) D

29. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Global Reading_2_7 7. ... we called at the village shop. Called at means all the following except: A. went to B. telephoned C. visited D. paid a visit to ( ) B

30. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Globe Reading_2_8 8. On one occasion the water actually froze before it reached the house. The part in italics has the meaning of: A. Once B. By accident C. One day D. Occasionally ( ) A

31. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Globe Reading_2_9 9. I stooped down furiously to pick the eggs up. The phrase in italics is closest in meaning to: A. leaned downwards B. lowered myself C. squatted D. bent down ( ) D

32. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Global Reading_2_10 10. The eggs had come to no harm. The part in italics has all the following meanings except: A. had still been in perfect condition B. had remained whole C. had not been injured D. had not broken ( ) C

33. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Detailed Reading_1_S A Winter to Remember by Robert Best According to the weather men last winter was one of the worst in living memory. We live in the depths of the country, and my whole family agree that it was certainly a winter we shall never forget. Snow began to fall at round about the beginning of the New Year and continued on and off for approximately ten days. At first we were all thrilled to see it. It fell silently and relentlessly in large soft flakes until every ugly patch and corner of our rather rambling garden was smoothed over and had become a spotless white canopy. The children soon spoilt its beauty by having snowball fights and leaving their footprints all over it. Hungry birds too, in search of scraps of food, made delicate impressions on its surface. It was now, when the garden was all churned up and of a dirty grey color, that a severe frost set in, hardening the snow into ugly lumps of grimy concrete. For the next three months the whole countryside lay in a grip of iron.

34. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Detailed Reading_2_S Every day the birds grew tamer, often waiting hopefully almost on our backdoor step. We fed them with bits of cheese, chopped up meat and any leftovers we had. We also put out bowls of water, which unfortunately within an hour had frozen solid. Indoors it was pretty cold too. Our central heating system proved both inadequate and uncooperative: inadequate partly because it needed overhauling and partly because the poor state of the doors and most of the windows made a whistling stream of cold air come through; unco-operative because occasionally it simply went on strike. To make matters worse there were tiny holes in the brickwork of many of the rooms.

35. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Detailed Reading_3_S As a result the water pipes froze so that for several weeks our water supply had to be brought in buckets from a nearby farm. We tried to buy a number of oil-stoves to keep these rooms warm, but other people had thought of doing this too — when we called at the village shop the shopkeeper told us she had sold out and that although there were more on order they were unlikely to be delivered until the spring — which, of course, was a great comfort. Throughout January and February and much of March we sat about in our overcoats and warmed ourselves by tramping to and from the farm, lugging buckets of water. On one occasion the water actually froze before it reached the house, and our youngest son — not the most intelligent of youth — promptly took it all the way back to the farm.

36. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Detailed Reading_4_S However, one good thing did happen. One of the children dropped a container with a dozen eggs in it.I stooped down furiously to pick up what I thought would be the messy remains only to discover the eggs had come to no harm — they were as solid as if they had been hard-boiled. Late in March, it finally thawed. Water squirted from pipes in at least half a dozen places. Instead of carting buckets of water into the kitchen from the farm we now brought them in from different parts of the house. Eventually we found a plumber. The plumber undoubtedly saved us from drowning. I have been devoted to plumbers ever since.

37. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Detailed Reading_1_W A Winter to Remember by Robert Best According to the weather men last winter was one of the worst in living memory. We live in the depths of the country, and my whole family agree that it was certainly a winter we shall never forget. Snow began to fall at round about the beginning of the New Year and continued on and off for approximately ten days. At first we were all thrilled to see it. It fell silently and relentlessly in large soft flakes until every ugly patch and corner of our rather rambling garden was smoothed over and had become a spotless white canopy. The children soon spoilt its beauty by having snowball fights and leaving their footprints all over it. Hungry birds too, in search of scraps of food, made delicate impressions on its surface. It was now, when the garden was all churned up and of a dirty grey color, that a severe frost set in, hardening the snow into ugly lumps of grimy concrete. For the next three months the whole countryside lay in a grip of iron.

38. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Detailed Reading_2_W Every day the birds grew tamer, often waiting hopefully almost on our backdoor step. We fed them with bits of cheese, chopped up meat and any leftovers we had. We also put out bowls of water, which unfortunately within an hour had frozen solid. Indoors it was pretty cold too. Our central heating system proved both inadequate and uncooperative: inadequate partly because it needed overhauling and partly because the poor state of the doors and most of the windows made a whistling stream of cold air come through; unco-operative because occasionally it simply went on strike. To make matters worse there were tiny holes in the brickwork of many of the rooms.

39. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Detailed Reading_3_W As a result the water pipes froze so that for several weeks our water supply had to be brought in buckets from a nearby farm. We tried to buy a number of oil-stoves to keep these rooms warm, but other people had thought of doing this too — when we called at the village shop the shopkeeper told us she had sold out and that although there were more on order they were unlikely to be delivered until the spring — which, of course, was a great comfort. Throughout January and February and much of March we sat about in our overcoats and warmed ourselves by tramping to and from the farm, lugging buckets of water. On one occasion the water actually froze before it reached the house, and our youngest son — not the most intelligent of youth — promptly took it all the way back to the farm.

40. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Detailed Reading_4_W However, one good thing did happen. One of the children dropped a container with a dozen eggs in it. I stooped down furiously to pick up what I thought would be the messy remains only to discover the eggs had come to no harm — they were as solid as if they had been hard-boiled. Late in March, it finally thawed. Water squirted from pipes in at least half a dozen places. Instead of carting buckets of water into the kitchen from the farm we now brought them in from different parts of the house. Eventually we found a plumber. The plumber undoubtedly saved us from drowning. I have been devoted to plumbers ever since.

41. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Detailed 1_S_…last … last winter was one of the worst in living memory. What does the phrase “in living memory” mean here? We have living or dead people, so “in living memory” refers to “in the memory of the living people” or “in the year which can be remembered by people still alive”.

42. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Detailed 1_S_we… We live in the depths of the country … Paraphrase this sentence. We live somewhere in the countryside which is a long way from any town. / We live in the very remote part of the countryside.

43. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Detailed 1_S_ It fell… It fell silently and relentlessly in large soft flakes until every ugly patch and corner of our rather rambling garden was smoothed over and had become a spotless white canopy. What does the pronoun “it” refer to here? Here, it refers to the heavy, steady snow which fell without any sound.

44. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Detailed 1_S_ It tell1… What does the author tell about the snow by the phrase “a spotless white canopy”? It tells that the whole garden was covered with snow and was turned into a beautiful place of purity. Paraphrase this sentence. Large, soft flakes of snow fell heavily but quietly; as a result, our garden, which was overgrown with plants and which was dirty and untidy in places, looked very smooth, like a completely clean white sheet.

45. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Detailed 1_S_ It was1… It was now, when the garden was all churned up and of a dirty grey color, that a severe frost set in, hardening the snow into ugly lumps of grimy concrete. What is special about the sentence structure? The sentence is an emphatic sentence: “It was now … that a severe frost set in …” “When the garden … a dirty grey color” is adverbial inserted between to tell what exactly was “now”, and “hardening the snow … concrete” is present participle used to indicate accompanying action of “set in”.

46. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Detailed 1_S_ It was2… How do you understand “the garden was all churned up”? The snow in the garden was turned upside down and inside out. What is the meaning and function of “of” in “when the garden was … of a dirty grey color”? “Of” here is used to express that something has a certain quality. We can also omit “of” in this sentence: “when the garden was … a dirty grey color.” Paraphrase this sentence. After the children had had snowball fights in the garden, the snow turned into slush and its color became dirty grey. Just then it became severely cold and the snow froze hard and looked like large pieces of dirty concrete.

47. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Detailed 1_S_ the whole … the whole countryside lay in a grip of iron. Did the garden really “lie in a grip of iron”? Metaphor and personification are used in this sentence. The author compares snow to iron and treats snow as if it were a human being by the word “grip”. The sentence means that the whole countryside was frozen as if it were tightly held by an iron hand.

48. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Detailed 2_S_the birds … the birds grew tamer … Why did the birds grow tamer? As it was severely cold and everything was frozen, the birds had no way of getting anything to eat, so they grew tamer so that man could approach them, giving them food to eat.

49. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Detailed 2_S_and most … and most of the windows made a whistling stream of cold air come through ... Paraphrase this sentence. A draught came through the small openings / the cracks in most of the windows with a shrill sound.

50. Before Reading Global Reading After Reading Detailed Reading Detailed 2_S_ it simply … it simply went on strike. What is meant by “went on strike”? It here means “stopped working”. The clause means “our central heating system just refused to work”. In other words, it broke down. This is an example of personification. The writer is giving a humorous touch to the description.