The Gulf Stream, a warm current flowing from the Gulf of Mexico round the North of Europe, affects the climate of the west coast of Europe, the British Isles and Ireland. In these western countries summers are not so warm and winters are not so cold as in the rest of Europe. Spring is the season when Nature returns to life. Vegetation grows rapidly but there are periods of sunshine broken by occasional showers. In spring the weather is generally mild but sometimes they have really cold days. In summer, it is not so hot as on the Continent. Its the farmers season - the works in fields from morning till night. The grass must be cut and hay must be made, while the weather lasts. Sometimes the skies are overcast with heavy clouds. There are storms with thunder, lightning and hail. In autumn, the leaves turn yellow and reddish, and fall to the ground. Then most birds migrate to warm countries. Autumn is the season of mists, of wind days, of biting winds, of beautiful sunsets and miserable chilly days when it drizzles. A short period of sunny weather in October is called an Indian summer. Autumn brings with it the harvest time, when the crops are gathered in and the fruit is picked up in orchards. The days get shorter and the nights longer. When winter comes ponds, lakes, rivers and streams are frozen, and the roads are sometimes covered with slippery ice or deep snow. The trees are bare. Bitter north winds have stripped them of all their leaves. In winter they have all sorts of weather. But the worst thing about the climate of England is the thick fog, which they have in autumn and in winter. Sometimes, the fog is so thick that cars run one into another. The climate influences British architecture very much. The English often grumble about the weather but you should not pay too much attention to an Englishmans complaints about his own climate. The devil is not so black as he is painted.
Words and expressions Vegetation To hail
To drizzle Slippery Bare
Bitter
2 How does the nature change in summer and in autumn? Find this extract and read it aloud.
3 What is the worst thing about the climate in England?
4 What do you think of the English climate? Is it really bad?
2
1 Read the article and say what it is about in 2-3 sentences.
Woodmanshythe is a small town. About 3,000 people live here. It is unusual for a town of this size to have a good cinema. It is even more unusual, however, to have a cinema that is run by a group of 12 people. The group is a real mixture: there is a businessman, two teenage school-children, three housewives, four old-age pensioners, a school-teacher, and the local vicar. Major Richard Danby is the oldest of the group. He is 73 and he lives in the small flat above the cinema. He is the caretaker and is always ready - and proud - to show visitors the cinema, and to talk about it.
It started ten years ago. There was a large store here which was for sale. A couple of us old people thought that it would be the ideal place for an activity centre. Not just for pensioners, but for the young ones too. There wasnt anywhere where people could get together. Then by chance we heard that the cinema in Workshop - thats our nearest big town - was closing down. So we thought Bingo! All its equipment was for sale. I contacted Jim Breasley, who is our financial brain, and before we knew where we were, we had plans drawn up for a cinema here. He did all the calculations, and we were promised a lot of help by the town council. A couple of companies has given us money as well. We made a broad group of twelve people representing all ages and interests - as far as possible, anyway - and this very nice cinema is the result of it!
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The cinema shows films five nights a week (not on Sundays and Mondays). There are also two afternoon programmes a week for children. Old age pensioners have the cinema two mornings a month, and there is a film club that uses the cinema once a fortnight.
We try to show a mixture of films: we try to get the very newest ones, we show some of the old classics, and we have had one or two of the violent films as well. That always gives a good bit of discussion afterwards!
The discussions take place in the cafeteria, which is a large room at the side of the foyer. It is open in the mornings and afternoons as well, and many people enjoy just dropping in here for a chat and something to drink. Its all part of the centre-idea, you see, says Major Danby proudly.
2 The article describes the town of Woodmanshythe. Find this extract and read it aloud.
3 Who is the cinema for?
4 Do you think the cinema is a good idea for such a small town?
3
1 Read the article and say what it is about in 2-3 sentences.
Thirty years ago my family were one of the lucky ones and went on holiday, once a year for a week. They went every year to the nearest seaside resort where there were a few traditionally run hotels, a beach, a little town and that was it. Today tourism is big business throughout the world and our expectations and life styles have greatly altered.
There are those people, especially environmentalists, who see the growth of tourism as a disaster for the environment as well as local cultures. Tourism has often meant huge hotel complexes, swimming pools, pollution and overcrowding that has destroyed many local communities. As the tourists start to look for more exotic places to go on holiday, the problem with protecting yet unspoiled areas in, for example, South East Asia, Central America and Africa grows.
Many of us have laughed at the commercial that shows an American tourist group on a sightseeing coach in Norway. Whenever the guide points out a local sight of interest, someone on the coach spots a McDonalds or another American Company on the other side of the coach, and everyones attention is drawn to that. This is a good example of how many people, who go abroad on holiday, are actually more interested in experiencing familiar surroundings than discovering the local culture. As a result, travel companies try to make the resorts look as much as possible like the environment the tourists are used to.
Yet the growth of tourism has opened up parts of the world and enabled travellers to go to places they could only have dreamed of thirty years ago. The meeting of different cultures in this way has led to a greater mingling of peoples and cultures and habits. Take food for example: Italian dishes such as spaghetti and Spanish rice dishes such as paella, are nowadays eaten all over the world.
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On a more serious level, tourism is often the developing countries most important source of income. Foreign tourists bring in much needed foreign currency and this can help that country buy equipment and goods from abroad. In this way tourism is good for an area of the country.
2 What positive sides of tourism does the article describe? Find the extract and read it aloud.
3 What dishes are nowadays eaten all over the world?
4 Why has tourism destroyed many local communities?
