On March 21, winter is over and spring begins. Scientists call this day the vernal equinox. Vernal means spring. Equinox means equal night. On March 21, the night and the day are equal in length. Each lasts exactly twelve hours.
Whenever it comes, people usually celebrate the arrival of spring.
Boys and girls sometimes say spring begins when it is time for: flying kites, playing baseball, playing marbles, spring vacation, going outdoors without a coat.
People who live in the country often say spring comes with the first spring peepers. Peepers are tiny tree frogs, one inch long. They hibernate all winter. In the spring they wake up and sound their shrill peep. There is an old saying about them. It goes like this: if you are smiling when you hear the first peeper, you will smile all spring and summer. If you are frowning when you hear the first peeper, you will frown until autumn.
Many towns and cities hold spring festivals in honour of certain flowers or blossoming trees. Washington D.C. celebrates the blooming of its beautiful Japanese cherry trees. Each state and territory sends its own Cherry Blossom Princess to this festival. One is chosen Queen. After a big parade through the capital, the Queen is crowned at a coronation Pageant. Then there is a great Coronation Ball. Queens are crowned at other blossom festivals too. There is an Apple Blossom Festival in Virginia and in the state of Washington. There is a Laurel Festival in Kentucky, and an Azalea Festival in Pennsylvania. The town of Holland, Michigan, has a Tulip Festival.
New words:
the vernal equinox -
spring peepers - ()
hibernate - ,
Pageant - ,
Laurel -
Azalea -
Topic 22. TELEVISION IN OUR LIFE
Television now plays an important role in our life. It is difficult to say if it is good or bad for us. It is clear, that television has advantages and disadvantages.
But are there more advantages than disadvantages? In the first place, television is an entertainment. But it is not only a convenient enternaiment. For a family of three, four or five, for example, it is mere convenient and less expensive to sit comfortably at home than to go out to find entertainment in other places. They dont have to pay for expensive seats at the theatre or cinema. They turn on the TV-set and can see interesting films, concerts, football matches.
But some people think that it is bad to watch TV. Those who watch TV need do nothing. We are passive when we watch TV. Television shows us many interesning programmes. But again there is a disadvantage here: we watch TV every evening, and it begins to dominate our lives.
My friend told me that when his TV-set broke down, he and his family found that thay had more time to do thing and to talk to each other. There are other argument s for and against television.
Very often the programmes are bad. Sometimes they show too much violence in films and news programmes.There is also too much pop music and ads. Ads on the whole are convenient for grown-ups. But is it good for children to watch all those ads where they show all kinds of underwear and what not?
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Vocabulary:
advantage - ,
disadvantage ,
entertainment -
convenient ,
mere -
turn on -
passive -
dominate ,
broke ( break) down ,
argument ,
violence -
ads (advertisements)
Exercise 1. Answer the questions:
1. What advantages does television have?
2. What disadvantages does television have?
3. What did my friend find when his TV-set broke down?
4. What do they sometimes show?
Exercise2. Imagine you live in the same room with a foreign student during your studies at the language courses. He is watching a film by TV. Another programme, that you like very much to watch, will start soon on another channel. Persuade your room-mate to let you watch it:
