| Quiet music of | the surface of the lakes and rivers |
| Scarlet flashes of | rustling leaves |
| Yellow leaves impressed upon the wet from rains pavements reminding | parks and gardens |
| Beautiful songs of | autumn sky |
| Striking freshness of | shadows of the passed away summer |
| Whispering autumn | ashberies melting in the morning fog |
| Nostalgic hues and | carpet of autumn leaves |
| Bright colouful | autumn air |
| Aching tenderness of the falling leaves touching | a lid of a gigantic casket |
| Melancholy | gay-coloured leaves |
| Autumn sadness of | autumn rains |
| Sorrowful gray | autumn showers |
I. Choose the expressions describing SPRING
Trees burst into leaf, on a frosty morning snowflakes fall thick and fast,
the rivers and lakes are set free from ice,weather becomes sultry, the heat grows oppressive and the air gets stifling, to listen to the rippling of brooks and sonorous streams,asters and chrysanthemums,harvest time, nature returns to life, Indian summer, the thaw sets in,the bright colourful carpet of leaves covers the ground, larks and blackbirds return from warm countries,the leaves have gone from the treessnowdrops, daffodils, tulips, mimosa and lilac,to decorate a New Year tree apple trees are in blossom,hot sunny days,birds build their nests, frost paints all the trees silver,you can ski, skate, play hockey and toboggan, the days are the longest and the nights are the shortest,to pick up strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries and currants,the leaves turn yellow and reddish
II. Choose the expressions describing SUMMER
To freeze hard,weather becomes sultry,birds build their nests, the heat grows oppressive and the air gets stifling,the season of mist, windy and chilly days, when it often drizzles, forget-me-nots, camomiles, cornflowers, daisies, lilies, dahlias and roses,the leaves begin to fall off from the treesto pick up strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries and currantslarks and blackbirds return from warm countries,the days are the longest, and the nights are the shortest, hot sunny days the rivers and lakes are set free from ice The leaves begin to fall off from the trees to go boating, surfing, swimming and sunbathing,the leaves have gone from the trees, there are no flowers in the gardens, many people have their holidays and go to the seaside, you can ski, skate, play hockey and toboggan, to wear light clothes and bikini,most of the birds migrate to warm countries
III. Choose the expressions describing AUTUMN
The snow falls and icicles hang from the roofs of the houses, to go boating, surfing,swimming and sunbathing, asters and chrysanthemums,larks and blackbirds return from warm countries,scarlet bonfires melting in the morning fog,playing snowballs, making snowmen and building snow-huts,the season of mist, windy and chilly days when it often drizzles,to pick up strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries and currants, the leaves turn yellow and reddish,the heat grows oppressive and the air gets stifling, the leaves begin to fall off from the trees,trees burst into leaf, most of the birds migrate to warm countries,the thaw sets in, harvest time, apple trees are in blossom, Indian summer,to wear light clothes and bikini, the bright colourful carpet of leaves covers the ground, the rivers and lakes are set free from ice, hot sunny days, you can ski, skate and toboggan
Choose the expressions describing WINTER
To listen to the rippling of brooksand sonorous streams, to freeze hard,birds build their nests, on a frosty morning snowflakes fall thick and fast,the heat grows oppressive and the air gets stifling, the rivers and lakes are frozen over,weather becomes sultry, the heat grows oppressive and the air gets stifling, the snow falls and icicles hang from the roofs of the houses,to go boating, surfing,swimming and sunbathing, the leaves have gone from the trees and there are no flowers in the gardens, frost paints all the trees silver,larks and blackbirds return from warm countries, playing snowballs, making snowmen and building snow-huts,the leaves begin to fall off from the trees, you can ski, skate, play hockey and tobogganto pick up strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries and currants, to decorate a New Year tree
Read extracts with descriptions of nature from the world-famous literary works and do the tasks.
J.Galsworthy
The Apple Blossom
Spring was a revelation to Ashurst this year.
In a kind of intoxication he would watch the pink-white buds of some backward beech tree sprayed up in the sunlight against the deep blue sky, or the trunks and boughs of the few Scotch firs, tawny in violent light, or again, on the moor, the gale-bent larches which had such a look of life when the wind streamed in their young green, above the rusty black underboughs. Or he would lie on the banks, gazing at the clusters of dog-violets, or up in the dead bracken, fingering the pink, transparent buds of the dewberry, while the cuckoos called and yaffles laughed, or a lark, from very high, dripped its beads of song. It was certainly different from any spring he had ever known, for spring was within him, not without. And sometimes, he would become conscious that Megan's eyes—those dew-grey eyes — were fixed on him with a sort of lingering soft look which was strangely flattering.
Ashurstwatched the blossom which had crowned her hair — those pink buds with one white open apple star. What had he done? How had he let himself be thus stunned by beauty — pity — or — just the spring! He felt curiously happy, all the same: happy and triumphant, and a vague alarm. This was the beginning of — what? The midges bit him, the dancing gnats tried to fly into his mouth, and all the spring around him seemed to grow more lovely and alive; the songs of the cuckoos and the blackbirds, the laughter of the yaffles, the level-slanting sunlight, the apple blossom which crowned her head … And a magpie flew out to herald them.
Vocabulary:
Revelation – откровение, tawny = dark-yellow, brown-reddish; violent - неистовый;
rusty – dry; beads – бисер; tobeconscious [kon ] - осозновать, tolinger [ling ] – задерживаться, toflatter – льстить, tobestunned – бытьошеломлённым, avague [veig] alarm – смутнаятревога
Tasks
I. Underline the words and expressions which convey the beauty of spring.
II. Answer the questions.
1. Why was that spring special for the character (Ashurst)?
2. How did spring make him feel?
3. What spring phenomenon impressed Ashurst? Did it make him feel Megan’s beauty stronger?
M. Mitchell"Gone with the Wind"
1)… It was ten o'clock in the morning. The day was warm for April and the golden sunlight streamed brilliantly into Scarlett's room through the blue curtains of the wide windows. The cream-coloured walls glowed with light and the depths of the mahogany furniture gleamed deep red like wine, while the floor glistened as if it were glass, except where the rag rugs covered it and they were spots of gay colour.
Already summer was in the air, the first hint of Georgia summer when the high tide of spring gives way reluctantly before a fiercer heat. A balmy, soft warmth poured into the room, heavy with velvety smells, redolent of many blossoms, of newly fledged trees and of the moist, freshly turned red earth. Through the window Scarlett could see the bright riot of the twin lines of daffodils bordering the gravelled driveway and the golden masses of yellow jessamine spreading flowery spangles modestly to the earth like crinolines. The mockingbirds and the jays, engaged in their old feud for possession of the magnolia tree beneath her window, were bickering, the jays strident, acrimonious, the mockers sweet-voiced and plaintive.
Such a glowing morning usually called Scarlett to the window, to lean arms on the broad sill and drink in the scents and sounds of Тага. But to-day she had no eye for sun or azure sky beyond a hasty thought, 'Thank God, it isn't raining."
If her plans were successful, long before the ball, she and Ashley would be on their way to Jonesboro to be married. The troublesome question was - what dress should she wear to the barbecue? What dress would best set off her charms and make her irresistible to Ashley?
Vocabulary:
Depth - глубина mahogany - красноедерево, reluctantly - without a wish, velvety - бархатный, redolent of - having a strong scent, riot - неистовство, spangles - блёстки, beneath - under, to bicker - to fight with the beaks, strident - резко, acrimonious - sarcastic, plaintive - жалобно, to lean arms - облокотиться, sill - подоконник, to set off - подчеркнуть, оттенить, irresistible - неотразимый
Tasks
I. Underline the words and expressions which convey the beauty the spring morning.
II. Answer the questions.
1. Was it early or late spring?
2. What did Scarlett usually do in such a wonderful spring morning?
Did Scarlett notice the beauty of the nature on that day? Why?
2)…Oh, if Pa would only come home! She could not endure the suspense another moment She looked impatiently down the road again, and again she was disappointed.
The sun was now below the horizon and the red glow at the rim of the world faded into pink. The sky above turned slowly from azure to the delicate blue-green of a robin's egg, and the unearthly stillness of rural twilight came stealthily down about her. Shadowy dimness crept over the countryside. Across the road, in the pasture, the horses, mules and cows stood quietly with heads over the split-rail fence, waiting to be driven to the stables and supper. They did not like the dark shade of the thickets hedging the pasture creek, and they twitched their ears at Scarlett as if appreciative of human companionship.
In the strange half-light, the tall pines of the river swamp, so warmly green in the sunshine, were black against the pastel sky, an impenetrable row of black giants hiding the slow yellow water at their feet. On the hill across the river, the tall white chimneys of the Wilkes home faded gradually into the darkness of the thick oaks surrounding them, and only far-off pin-points of supper lamps showed that a house was here. The warm damp balminess of spring encompassed her sweetly with the moist smells of new-ploughed earth and all the fresh green tilings pushing up to the air.
Sunset and spring and new-fledged greenery were no miracle to Scarlett. Their beauty she accepted as casually as the air she breathed and the water she drank, as she had never consciously seen beauty in anything but women's faces, horses, silk dresses and like tangible things. Yet the serene half-light over Tara's well-kept acres brought a measure of quiet to her disturbed mind. She loved this land so much, without even knowing she loved it, loved it as she loved her mother's face under the lamp at prayer time.
Vocabulary:
Suspense - напряжение, impatiently - нетерпеливо, disappointed - разочарованный, rim - ободок, край', stealthily - крадучись, a creek - a small river, a stream, impenetrable [impenitrbl] - непроницаемый to be appreciative, to appreciate - ценить, to encompass - охватывать, to accept - {воспринимать, a miracle = a wonder, casually - небрежно, consciously sli] - осознанно, tangible = material, disturbed - обеспокоенный, prayer - молитва, молебен, miracle - чудо
Tasks
I. Underline the words and expressions which convey the beauty of spring twilight.
II. Answer the questions.
1. What kind of nature is described in the extract?
2. Did Scarlett appreciate the nature? Did she love her land?
3. How does the author describe Scarlett's emotional state in the beginning of the
extract?
3. How did the nature influence her feelings?
3)…They looked out across the endless acres of Gerald O'Hara's newly ploughed cotton fields toward the red horizon. Now that the sun was setting in a welter of crimson behind the hills across the Flint River, the warmth of the April day was ebbing into a feint but balmy chill.
Spring had come early that year, with warm quick rains and sudden frothing of pink peach blossoms and dogwood dappling with white stars the dark river swamp and far-off hills. Already the ploughing was nearly finished, and the bloody glory of the sunset coloured the fresh-cut furrows of red Georgia clay to even redder hues. The moist hungry earth, waiting upturned for the cotton seeds, showed pinkish on the sandy tops of furrows, vermilion and scarlet and maroon where shadows lay along the sides of the trenches. The whitewashed brick plantation house seemed an island set in a wild red sea, a sea of spiralling, curving, crescent billows petrified suddenly at the moment when the pink-tipped waves were breaking into surf.
It was a savagely red land, blood-coloured after rains, brick-dust in droughts, the best cotton land in the world. It was a pleasant land of white houses, peaceful ploughed fields and sluggish yellow rivers, but a land of contrasts, of brightest sun-glare and densest shade. The plantation clearings and miles of cotton fields smiled up to a warm sun, placid, complacent. At their edges rose the virgin forests, dark and cool even in the hottest noons, mysterious, a little sinister, the soughing pines seeming to wait with an age-old patience, to threaten with soft sighs: Be careful! Be careful! We had you once. We can take you back again.'
Vocabulary:
Welter = mix, ebbing = ending, to froth - пениться, to dapple = to cover, furrows, trenches - борозды, vermilion = bright-red, billows = sea, savage = wild, to petrify - to turn to stone, sluggish = slow complacent - благодушный, placid = calm, edge - край, sinister - зловещий, to sough [sau] - шелестеть, to threaten -угрожать, a sigh - вздох
Tasks
III. Underline the objects of nature which create the fascination of the world 'gone with the wind'.
IV. Answer the questions.
1. What kind of land was it?
2. What time of the year is described in the extract? What was it marked by?
3. What part of the day is it? What points at it?
4. Can you imagine this land by the description of nature?
5. Do you feel sorry that this world's gone forever?
Read, translate and learn the poems by heart:
| THE MONTHS OF THE YEAR By Sara Coleridge January brings the snow, Makes the toes and fingers glow. February brings the rain, Thaws the frozen ponds again. March brings breezes loud and shrill, Stirs the dancing daffodils. April brings the primrose sweet, Scatters daisies at our feet. May brings flocks of pretty lambs, Skipping by their flucy dams. June brings tulips, lilies, roses, Fills the children's hands with posies. Hot July brings cooling showers, Strawberries and gilly-flowers. August brings the sheaves of corn, Then the Harvest home is borne. Warm September brings the fruit, Sportsmen then begin to shoot. Fresh October brings the pheasant, Then to gather nuts is pleasant. Dull November brings the blast, Then the leaves are falling fast. Chill December brings the sleet, Blazing fire and New-Year treat. Twilight (G. G. Byron) It is the hour when from the boughs The nightingale’s high note is heard; It is the hour when lovers’ vows Seem sweet in every whispered word; And gentle winds and waters near, Make music to the lovely ear. Each flower the dews have lightly wet, And in the sky the stars are met, And on the wave is deeper blue, And on the leaf a browner hue, And in the heaven that clear obscure, So softly dark, and darkly pure, Which follows the decline of day, As twilight melts beneath the moon away | Daffodils by William Wordsworth I wander'd lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the Milky Way, They stretch'd in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed – and gazed – but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought: For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils. Autumn Fires by Robert Louis Stevenson In the other gardens And all up the vale, From the autumn bonfires See the smoke trail! Pleasant summer over And all the summer flowers, The red fire blazes, The grey smoke towers. Sing a song of seasons! Something bright in all! Flowers in the summer, Fires in the fall! Leisure William Henry Davies What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. No time to stand beneath the boughs And stare as long as sheep or cows. No time to see, when woods we pass, Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass. No time to see, in broad daylight, Streams full of stars, like skies at night. No time to turn at Beauty's glance, And watch her feet, how they can dance. No time to wait till her mouth can Enrich that smile her eyes began. A poor life this if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. |
| Ivy Russel - The season Oh, do you remember When springtime was here, The snowdrops and catkins, The birds’ songs so clear? Oh, do you remember The long summer hours, The hum of the bees And the scent of the flowers? And do you remember When autumn came round, How leaves red and yellow Lay thick on the ground? But now it is winter, The branches are bare; There’s ice on the puddles And frost in the air. I played in the sunshine, I played in the snow, And which is my favourite? I reallydon’tknow! | |
| Winter Morning Winter is the king of snowmen Turning the stumps into snow men And houses into birthday cakes, And spreading sugar over lakes. Smooth and clean and frosty white The world looks good enough to bite! That’s the season to be young, Catching snowflakes on your tongue. Snow is so snowy when it’s snowing. I’m sorry it’s slushy when it’s going. | Christmas Christmas is a lovely time! The snow lies white and thick. Mistletoe is hard to find And holly hard to pick. Gifts wrapped in Christmas paper Sitting round the tree so bright. Children fast asleep in bed As Santa comes tonight. Tinsel round the window bright Pink, orange, red and white Glittering in the evening light. Oh, such a lovely sight! |
| Winter Clouded with snow The bleak winds blow And shrill on leafless bough The robin with its burning breast Alone sings now. The rayless sun Day’s journey’s done Sheds its last ebbing light On fields in leagues of beauty spread Unearthly white. Thick draws the dark And spark by spark The frost-fires kindle and soon Over the sea of frozen foam Floats the white moon. Walter de la Mare | Afternoon in February The day is ebbing The night is descending The marsh is frozen The river dead. Through clouds like ashes The red sun flashes On village windows That glimmers red. The snow recommences, The buried fences Mark no longer The road o’er the plain. Henry W. Longfellow |
Литература
1. BradburyR. TheAprilWitch / R. Bradbury [электронный ресурс] – режим доступа: https://www.ossofsoul.com/LIFE_IS/Story/Bradbury-en.htm
2. GalsworthyJ. TheAppleBlossom / J. Galsworthy [электронный ресурс] – режим доступа: https://www.homeenglish.ru/galsthe.htm
3. Mitchel, M. Gone with the Wind / M. Mitchel [электронныйресурс] – режимдоступа: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/m/mitchell/margaret/gone/chapter1.html
4. https://www.allseasonsadventures.com/summer-adventures/
5. https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/
6. https://www.poemhunter.com/
7. https://www.explore-new-zealand.com/new-zealand-seasons.html