Unit 14
Weather
“It’s raining
cats and dogs”
Lead-in Activity
 Warm-up
 Listening Task
 Real World Listening
 Interaction Link
 Useful Expressions
 A Model Situational conversation
 Homework Conversation

Lead-in Activity
Do you watch weather forecast everyday? Please talk
about the different weather that you are familiar with.
Part I
Warm-up
Warm Up
Look at the words. Which seasons do they usually
describe？Write the words in the correct columns.
blizzard
showers
scorching
muggy
chilly
thunder
Spring
humid
flurries
freezing
Summer
lightning
damp
overcast
Fall
breezy
cool
rainy
Winter
Warm Up
Look at the words. Which seasons do they usually describe？
Write the words in the correct columns.
blizzard
showers
scorching
muggy
chilly
thunder
Spring
breezy
showers
damp
humid
flurries
freezing
Summer
thunder
lightning
scorching
humid
muggy
Now listen and check.
lightning
damp
overcast
Fall
chilly
cool
rainy
breezy
cool
rainy
Winter
freezing
overcast
flurries
blizzard
Pair Work
Make a dialogue with your partner describing
seasons in your hometown.
Pair Work
A sample.
A: What are the seasons like in your city?
B: Summers is hot and usually lasts a long time. Winters are short,
but cold, wet, and windy. I love the summers in my city, but I hate
the wintertime.
A: Does it ever rain in summer?
B: We usually get a big thunderstorm every two weeks, but apart
from that, summers are dry. Thunderstorms make the air fresh
again, so most people don’t mind then.
A: What are spring and autumn like?
B: I like spring because flowers bloom and trees grow leaves again.
In spring, the weather is very changeable-sometimes cold,
sometimes warm. It’s usually windy with some rain. Autumn is
usually sunny and dry, but it’s gradually gets colder as winter
Pair Work
arrives. What are the seasons like in you city?
A: Well, I live in the southern hemisphere, so our summertime is
your wintertime, and vice versa. We get some rain in every season,
but most is in winter. In winter, it sometimes gets cold, but our
winters are usually quite mild. Summers are warm, but not hot.
Spring and autumn are both very short-sometimes just a few weeks
each. The weather is very changeable then-just like spring in your
city.
B: Do you usually go on a summer holiday?
A: No, I don’t. I go on a winter holiday instead. I go somewhere
warm.
B: I usually go on holiday during the spring or the autumn. I try to
go somewhere where the weather is more reliable than in my city.
Part II
Listening Task
Language Points
Auckland n. 奥克兰（新西兰城市）
San Diego n. 圣地亚哥（加利福尼亚南部城市）
crisp a.清爽的，干而冷的
yacht n. 帆船
bay n. 海湾
shower n. 降雨
hiking n. 远足
slope n. （滑雪）斜坡
head for 前往
Look at the pictures. What season is it?
First Listening
Write at least one word the reporter uses to describe the
weather.
1.
2.
Look at the pictures. What are the people like?
First Listening
Write at least one word the reporter uses to describe the
weather.
3.
4.
Look at the pictures. What season is it?
First Listening
Write at least one word the reporter uses to describe the
weather.
1.
Scorching, hot
2.
chilly
Look at the pictures. What are the people like?
First Listening
Write at least one word the reporter uses to describe the
weather.
3.
4.
damp, warm
snowy, cold
Look at the pictures. What season is it?
Second Listening
What activity does the reporter suggest?
1.
2.
Look at the pictures. What season is it?
Second Listening
What activity does the reporter suggest?
1.
go to the beach
2.
watch a yacht race
Look at the pictures. What are the people like?
Second Listening
What activity does the reporter suggest?
3.
4.
go hiking
go skiing
Third Listening
Listen and fill in the blanks with the words you’ve heard.
grab your __________
swimsuit and your ____________,
sunscreen
1. So _______
head for
and ____________
the beach.
Bring a sweater
2. ___________________
and come watch the yacht
on the bay
race ___________________.
the national park when the
3. Perfect for hiking in ___________________
lets up
rain __________.
a fresh layer
4. ... and we’ve got _________________
of snow.
Script
1.
2.
3.
4.
This is the Auckland weather report for the first day of the year.
It’s scorching, and hot, and not a cloud in the sky. So grab your
swimsuit and your sunscreen, and head for the beach.
Here in San Diego, California, today, the weather is crisp and
chilly. We’re all hoping that the sun will come out so that we can
stay warm. Bring a sweater and come watch the yacht race on
the bay.
Good morning from San Jose, Costa Rica. We’re having the
same weather as always. Damp and warm with daily showers.
Perfect for hiking in the national park when the rain lets up.
Hello from the Arctic North. Here in Edmonton, Alberta, it’s
snowy and cold. The temperature dipped way below freezing
last night, and we’ve got a fresh layer of snow. Yahoo! I’m going
to enjoy some of that powder snow skiing. See you on the
slopes.
Pair Work
Talk with your partner, what is the
weather like on New Year’s Day where
you live?
Do you like it?
Part III
Real World Listening
Language Points
let up 停止
igloo n. 拱形圆顶小冰屋
Alaska n. 阿拉斯加
Prepare
Lena is looking at some photos of Alaska with her
grandson, Alex. What do you think she will talk about?
camping
bears
√
fishing
blizzards
swimming
wolves
skiing
√ snowmen
√
hiking
puppies
Get The Main Ideas
what does she say about each season?
winter
spring
summer
fall
Get The Main Ideas
what does she say about each season?
winter
spring
it snowed a
lot;
they made
snowmen
great time
for hiking;
it was a little
muddy
summer
everything
blooms;
it’s sunny
and warm
fall
leaves
turned to
gold;
it’s her
favorite
season
Now listen and check
Script
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Alex: Grandma, what are these pictures?
Grandma: These are pictures of Alaska.
Alex: That’s where you grew up, right?
Grandma: That’s right, dear. I lived there until I was nineteen years
old.
Alex: Is that you in this picture?
Grandma: Yes, that’s me, and my sister, Ruth, and our dog, Kusko.
That was out behind our house.
Alex: Wow. It looks cold!
Grandma: Yes, that was in the winter, and it was cold. It snowed a
lot! And boy, Kusko just loved the snow. Ruth and I and Kusko
used to play in the snow for hours.
Alex: Did you make snowmen?
Grandma: Oh, we made some great snowmen.
Alex: Is that you in this picture, too?
Script
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Grandma: Yes, that’s me and Ruth again. I guess we were both in
high school then.
Alex: Where are you?
Grandma: We were hiking near Seward. We hiked a lot in those days.
Alex: But where’s the snow?
Grandma: Well, it doesn’t snow all the time in Alaska, you know.
That was in the springtime. Spring was a great time for hiking. It was
a little muddy, though.
Alex: Oh.
Grandma: Look, here’s a picture of Ruth now, outside her house.
Alex: That’s Aunt Ruth’s house? In Alaska? I thought everybody
lived in igloos!
Grandma: Oh, no. Most people live in regular houses! Aren’t those
flowers lovely?
Script
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Alex: You mean, flowers grow there, too?
Grandma: Of course. In the summer everything just blooms. It’s
sunny and the weather is warm.
Alex: Warm? You mean, it was warm enough to go swimming?
Grandma: Oh, we all went swimming in July and August. The water
was cold, but swimming was so much fun.
Alex: Was summer your favorite season?
Grandma: You know, I love all the seasons, but I think my favorite
season was autumn. The leaves in the mountains turning to gold–I
always loved that sign of the changing seasons. Look, here’s a
picture of the mountains near our house in the fall.
Alex: Wow, Grandma, I’d like to go to Alaska sometime.
Grandma: Well, Alex, I’ve got an idea. Let’s go to Alaska together
sometime.
Alex: Yeah, Grandma, that’d be great.
Respond to the Ideas

What special memories do you have of the
seasons?
Part IV
Interaction Link
The best time of the year
1.
2.
What’s your favorite season? What’s your least favorite season? Why?
Ask a partner what he or she likes and dislikes about each season and
report to the class on the similarities and differences between you and
your partner.
Me
The thing I like the most about winter:
The thing I like the least about winter:
The thing I like the most about spring:
The thing I like the least about spring:
The thing I like the most about summer:
The thing I like the least about summer:
The thing I like the most about fall:
The thing I like the least about fall:
My partner
Pair work
3. What you would do if you found yourselves in any
of the situations below?
Situation 1: you are on a date and it starts to rain;
neither of you has an umbrella.
Situation 2: a foreign student at your school has never
seen snow.
Situation 3: while you are on a cruise, a hurricane
makes the ship change course.
Situation 4: you plan a ski vacation, and when you get
to the mountains there is no snow.
Example
A: Wow! It’s snowing, it’s snowing! What a beautiful scene!
B: Oh, it ‘s great! It’s the first snow in this winter. Oh, man! You’re
really excited.
A: How could I not? I’d never seen snow in my life before.
B: Yeah, yeah. I almost forgot that you’re from Hawaii.
A: Yeah. It’s summer there almost all the year round.
B: Well, I wish I could live in such a beautiful place. It must be sunny
and warm every day, with bright flowers here and there and
fragrant breezes gently blowing your face……
A: Hey, you seem to be right in there. Yeah, you must go there
someday to enjoy the totally different sceneries there! But don’t
you think the changing of the seasons could always bring you the
delight over the wonders of the nature?
B: Of course. Come on, don’t just standing here and admiring the
nature, let’s go out and have great fun!
A: Ok, I cannot wait to make my first funny snowman!
Part V
Useful Expressions
Useful Expressions
You should be familiar with the following words and expressions.
This vocabulary is among the most common in spoken English.
Weather:
rainy, snowy, cloudy, windy, sunny, showers,
hot, low temperature(s)
Seasons:
spring, summer, fall, winter
Months:
January, February, March, April, May, June,
July, August, September, October，
November， December
Describing
Weather:
It looks like/as if/nice/as though/very/all right…
Part VI
A Model Situational
Coversation
A Model Situational Conversation
A: What's the weather like in your city?
B: In the summer it gets very hot. The temperature is
between often 37 and 40 centigrade. When it is hot we often
get rains. The winters are drier.
A: The summer temperature usually often reaches about 20
or 25 in my city. The rain falls mostly in the winter. And we
often get snow.
B: What are the temperatures in winter? In my city it is
about 15 or 20 degrees.
A: In winter temperature often falls to zero, at night
A Model Situational Conversation
temperature can be below that. The streets are often icing in
the morning. With high such temperatures you must get
some thunderstorms.
B: Yeah, we do. in the middle of summer there can be found
storms every day usually in the afternoon. i heard your city
has a lot of fog, is that true?
A: We do have a few fog days in winter. But I would not say
we have a lot of fogs. The sky are usually clearly in your city,
are they?
B: Yes, they are. like i said we have thunderstorms. But each
one usually last a few hours. Then the sky’s clear again.
A Model Situational Conversation
A: Have you ever had snow in your city?
B: My grandmother said there was snow once when she was
a child. But my parents and i never see it outside of my city.
A: The river in my city sometime freeze over. People go iceskating on it. On summer people go boating on the river. But
few people go swimming because it is not very clean.
B: As you know, my city is on the coast. The water is also
not clean. But people still go swimming all year around. I
prefer to sand bath on the beach when the weather is hot
and sunny.
Part VII
Homework
Conversation
Talk about the seasons

A: What do you do in summer?
B: I love going out into the countryside for walks or bike ride. I
love being out in the fresh summer air. How about you?
A: I don’t often go for walks, but I either play sports outside-you
know, tennis or badminton-or just sit in the sunshine and read a
good book.
B: What do you do in winter?
A: Well, I play sports indoors quite often. If I’m feeling lazy, I just
watch a film at home. I prefer summer to winter.
B: I think most people do. I like wearing nice, colorful clothes in
summer-you know, a nice dress or skirt. It’s too cold for those
kinds of clothes in winter.
A: Yes. I like wearing shorts in summer. My legs would freeze!
B: Do you think we’ll have a nice summer this year?
A: Thanks to global warming, it could be hotter than ever!