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Listening Tasks

Did You Hear the Weather Forecast?

Word Bank

annual a. once a year 年度的

shade n. shelter from direct sunlight 荫 participate in to take part in 参加

doze off to have a short sleep, esp. during the day 打瞌睡 cool ... off to cause ... to become less hot 使……凉下来 Script: Alan:

Oh, look at the sky, Michelle! It’s starting to get cloudy.

Michelle: I see it. I hope it doesn’t rain. I thought it was going to be a fine day

today.

Alan: That’s certainly what the department was hoping for when they chose

today as the date for the annual picnic.

Michelle: You can’t have a picnic without good weather. You need sunshine for

all the eating and games and entertainment.

Alan: Yeah, sunshine — but not too much! Do you remember last year? Michelle: I sure do. It was so hot all we did was look for shade, look for ways to

escape from the sun.

Alan: And no one wanted to participate in any of the planned activities. All we

wanted was cold drinks. And then we dozed off.

Michelle: If there had just been the tiniest breeze to cool us off.

Alan: But there wasn’t. Just that burning sun, without a cloud in the sky, and

the temperature just seemed to climb higher and higher.

Michelle: Well, we don’t have that problem this year, apparently. Alan, did you

hear the weather forecast? Is it supposed to rain?

Alan: I don’t know. I didn’t catch the weather report. But maybe if it rains, it

will only be a short shower which cools things off a little. That might not be bad.

Language and Culture Notes 1. Background information Weather affects our life in many ways. It can influence our moods. Good weather makes us happy and high-spirited, while bad weather often makes us feel depressed. More importantly, weather plays a crucial role in agriculture, in air and sea travel, and in many other aspects of our life. Failing to make an accurate forecast of weather conditions, especially in the case of an approaching storm, can result in great loss of life and property. In order to provide weather information as accurately and far in advance as possible, governments spend huge sums of money to introduce new technology into their weather services. Satellites and powerful computers are used to collect data for meteorologists,

who make weather forecasts based on careful analysis of the data. However, meteorologists often find that the weather is not as predictable as they had hoped due to the complexity of weather systems. 2. I sure do.

I certainly do (remember that). 3. Is it supposed to rain? Is it likely to rain?

Exercise 1

Listen to the conversation and choose the right answers to the questions. 1. What are Alan and Michelle mainly doing? a. They are planning a picnic for the department.

b. They are wondering what the weather will be like at the annual picnic. c. They are discussing how to escape from the sun.

d. They are having cold drinks and talking about the weather. 2. What do you know about Alan?

a. He thinks the department has misjudged the weather situation for the day. b. He dismisses the idea of having an annual picnic as silly.

c. He dislikes pre-arranged activities and would rather go somewhere on his own. d. He prefers a short little sleep after drinking. 3. What can you infer from the conversation?

a. Alan is expecting a gentle breeze to cool things off.

b. They haven’t had much sunshine recently.

c. Much to their delight, the weather turns out to be just fine for the picnic. d. The annual department picnic is usually held on a summer day.

Exercise 2

Listen to the conversation again. Then write down answers to the following questions. 1. What happened to Alan and Michelle last year?

They went to the department picnic but their fun was spoiled by the hot weather. 2. Why won’t Alan worry even if it rains?

Because he thinks it’ll only be a short shower that cools things off a little.

Speaking Tasks

Communicative Function: Expressing Hope I’m hoping for a cool / breezy / pleasant summer. Let’s just hope it will keep fine / it doesn’t get cold again / the worst of the bad weather is over / the cold spell will be over soon. I do hope the snow will let up / the wind will drop / the rain won’t last long / the clouds will break / the fog will soon lift / the weather will be favorable. It will be cooler tomorrow, I hope. A: It seems to be clearing up. B: I hope so. A: We are going to have a cold spell. B: I hope not. Maybe the weather will grow milder. Hopefully, we’ll have a starry night. How I long for the cool breeze, clear air and a bit of greenery! Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the weather will stay warm / tomorrow will be a sunny day.

Additional Vocabulary mild stormy pleasant frosty (严寒的) bright freezing cloudless gloomy (阴暗的) humid (潮湿的) downpour close / stuffy (闷热的) heavy frost (厚霜) sultry (闷热的；酷热的) thunderstorm oppressive (闷热得难以忍受的) cold spell (寒冷期) suffocating (闷热得令人感到呼吸困难的) cold / warm front (寒/热锋) dull (阴沉的) chilly (寒气袭人的) to stay warm / cool, etc. to let up (停止) to clear up heat wave (热浪)