SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS FOR LEVEL 1 – READING

the same as the start of the spring season. It takes several weeks for the weather to change
enough for people to notice the difference.
The summer is the season with the best weather. In general, it is hot and sunny with only a
little rain sometimes. However, it can sometimes be cold and wet for one or two weeks at a time.
British people like to spend a lot of time outside when it is nice in the summer. After the summer
is the autumn. In this season the weather gets colder and there are stronger winds, also it will rain
more. All the leaves will start to fall off the trees as it is cold. Frost might start to form on the
ground towards the end of the autumn.
Winter is the coldest season in the UK. The temperature will often be at zero degrees
Celsius. This means that ice will often form on the ground overnight where there were puddles.
This makes it difficult to walk sometimes. There might also be snow, but the UK does not get
much snow, mainly just cold rain in the winter. Then when winter ends the spring starts. The
temperature will start to get warmer and the winds will not be as strong. Plants start to grow again
and new leaves form. It is always nice when the spring starts as it means the nice weather in the
summer is nearly back again.
Many people in the UK complain about the weather, but as the weather changes so much it
is very interesting and gives the people something to talk about all year round.

Exam strategy
1. How can the weather in the UK be described?
A. Boring To save time when taking
tests, you shoul always read
B. Wet questions before starting to
C. Changeable read the text.
D. Humid
2. How quickly can the weather change?
A. From one week to the next
B. From one morning to afternoon
C. From one day to the next day
D. The weather does not change much
3. How many seasons are there in the UK?
A. Two
B. Three
C. Four
D. Five
4. When will frost first start to form on the ground?
A. In the spring
B. In the summer
C. In the autumn
D. In the winter

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Department of Academic Foundations, VNU-IS
 SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS FOR LEVEL 1 – READING

5. Why do people like the spring?

A. It means the summer is nearly back.
B. It is not winter.
C. It is the shortest season.
D. It only happens every other year.

C. POST-READING
TASK 1.
1. Get into four teams, one for each season: spring, summer, autumn and winter.
2. Take it in turns each to say a sentence about your season, for example: In winter I like being
inside where it is warm and cosy.
3. The team scores a point for each correct sentence.
4. The team with the most points is the winner.

D. HOMEWORK

TEXT 1. Use the words in the box to complete the sentences below. You use each word
once.
foggy rainbow hot storm cold thunder hail

summer snow spring sunny cloudy windy

raining autumn

1. When it is _____________
raining you see water drops fall from the sky.
2. The noise you hear after a flash of lightning is called __________.
thunder

3. Frozen small balls falling from the sky are called ___________.
snow

4. Flowers and trees grow again in ___________.

spring

5. In __________
autumn leaves change colour and fall from the trees.
6. You see a __________
rainbow when there is both sun and rain.
7. When the sky is free of clouds, we say it is a ________
sunny day.
8. It is ___________
cloudy when there are a lot of clouds.
9. Thunder, lightning, wind and rain is called a __________.
storm

10. When it is ___________,

foggy it is very difficult to see.
11. If it is ___________,
windy there is a lot of wind.
12. You wear warm clothes when it is _________.
cold

13. Days are longer in the _________

summer than in winter.
14. Some schools are closed if there is a lot of _____________.
hail

15. The weather is very ___________

hot in Dubai in the summer.

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Department of Academic Foundations, VNU-IS
 SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS FOR LEVEL 1 – READING

TEXT 2. Use the words in the box to complete the passage below. You use each word once.
cold fall summer sun four clouds short winter long spring
autumn fog windy umbrella

There are (1)_________

four seasons in a year. They are (2)__________,
winter spring, summer and
(3)___________.
autumn What are these seasons like in the UK? Well, in
winter the days are very (4)___________
short and the nights very
long. Winter is a very (5)_________
cold season. We sometimes have
snow and ice in January to March. On the other hand,
spring
(6)_________ is the season of flowers. It is not very cold, and the
sun begins to shine. In (7)________
summer long
the days are (8)_________
and the nights are very short. The weather is hot; the sun shines
all day long. There is also the long summer holiday. Autumn, also called the (9)___________
fall with
lots of leaves on the ground, umbrellas and school days. In autumn there are lots of
(10)___________
clouds in the sky. When children go back to school in September, summer is over and
autumn begins. We don’t see much of the (11)_________
sun now. Very often, when we get up in the
morning, we see thick (12)________
fog covering everything and we cannot see anything. In
addition, autumn is often (13)__________.
windy We hear the wind blowing outside. When the rain falls
we cannot go out or we must take an (14)_______________.
umbrella

TEXT 3. Read the following text and choose True (T), False (F) or No Information (NI).
Hi! I’m Sonya Lampson and I’m thirteen years old. I live in Quebec with my parents, two
little brothers, Peter and Mike, and a clever dog Blacky. We are very friendly.
The city we live in is beautiful indeed. In winter it often snows and the streets and houses
are covered with snow. The temperature often falls more than thirty degrees below zero. When
the temperature is lower than thirty-five degrees below zero we don’t go to school. The frost bites
our cheeks. It is very, very cold! Sometimes there are heavy snowstorms and you can’t see
anything. There are often very cold winds and it is difficult to stay in the streets for a long time.
That’s why we wear warm coats, woolen hats, mittens, leather boots, and scarves not to freeze.
But I like winter when the weather isn’t very cold. Then we go outdoors, make snowmen,
play snowballs, ski, skate or snowboard. My brothers like to sledge from the hill. As for me, I
adore figure skating.
But sometimes I envy people living in warm countries.

1. Sonya is thirteen years old.__________

T

2. She lives in Montreal. __________

F

3. She has got two sisters. __________

F
F
4. She has got a white cat. __________
5. Her dog is clever. __________
T
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Department of Academic Foundations, VNU-IS
 SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS FOR LEVEL 1 – READING

6. Their city is very big. __________

NI
7. They like their city. __________
NI
8. It often snows in winter. __________
T
9. The temperature is about 25 °below zero. __________
F

10. She doesn’t go to school when the temperature is lower than 35°. __________
T
11. She doesn’t like warm clothes. __________
NI

12. Her brothers like sledging. __________

T

13. Sonya adores skiing. __________

F

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Department of Academic Foundations, VNU-IS