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2) How long do you think it would take you to discover the characteristics of
English weather?
3) Describe briefly how you could experience “four seasons in one day” in Eng-
land.
4) What misapprehension are many foreigners under concerning Britain’s
weather?
5) What is the one constant characteristic of English weather?
6) How has the English weather affected the Englishman’s character?
7) What connections, if any, do you think there may perhaps be between English
weather and the growth of the British Empire?
8) Why is the weather a constant topic of conversation in England?
9) What is the Englishman’s fundamental attitude towards his weather?
Exercise 3.
Write an essay on the kind of weather you like best, giving your rea-
sons.
2.2. Reading Practice
Exercise 1.
Read the following paragraphs and decide in which numbered gap
each paragraph goes in the text “Lightning Strike” below. There is one para-
graph you do not need to use.
A. Predicting when and where lightning is likely to strike is one of the ways we
have made it less of a danger. Forecasting lightning is taken most seriously in
America, where scientists keep a constant lookout for weather patterns that
could lead to violent storms using weather satellites and ground-based sta-
tions. Once the storms appear, teams of observers in the areas at risk report
back on where the storm is and where it is going.
B. Things used to be much worse. According to research by Dr Derek Elsom the
number of fatalities has dropped by 80 per cent since the mid-1850s. This
isn’t because lightning is less common, but because fewer people now work
in the open.
C. Before scientists started this vital work people could not do very much to pro-
tect themselves or their buildings from lightning. In fact up until the 18
th
cen-
tury people were given dramatic proof that lightning really can strike the same
place twice. Between 1388 and 1762, the famous bell tower of San Marco in
Venice was severely damaged or completely destroyed nine times.
D. Many people - including scientists - claim to have seen ball lightning and are
in no doubt about its existence. The experiences of a certain William Morris
during a thunderstorm in 1936 are typical: “I saw a red-hot ball come down
from the sky. It struck our house, cut the telephone wire, burnt the window
frame and then buried itself in a tub of hot water. The water boiled for some
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