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SEASONS OF THE YEAR

In my opinion a person's life depends to a certain degree on the climate conditions he or she lives in. Weather influences our emotions and even the physical state.

According to the dictionary weather is the general conditio
n of the atmosphere at a particular time and place, with regard to the temperature, moisture, cloudiness, etc. Air, fire, earth and water are the elements of the weather according to the ancient Greek philosophers... Substitute the Sun for fire and we hav
e
the essential components of the weather machine. Without air warmth and water the Earth couldn't support life, but without any single one of those elements weather wouldn't exist. The air is the medium in which all weather happens, heat from the Sun prov
ides the energy that drives the weather machine, and water provides much of the variety of our day-to-day weather.
Weather changes according to the seasons. Every season has its specific features of the weather, which are different. In general a season is o
ne of the four periods of the year. Each season lasts about three months and brings changes in temperature, weather, and the length of daylight.
In the Southern Hemisphere, the climatic seasons differ by about six months. This hemisphere has summer when th
e Northern Hemisphere has winter. Some regions don't have all four climatic seasons. In parts of the tropics, for example, temperatures change little, but the amount of rainfall varies greatly, so that these regions have a wet season and a dry season. The
Polar Regions, on the other hand, have a light season and a dark season. In these parts of the world the sun shines almost all the time in summer and almost never during winter.
The changing of the seasons is caused by the changing position of the Earth in
relation to the Sun. Astronomers can tell exactly from the Earth motion around the Sun when one season ends and the next one begins. The dates used for the first day of each season mark the beginning of the astronomical seasons, but the beginning and the
end of the climatic seasons vary from these dates from place to place and from year to year.

Spring is the first season of the astronomical year. It is a transitional period between the extreme temperature cycles of winter and summer. Spring profoundly inf
luenced the ancients and played an important role in mythology, folklore and art. Ancient painters and sculptures often depicted spring as a female figure carrying flowers. The early Christians regarded the seasons as symbolic of the course of human life,

seeing spring as rebirth or resurrection after the death that winter seemed to symbolize. The season is marked by all kinds of beginnings: seed planting, graduations and weddings. For many people spring starts when British Summer Time begins and the clock
s
are put back by one hour. This normally takes place at the end of March and it adds an extra hour of daylight to the day. But it is in nature, that the real spring changes take place. At the beginning of spring it is cold, but at the end of March the sno
w
melts. The weather gets warmer and the rooks, the first spring birds, have come back from the warm countries and are making nests in the trees. The air is fresh. It smells of the dump earth and the buds of trees. The first flowers like snowdrops appear.
These flowers bring the first bright colours to the landscape; the grass sprouts and shoots up visibly. The buds gradually burst into young leaves, and light breeze stirs them. And here is the first butterfly. One can't help admiring this wonderful sight.
S
pring is the season when nature reawakens, and the world looks renewed, fresh and filled with joy. People's behaviour changes with the season, and they come out of their houses to enjoy the weather, life returns to streets and public places. Spring offers
the best of everything: the weather is warm and pleasant; and the countryside is at its best.
Spring is followed by summer. This season is said to begin when the sun enters the zodiac sign of Cancer. Like the other seasons it influenced the development of
mythology and folklore. For instance, Midsummer was an especially important festival in ancient and medieval times and continues to be celebrated with bonfires and special traditions even today. Summer is a favourite season of holiday-makers. I also like
t
o lie in the sun and bathe in the river. As for the weather, it gets still warmer and sometimes it is very hot. The sky is blue and cloudless. But the weather is not always fair and sunny in summer. Sometimes the wind blows up. Suddenly black clouds cover

the sky and it becomes stuffy. A thunderstorm begins. Gusts of wind stir the trees and it lightens and thunders. On a day like this we usually say it's raining cats and dogs. There are a lot of puddles everywhere and streams of water run down the road. Af
ter the storm the sun usually comes out. After the rain everything looks fresh and lovely again. The sun shines brightly and sparkles on the water. In general summer is the best and the happiest season for the majority of people.
Astronomically the start of
the third season of the year, which comes after summer, can be pinpointed precisely. The season of autumn has always played a vivid role in the life of farmers. As the period of harvest and fruit gathering it has left an imprint not only on day-to-day li
v
ing but also on the development of art and folklore. The season was often personified as a female figure bearing grapes. As for the weather, autumn is a rainy season, the sky is covered with grey clouds and the weather is mostly dull. Gradually the days b
e
come shorter and shorter. The air becomes colder and the sun seldom shines. Thick mists rise from bodies of water when autumn has set in. The streets are wet and people pick their ways between the puddles. It is terribly wet and dirty. Many people think t
h
at autumn is gloomy season, but yet there are many who like it. They try to look at the bright side of this season. They see autumn as the time of golden leaves, when the nature is quite and attractive. Poets of all nations have sung autumn as the most be
a
utiful time of the year. Golden autumn, they call it, and it's really fantastic when the Indian summer sets in. I love that short spell of dry sunny weather when the sky is blue and cloudless, the trees around are golden, the air is transparent and it is
s
till warm. Lord Byron unlike Pushkin, didn't like autumn. So once he said: "I like the weather when it isn't raining. That is, I like two months of every year. They are certainly not autumn months". So on the one hand autumn is a season of rain and drizzl
e, but on the other hand it is colourful and bracing, even in the rain.
Autumn is followed by winter. It begins at its respective solstice, which is situated between autumn and spring equinoxes. Winter is the season of snowstorms and ice, of frozen rivers a
nd ponds. .As a rule it begins in December. In winter the sun shines rarely, its rays are pale, it sets early and rises late. The winter days are short and the nights are long. It often snows and the snow lies deep. The rivers and lakes are frozen and cov
e
red with ice, it is very cold, the air is frosty and trees are covered with frosts. In winter people have the most wonderful holidays - New Year and Christmas. It is one of the best seasons for sports - skating, skiing, sledding and playing hockey. And in
general this season brings a lot of fun.
So I can't really say what season is my favourite, because every season has something special, and we are usually looking forward to it. I can also prove it with the poem written by Russell:

O, DO YOU REMEMBER
WHEN SPRING TIME 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 PLAY IN THE SNOW,
AND WHICH IS MY FAFOURITE?
I REALLY DON'T KNOW!

Here I'd like to say that the weather i
n Belarus depends greatly on the climatic conditions in the eastern part of the European continent. Climate in our country is moderate continental and in comparison with British climate it is more favourable for human settlements. As for the British clima
t
e and weather it is very changeable: a fine morning may change into a wet afternoon and evening. Conversely, a miserable morning may give place to a glorious afternoon. In Belarus we don't talk much of the weather; we just take it as it is. On the contrar
y
no conversation ever starts in England without a comment on the weather. It is almost a formality like shaking hands. A popular greeting is "Lovely weather for the time of the year" or, if the weather is bad "Isn't this weather awful!" You will often hea
r people add "weather permitting" when they say they plan to play golf, garden or put out the washing.

So we can't say that weather is only the state of the atmosphere, it is something that affects our lives every day in numerous ways.
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SPORT IN MY LIFE

Sport is probably as old as the humanity itself. It has been developing with the developing and growth of the mankind. To my mind we can hardly overestimate t
he meaning of sport in our life and day-to-day activities, because its main purpose is to bring up the harmoniously developed generation - the generation of strong and healthy people.
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