WEATHER

by Mike Rayner It's hardly surprising that weather is a favorite topic for so many people around the world - it affects where we choose to live, what we wear, our moods, and perhaps even our national characteristics. A sunny day can relieve the deepest depression,

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‘I’m feeling a bit under the weather’ is a common complaint in Britain, especially on Monday mornings, and it seems that weather really can be responsible for moods. Studies have shown that changeable weather can make it hard to concentrate, cloudy skies slow down reflexes, (1)_____________________.

Some people suggest that the weather also leaves its mark on character, giving people from the same region similar temperaments, although it seems that economic, political and social factors are likely to have a much stronger effect than the weather. If you live in a place like Britain, where the weather seems to change daily if not hourly, you could be forgiven for thinking that the weather is random. In fact the weather is controlled by systems which move around areas of the globe.

In the UK the weather depends on depressions, often called ‘lows’, and anticyclones, also known as ‘highs’. These systems start in the Atlantic Ocean, and make their way across the British Isles from the west to the east. (2)__________________________________.

The weather systems in tropical climates are very different from those in mid and high latitudes. Tropical storms develop from depressions, and often build into cyclones, violent storms and hurricanes .

The human race has always tried to guess the weather, especially in areas of the world where there are frequent changes. Traditional rhymes point to early attempts to identify weather patterns, popular poems include:

Red sky at night, shepherds’ delight; Red sky in the morning, shepherds’ warning

Ash leaf before the oak, then we will have a summer soak;
Oak leaf before the ash, the summer comes without a splash

Flies will swarm before a storm.

Rain before 7, clear by 11.

While folk wisdom can still provide a guide to help forecast weather, today’s methods of prediction increasingly rely on technology. Satellites, balloons, ships, aircraft and weather centres with sensitive monitoring equipment, send data to computers. (3)__________________________________.

Although people in Britain often moan about the weather, we should think about the parts of the world where extreme weather regularly occurs. Sandstorms, tornadoes, blizzards and floods from time to time kill thousands of people and leave many others homeless.

While most of us try to avoid extreme weather, some adventurous souls actively seek outplaces where extreme weather conditions exist. Sports such as surfing, ice-climbing and white-water rafting are becoming very popular with people suffering from the monotony of daily routine. (4)__________________________.

A while extreme weather can destroy homes and threaten lives.

B Weather enthusiasts risk their lives following tornadoes and thunderstorms at high speed to witness the damage they cause.

C and high humidity with hot, dry winds makes many people irritable and snappy.

D Highs bring sunny weather, while lows bring rain and wind

E However, even this system cannot predict weather for longer than about week.

F Half an hour later the weather became very sunny.