雅思口语：季节

      雅思口语常考season话题，part1中考官随口问你喜欢哪个季节，该怎么回答呢？

　　What’s the best season of the whole year?

　　Well, my favorite season is definitely winter, ‘cause there are so many interesting things I could do, like skating, skiing, snow fighting, making a snowman and things like that. Besides, winter vacation is pretty long, much longer than my summer vacation.

　　What do people normally in that season?

　　Um… For starters, there are various sports we can do. Our hometown has the largest ski resort in China, there we could go skating, skiing, snowboarding and snow tubing. Besides, during winter, we like to eat hot pot, ‘cause it can keep us warm in the cold weather, and it’s pretty convenient, I mean, we just need to put all the ingredients in the pot, and a few minutes later, we are ready to eat.

　　What's the weather usually like in your country (or, your hometown)?

　　Well, there are four distinct seasons in my hometown, in summer, it’s pretty hot, sometimes muggy, and in winter, it can be freezing cold. During spring and autumn, it’s quite cool and windy.

　　Would you say the weather in your hometown is suitable for working (or studying)?

　　Um… to be honest, not really, ‘cause in winter, the weather can be really harsh, I mean, the temperature can be really low, like sometimes 30 degrees below zero. And it snows a lot, which makes the road pretty slippery. During winter, the number of traffic accidents will increase because sometimes cars can be out of control on those icy roads.

　　Would you like to move to a place with different weather?

　　Um… well, no. Although winter in my hometown can be unpleasantly cold, I get to do tons of thrilling outdoor activities. And I would really miss the ice and snow if I moved to a place that’s warm and has sunshine all year round.

　　What season (or weather) do you think is most suitable for work and/or study?

　　I guess it must be spring or autumn, ‘cause summer can be really hot, and people will be in no mood for work or study. And the transportation in winter can be a problem, like I said earlier.

　　Has the weather in your country changed much in the past few years?

　　Well, I don’t know about other places, but in my hometown, it has become warmer compared to the past, maybe that’s because of the global warming, you know. My mom told me, when she was little, during winter the temperature used to drop to 40 degrees below zero, but I’ve never experienced that kind of weather.

　　Do you prefer hot or cold weather?

　　I prefer cold weather, ‘cause when it’s hot, I always sweat a lot, which makes me super uncomfortable. And I couldn’t focus on anything, I would even become grumpy and irritable.

　　Do you (usually) pay attention to the weather forecasts?

　　Yeah, sometimes the weather can be really unpredictable, but the weather report in my hometown, well, most of the time, is reliable. For example, when the weatherman says, it’s likely to rain in the afternoon, I would take an umbrella when I go out, even though I don’t see any dark clouds.

　　语言点解析：

　　snowboarding = the sport of moving over snow on a snowboard例如：

　　to go snowboarding

　　Snowboarding is now an Olympic sport.

　　muggy = (of weather) warm and damp in an unpleasant way例如：

　　a muggy August day

　　harsh = (of weather or living conditions) very difficult and unpleasant to live in例如：

　　a harsh winter/ wind/ climate

　　the harsh conditions of poverty which existed for most people at that time

　　thrilling = exciting and enjoyable例如：

　　a thrilling experience/ finish

　　grumpy = bad-tempered

　　irritable = getting annoyed easily; showing your anger = bad-tempered 例如：

　　to be tired and irritable

　　weatherman = a person on radio or television whose job is describing the weather and telling people what it is going to be like