Speaking Boost · A1 · Lesson 36 of 50
Speaking Boost A1 · Block 8: Weather and Seasons

What is the weather like in the hottest place?

Some places on Earth are very hot. In this lesson you talk about the weather and about hot and cold places. You use What is the weather like? and It's hot, sunny, windy.

1

Warm-up

5 min
1.1

Weather

Answer each question with 2–3 sentences.

  1. What is the weather like today?
  2. Is it hot or cold in your city now?
  3. Do you like hot weather?
  4. What is your favourite weather?
  5. Is it sunny or cloudy today?
  6. What is the weather like in summer in your country?
2

Words and phrases

12 min
2.1

New words

Read each word and the example. Then say one sentence with the word.

2.2

Which word?

Choose the word that fits.

  1. Sunny, rainy and windy are words for the .
  2. A thermometer shows the .
  3. Water freezes at zero Celsius.
  4. A hot place with a lot of sand and almost no rain is a .
  5. You use a to measure how hot it is.
  6. The gives us light and heat.
  7. The hottest season of the year is .
  8. Not wet is .
2.3

Opposites and pairs

Choose the right answer, then press Check answers.

  1. a thermometer shows the
  2. a desert is
  3. sunny = with a lot of
  4. cloudy = with a lot of
  5. summer is the
  6. a degree is a unit for
2.4

Useful phrases

Use these phrases to describe the weather.

  • What is the weather like?Яка погода?What is the weather like today?
  • It's hot.Спекотно.It's very hot in summer.
  • It's sunny.Сонячно.It's sunny and warm.
  • It's cold.Холодно.It's cold in winter.
  • It's windy.Вітряно.It's windy today.
  • It's thirty degrees.Тридцять градусів.It's thirty degrees in the shade.
  • In summer it's...Влітку...In summer it's hot.
  • I like hot weather.Мені подобається спекотна погода.I like hot weather.
3

Read and react

8 min
3.1

The hottest place

Read the text. Hover over the dotted words for help.

What is the weather like in the hottest place?

What is the weather like in the hottest place? Many people say that the hottest place on Earth is Death Valley in California, in the USA. In July 1913, a thermometer there showed 56.7 degrees Celsius. This is the official record for the hottest air temperature, but some scientists say that the old measurement may be wrong, so the question is still open.

Death Valley is a desert. It is very dry, and there is almost no rain. In summer, it is often more than 45 degrees there, and few people stay outside in the afternoon. Visitors say that the air feels like a hot hairdryer.

Other places are also very hot. For example, parts of Iran, Kuwait and Ethiopia are famous for hot summers. People who live there often wear light clothes, drink a lot of water and stay in the shade at noon.

But the weather is not always hot. In winter, the same desert can be cool at night. And in other parts of the world, it is cold and snowy while it is hot somewhere else.

What is the weather like where you live?

3.2

True or false?

  1. Many people say that the hottest place on Earth is Death Valley.
  2. In 1913, the thermometer showed 56.7 degrees.
  3. Death Valley is wet and rainy.
  4. Scientists are all 100% sure about the record.
  5. People in hot places drink a lot of water.
3.3

What do you think?

  1. Do you want to visit a desert?
  2. Is hot weather better than cold weather?
  3. How can people live in a very hot place?
  4. What do you do on a very hot day?
4

Grammar for speaking

10 min
4.1

Grammar for speaking

What is the weather like?

Ask What is the weather like? Answer with It's + a weather word. The weather is singular: The weather is nice. With a temperature, use degrees: It's thirty degrees.

What's the weather like? It's sunny. It's hot and dry. It's windy today. The weather is nice. It's thirty degrees.

Seasons and weather

Use in with seasons and months: in summer, in winter, in July. Use usually or often with the weather.

In summer it's hot. In winter it's cold. It's often windy in autumn. In July it's very sunny.

Block 8 preview

Grammar you will use in this block.

weather words and What is the weather like? (L36) · Present Continuous: affirmative and negative (L37) · Present Continuous questions (L38) · Present Simple or Present Continuous (L39) · review (L40)

Common mistakes: the weather is singular, and we use is with it. We say in summer and degrees with a plural. ✗ The weather are nice → The weather is nice. ✗ It are hot → It is hot. ✗ It's thirty degree → It's thirty degrees.

4.2

Choose the right form

  1. What's the weather
    today?
  2. It
    sunny.
  3. It's very
    today.
  4. The weather
    nice.
  5. It's thirty
    .
  6. It is cold
    winter.
  7. It's
    today.
  8. cloudy this morning.
4.3

Fix the mistake

Each sentence has one mistake. Type the correct words.

  1. What the weather is like? →
  2. It are hot. →
  3. It's very heat. →
  4. It's cold on winter. →
  5. The weather are nice. →
  6. It's thirty degree. →
4.4

Talk about it

Answer with full sentences. Use weather words and It is...

  1. What is the weather like today?
  2. What is the weather like in summer?
  3. What is the weather like in winter?
  4. Is it hot or cold now?
  5. What is your favourite weather?
  6. What do you do when it is very hot?
5

Three people and the weather, and a short talk

8 min
5.1

Three people and the weather

Three people describe the weather. Compare them. Who lives in the hottest place? Who likes the cold? What is the weather like today?

Person 1

Hassan, 30

  • Lives near a desert
  • Says it's very hot in summer
  • Drinks a lot of water
  • Stays in the shade
Person 2

Nina, 25

  • Is from Norway
  • Says it's cold in winter
  • Likes the snow
  • Doesn't like hot weather
Person 3

Paul, 45

  • Is a tourist
  • Visits a desert
  • Takes a thermometer
  • Says it's 45 degrees
5.2

Mini-talk: the weather

Your teacher will time you.

  1. Plan for one minute, then speak for one or two minutes.
  2. Part 1: say what the weather is like in your city in each season.
  3. Part 2: say what weather you like and don't like.
  4. Part 3: ask your teacher two questions about the weather.
2:00
6

Personal questions

10 min
6.1

Part I: Me

  1. What is the weather like today?
  2. Is it hot or cold now?
  3. What is the weather like in summer in your city?
  4. What is the weather like in winter?
  5. Do you like hot weather?
  6. What is your favourite weather?
  7. Is it windy today?
  8. Do you have a thermometer?
6.2

Part II: Other people

  1. Who in your family likes hot weather?
  2. Who likes the cold?
  3. Who looks at the weather forecast?
  4. Who lives in a hot country?
  5. Who doesn't like rain?
  6. Who wears a hat in the sun?
6.3

Part III: A bit deeper

  1. Is hot weather better than cold weather?
  2. Is the weather important for a holiday?
  3. Is it dangerous to be in a hot place?
  4. Do people in hot places live a different life?
  5. Is the weather different now?
7

Roleplay

12 min
7.1

Talking about the weather

You

Speaker

A friend (your teacher) asks about the weather:
  • say what the weather is like today
  • say what it is like in summer
  • say what weather you like
  • ask your friend a question
Speak for at least 1 minute. Use It's... and What is the weather like?
Your teacher

Friend

Says things like:
  1. What's the weather like today?
  2. And in summer?
  3. Do you like it?
  4. I like the sun.
7.2

A hot holiday

You

Tourist

You are on a hot holiday (your teacher is the hotel worker):
  • say that it is very hot
  • ask what the weather is like tomorrow
  • ask for some water
  • say thank you
You do most of the talking. Use: It's very hot. · What is the weather like...?
Your teacher

Worker

Says things like:
  1. Yes, it's 40 degrees.
  2. It's sunny.
  3. Here you are.
  4. You are welcome.
8

Homework

at home

Your homework score

Do all four exercises, then press Check all homework. Correct answers will appear next to your mistakes.

– / 30
H1

Complete with a word

weathertemperaturedegreesdesertthermometersunsummerdry
  1. Sunny, rainy and windy are words for the .
  2. A thermometer shows the .
  3. Water freezes at zero Celsius.
  4. A hot place with a lot of sand and almost no rain is a .
  5. You use a to measure how hot it is.
  6. The gives us light and heat.
  7. The hottest season of the year is .
  8. Not wet is .
H2

Choose the correct word

  1. What's the weather today?
  2. It hot.
  3. It's very today.
  4. The weather nice.
  5. It's twenty .
  6. It is hot summer.
  7. It's today.
  8. cloudy.
H3

Correct or incorrect?

Decide if each sentence is grammatically correct.

  1. What is the weather like?
  2. What the weather is like?
  3. It is hot.
  4. It are hot.
  5. The weather is nice.
  6. The weather are nice.
  7. It's thirty degrees.
H4

Match the two halves

  1. What is
  2. It's
  3. It's
  4. In summer
  5. It's
  6. I like
  7. The weather

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© Yevheniia Kolesnykova, Academy of Languages. All rights reserved. No copying or reuse without written permission.