13.

TGABB KRNYEZETNK, A TERMSZET VILGA

Flora and fauna: Our flora and fauna are very similar to those of our neighboring countries and it is different, too. You can - termszeti krnyezetnk (nvnyek, find grassy steppes here. We have all kinds of medicinal herbs, the llatok) use of which we have to relearn. We have oak trees on the lower - ghajlat slopes where the weather is warmer. Beech trees can be found more 5 a krnyezetnket fenyeget veszlyek fre uent above !"" meters. #here are more pine woods near the border where the hills are higher. Foreigners like coming to hunt here 5 mindennapi krnyezetvdelem (a krnyezet in $ungary because we still have a lot of wild animals, hunting tisztasga, szelektv h lladkgy!jts, energiatakarkossg, "jrahasznosts) seems to be cheap for them and our hospitality is still well known. #he kinds of game that can be found in our country: deer, mouflon, 5 idjrs# az vszakokra jellemz idjrs, wild boar, pheasant, partridge, wild duck, dove, hare, wild goose, fo% akt lis idjrs and many others. $ungary is in the temperate &one and has a continental climate. #his means that the weather is uite easily predictable and there are big differences between the weather in the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. Occupying a relatively flat area in the 'arpathian Basin, $ungary is protected from the e%tremes of weather by the mountain ranges encompassing her from almost all sides. $er climate is influenced by both moderate maritime and mild (editerranean air currents. #emperatures above )" ' *degree+ may occur in ,uly and -ugust but generally do not last long. ,anuary and February are the coldest months, but even then average temperature doesn.t fall below minus /'. Weather: my favourite season is spring. -fter the long cold, wet and foggy days it is warm again. 0ature also awakens from its sleep and the trees and bushes are full of blossom. 1t smells of flowers everywhere. #he nicest spring flowers are snowdrops, violets, tulips, primroses, daffodils, hyacinths and lily of the valley. #his is also the time for fruit trees to come out in buds and bloom. 1 like nature so 1 try to make the best of the fine weather. (ay is 2ust the right month for taking walks or going on trips to the surrounding hills. On a sunny day in spring 1 can.t really settle down to anything e%cept lying in the sun and en2oying the first warm sunshine of the year. #he weather in spring is uite capricious, especially in -pril. #here can be heavy rainstorms lasting for a few hours or scattered showers lasting even for a couple of days. 1t was e%tremely hot summer last term. #here was a heat wave in ,uly. #he sun was burning for days and end. #here was scarcely a breath of air. #he heat was increasing and it was getting hotter and hotter. 1t was sweltering heat and 1 remember that the people walking in the streets had to find shelter in the shade of big trees to avoid getting sunstroke. 1 got as browns as berries although 1 hate lying in the sun. 1n summer a hot spell is followed by uick showers that sweep through the fields. Before a shower the sun hides behind the clouds which look dark and heavy against the summer sky. When the sky is completely overcast you know that the rain is not far off. #hen suddenly lightning and thunder begin. 3ightning is uite dangerous and it may strike big trees or even houses. 1f it is a passing shower then right after it a rainbow appears in the sky, which turns blue again and the sunshine is hotter than ever. 4ometimes it pours down with rain *to rain cats and dogs+ and it won.t stop. You can easily get soaked to the skin. #here is even hail in summer which causes a lot of damage to the crops. Wheat is harvested in the middle of summer and there are lots of fruits that are ripened by the hot sun during the summer days. #here are cherries, raspberries, gooseberries, red5currants, sour cherries etc. 1n summer it is enough to put on a light dress with a low5cut neck or a #5shirt with shorts or breeches and a pair of low shoes or sandals. On the beach women wear a bathing suit or a bikini and perhaps a straw hat. (en wear swimming trunks. #he beginning of autumn is called an 1ndian summer if the weather is still warm. 6sually it is 2ust like summer. We say that autumn is a rich season because the trees are full of fruits like apples, pears, plums, nuts, almonds, mulberries etc. and most of the vegetables are harvested at the beginning of the autumn too. 1n $ungary the grape harvest, that is vintage, is a great feast. Friends and relatives come together to pick the grapes from the vines, to press them, pour the grape 2uice into wine5casks and let it ferment for a while for it to be decanted later. #he rainiest season is definitely autumn. #he best strategy for protecting yourself from the rain is to carry an umbrella or a mackintosh with you all the time. 1n autumn, people put on a mackintosh or some other kind of waterproofs. 1t is important that you should wear water5resistant shoes or wellingtons as well because you can catch a cold easily if you step in the puddles and get your feet wet. -ll kinds of precipitation may occur during the autumn months from dri&&le and rain through mist, fog, hoar frost and sleet to snow. 1n autumn the leaves of trees slowly become coloured, you can see yellowish, brownish and reddish ones. 1n October the weather is very changeable7 one day it is as if it were summer the ne%t is 2ust like in winter. 1n 0ovember there is often
-1-

13. TGABB KRNYEZETNK, A TERMSZET VILGA

frost. When winter is here, the temperature falls below &ero. #hen smooth snow falls down from big, grey clouds. #here are bli&&ards and stormy winds shake the trees and windows and it.s very pleasant to sit by the fire inside while the wind is blowing outside. #here are usually hard frosts in ,anuary. 1 often feel cold in such weather. 1 shiver with cold when 1 go to work in the morning. (y eyes are watering from the cold. 1n winter you must be careful not to catch cold. You must wear warm clothes and dress in layers. 1n cold weather people wear fur hats or thick, knitted hats and gloves, warm scarves and polo5necked sweaters, cotton stockings or trousers, winter boots and thick fur5lined overcoats. Winter weather often paralyses traffic on the roads. #hey are slippery, because of the ice covering them and there are a lot of accidents. You must not drive at a high speed. Fog also delays traffic. 8lanes cannot land at the airport because of poor visibility. 1t.s better to cancel driving when there is dense fog hanging over the roads. 1f the snow sets in, the roads are deep in snow. #hey may be blocked by snowdrifts. $ard snowstorms sometimes stop all the traffic and many cars get stuck in the snowdrifts. England has a maritime climate, which means that the weather is very wet and rainy there. 1t is usually very changeable and it is difficult to forecast with certainty even for a day. 1t is damp and not too cold all times of the year. 1t rarely snows and if it does, it melts when it reaches the ground. 4ummers are cool and damp too. 8ossibly because it is so unpredictable, 9nglish people are always prepared to discuss the weather. 4pring weather 4ummer weather slight bree&e to perspire:sweat *i&&adni+ it begins to thaw to rain cats and dogs there are avalanches in the mountains to get soaked to the skin to be struck by lightning -utumn weather Winter weather it is wretched:rotten to have sub&ero temp. to have chilly weather there is a bli&&ard to dri&&le, rain, pour, sleet a snowflake 1t is misty, foggy humid, wet, damp to reach gale force #here has been more and more damage to the environment since the increase of the world.s population and industry. 1 have heard of air, water and soil pollution. 1n general, the larger the city the higher the degree of air pollution, which is caused mainly by factories or by fumes from cars and from other means of transport. 9ven rivers are dirtier in a city than in the country. -ll types of pollution can be very dangerous for plants and animals as well as for human health. #his is why we must avoid polluting our environment in any way. -cid rain is caused by air pollution. ;ehicle pollution mainly in urban areas can be dangerous. Floods are caused by cutting down trees. <rass and undergrowth and shrubs aren.t able to hold humidity. =ain is 2oined by melted snow water and evaporation is also slow. 1f people cut down woods there is a big amount of water, which runs down uickly and there is nothing that can slow down the speed of it. 4oil is also washed away so people cannot plant in the usual way. #he other reason for floods is global warming. 1ce in 0orth 8ole melts so another large of water appears in the seas and ocean. -ir becomes humid so more rain falls. #he other conse uence of warming up is that seasons are changing all the time. #here are heavy rains and a lot of snow where there didn.t use to be. *like snow in Florida+. #here was the winter flood in the east part of $ungary in >""? and >"">. #he water was not only cold but it ruined a lot of houses. 1n the summer of >""> there were serious floods all over 9urope. France, <ermany, the '&ech =epublic and $ungary suffered the biggest damages from the floods. 4ome people even died. 8olluted rivers flow into the oceans and seas so they poison wild life plants and animals. 4o species die out. Originally waters of rivers, oceans and seas clean themselves but if a lot of alga appears on the surface of the water it is not able to do so. #here are disasters on waters, too. Ships and boats are wrecked and they may sink. 1f tankers sink, oil gets into the water and disaster can happen in a few days. Oil can get on and among the feather of birds, on the skin of seals and whales and other animals. #hese living creatures aren.t able to fly or swim and not able to escape if it.s needed. Oil can get into their stomachs. @ifferent chemicals have damaged the o&one layer. 4ince mainly the ?A/"s people have used more and more oil and natural gas. 4ince the ?AB"s and ?AA"s we use !" percent more energy. 4o all of these factures cause the green5house effect, which have led to an increase in temperature levels. 'utting down forests also ChelpsD the problem. $umid 2ungles absorbed carbon5dio%ide and produce o%ygen. @eveloped countries reali&ed the danger. 4o they started to develop rules on protecting the environment. Because of the very hot, dry
-2-

13. TGABB KRNYEZETNK, A TERMSZET VILGA

summers fires often occur in different places like fields, woods and in bushes. #hese can occur not only relatively small areas but also in huge territories. Fire5brigades rush to the spot7 they try to put out fire with water or appropriate chemicals as soon as possible. $elicopters are often in action. #hey spray the inoculators from above. 1f there is strong wind it makes the work more difficult. 1t often takes days or even weeks to put out fires and of course rains help. -n economic reactor e%ploded in Chernobyl in ?AE! spreading a radioactive cloud of dust mainly in 9urope. #his has been the most dangerous event in the history of nuclear power production. 4ince then there have been more and more demonstrations against nuclear power. The Greens are people who try to protect environment either with legal and illegal actions. #hey are known to have tied themselves onto e.g. rails, which is really illegal and very dangerous. But they also table bills in 8arliament. Volcanoes sometimes erupt without any reason. -lthough, the environment regenerates itself with it, they destroy spacious forests and spread volcanic ash all around. 1n fact, there mostly used to happen several times. 3ots of cinema films created about famous volcanoes erupting like 9tna, ;esuvius, and 4t. $elen. Earthqua es are caused by seismic waves. #here are more and more steps being taken in our country to enable everyday people to be environmentally friendly. #he state itself tries to persuade citi&ens to recycle. 1f you pay for having your rubbish taken away, you have to pay less if there is less rubbish in your dustbin. When these dustbins were introduced it was strange to use them but nowadays it is and everyday event. In Hungary there are different colors of dustbins at more and more local housing estate. We should collect our rubbishes separately e.g. glasses, paper, plastic, dangerous litters etc. 'ertainly you mustn.t throw away any litters where you are warned by noticing Cno dumpingFD #he first thing 1 can do is that I dont litter the streets, but try to put the rubbish into the dustbin. $opefully, 1 find one when 1 need it. Our household could also select waste. #here.s a selective waste collection in the area where 1 live. 1 also pay attention to buying products which have been recycled and 1 always ask the shop assistants not to put the products into plastic bags for me. 1 rather put them into a bo% or a carrier bag. We.ve been using some light bulbs in our flat since their prices were payable. 1n addition to it, my dad always warns us not to leave the light switched on if we aren.t in the room. -t my workplace we have some air5 conditioners but we only use them if needed because of their consumption *so as to save more energy+. 6nfortunately, 1 have a bad habit from which 1 try to give up. 1 can.t help turning on both my 8' and my #;. $owever, 1 also know that no one is able to watch both of them at the same time.

-!-