UNIT Proficiency

3
Discussing the seasons and the weather

Seasons and Weather

Talking about clothing
Describing a picture

SPEAKING: Seasons

A. How many seasons are in your country?

B. What do people like to do for fun in each season?
C. What do you like doing in different seasons of the year?

READING: Seasons in the United States of America

A. Read about what people wear and do each season in the U.S.

Summer is in June, July, and August. Most states, such as New

York, New Jersey, and Virginia, are very hot. Many people like
to swim in a pool or go to the beach. Sometimes they go water
skiing or snorkeling. People wear shorts, t-shirts, swimsuits, and
sandals or flip-flops. Children play in the sand. In this picture,
people are having fun at the beach.

Fall, or autumn, is the season after summer. September, October,

and November are in the fall. Most states, such as Colorado,
Utah, and Wyoming, are cool. Some women wear skirts or dresses.
People often wear a sweater or light jacket and warmer shirts
and pants. They wear shoes or sneakers and socks. This is when
students start a new year at school. Many people hike or go biking
in fall. In this picture, people are walking and bicycling through
the trees.

The next season is winter. December, January, and February are

winter months. This is the coldest season in most U.S. states such
as Idaho, Montana, and Maine. It often snows and is very cold.
People wear a scarf, warm coat, gloves, and a hat. They wear
boots and warm socks. It is too cold for shorts and most dresses.
In this picture, a man is skiing down the mountain.

Spring is the season after winter and before summer. March,

April, and May have warmer weather in states such as Nevada,
Pennsylvania, and Kentucky. Sometimes it is windy and cloudy.
It often rains in spring. Flowers and trees grow, and people are
outside more. People go out four-wheeling in a truck or ATV.
It is exciting and fun. Some families have fun with a barbecue,
eat hot dogs, and drink soda. In this picture, someone is riding an
ATV in the mud.

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 UNIT 3
B. Fill in the blanks using information from the reading.
1. Three activities people like to do at the beach are ________________, _________________,
and ______________________.

2. In spring, sometimes the weather is ___________ and _____________. If it is nice weather,

people often __________________ and ________________ soda.
3. In winter, many people wear _________________, _________________, and
_________________. In the U.S., the winter months are _______________,
_____________, and _________________.

4. The season after summer in the U.S. is ___________________, or __________________.

Students ______________________ a new school year.

SPEAKING: Your favorite season

A. Interview your classmates. Write brief notes of their answers.

Question: What is your favorite season?
Answer: My favorite season is ______________ because I like __________________.
Example: My favorite season is winter because I like snowboarding in the mountains.

Student name Favorite season Reason

Marcos winter He likes snowboarding.

B. Prepare your report

Complete the following sentences with your survey information.

Example: The favorite season for most classmates is fall because they like hiking and biking.
Summer is also popular because my classmates like going on vacations.

The favorite season for most classmates is __________ because _________________________.

______________ is also popular because _________________________________________.

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UNIT 3

GRAMMAR: Present progressive

Statement
I am driving to work right now.
You are doing your homework now.
We are talking to Mary right now.
They are dancing at the party.
Questions
Am I doing this right?
Are you doing your homework?
Are we talking about the same thing?
Are they arguing?

Currently, he is helping me with chores. Is he joking right now?

She is calling Tom at the moment. Is she listening to music?
It is raining in Miami now. Is it raining in your city now?

Negative
I am not leaving now. He is not helping us at all.
You are not listening to me! She isn’t coming now.
We aren’t eating yet. It is not raining anymore.
They aren’t talking to each other.

A. Complete each sentence with the present progressive.

Example: (swim) They___________ in the pool. → They are swimming in the pool.

1. (dance) I __________________________ with my girlfriend.

2. (sing) She __________________________ her favorite song.

3. (walk) They __________________________ home from school.

4. (run, not) You __________________________ fast enough!

5. (read, not) He __________________________ his texts now.

6. (look) We __________________________ for the keys.

7. (clean) ___________ you __________________________ the house now?

8. (drive) ___________ he __________________________?

9. (take) ___________ we __________________________ a break now?

10. (come) ___________ they __________________________ here now?

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 UNIT 3
B. Find and correct the mistakes.
The mother is wearing shoes.
1. The mother is wear shoe. ______________________________________________________
2. My swimming suit are blue and white.___________________________________________
3. I no wearing my hat today._____________________________________________________
4. Sam is wear shorts and sandals._________________________________________________
5. March is the four month of the year._____________________________________________
6. There is twelve months in a year.________________________________________________
7. John wearing a jacket and pants.________________________________________________
8. Maria and Joseph looking for the little dog._______________________________________

SPEAKING: Picture description

A. Answer the questions in complete sentences. Add one more question (#6) and then answer it.

1. Where are these girls?_____________________________________ .

2. What are they doing?_____________________________________ .
3. What is the season? ______________________________________ .
4. Are they wearing shoes?___________________________________ .
5. What are they wearing?___________________________________ .
6. _______________________________________________________ .

1. Where is this person?_____________________________________ .

2. What is he doing?________________________________________ .
3. What is the season?______________________________________ .
4. Is he wearing a blue coat?_________________________________ .
5. What else is he wearing?__________________________________ .
6. _______________________________________________________ .

1. Where are these people?___________________________________ .

2. What are they doing?_____________________________________ .

3. What is the season?______________________________________ .

4. Are they wearing running shoes?___________________________ .

5. What else are they wearing?_______________________________ .

6. _______________________________________________________ .

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UNIT 3

SPEAKING: What is in the picture?

A. Partner A turn to page 132. Partner B turn to page 134.
Describe your picture to your partner. Find eight differences between your pictures.
Example:
A: In my picture, there are four students and a instructor. The instructor is wearing a blue
dress. She is holding a gray book.
B: In my picture, there are also four students and a instructor. But the instructor in my picture
is wearing a pink dress.
A: OK. That’s one difference. What else is different?

Differences:
In Picture A, the instructor is wearing a blue dress,
1. ______________________________________ _ but in Picture B, she is wearing a pink dress.
_______________________________________
2_______________________________________ _
In Picture A, , _but
______________________________________
in picture B,
3. ______________________________________ _
In Picture A, , _but
______________________________________
in picture B,
4. ______________________________________ _
In Picture A, , _but
______________________________________
in picture B,
5. ______________________________________ _
In Picture A, , _but
______________________________________
in picture B,
6. ______________________________________ _
In Picture A, , _but
______________________________________
in picture B,
7. ______________________________________ _
In Picture A, , _but
______________________________________
in picture B,
8. ______________________________________ _
In Picture A, , _but
______________________________________
in picture B,

READING & VOCABULARY: Prediction

A. Draw a line under the answer that is most likely.

Example: The weather is getting cooler. The leaves on the trees are yellow and red.
I am wearing a jacket. It is _______.
a. summer b. winter c. fall d. raining
1. My feet are not cold because I am wearing sneakers and warm ______.
a. gloves b. mittens c. socks d. shirts
2. I love the winter! I am not riding a bike or swimming. I am ______.
a. snowboarding b. in the library c. on the couch d. eating ice cream
3. It’s very hot. I’m not wearing boots. I am wearing _______.
a sweater b. sandals c. a scarf d. a belt
4. My favorite season is windy and rainy. The trees and flowers are green. It’s______.
a. exciting b. fall c. spring d. time for school
5. Many people in the U.S.A. like December because of Christmas. Because the weather is
cold, they give gifts such as pants, shirts, and _____.
a. shorts b. sweaters c. swimsuits d. hot dogs

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 UNIT 3
Reading: What Is Cool? What Is Hot?

A. Before you start reading, look at the title of the passage and read the first paragraph.
What do you think it will be about?

A. Sneakers and chili peppers B. Summer and fall C. Spring and winter

What is Cool? What is Hot?

Most of the time when we are talking about cool and hot, we
are talking about the weather. But cool and hot are more than the
weather or seasons.
For example, many people think that sneakers are very “cool.”
They like a certain style, or look, of a sneaker. They feel excited and
happy when they are wearing their favorite brand name of sneakers.
They call themselves “sneakerheads,” and many of them go to a
convention that comes to their city called “Sneaker Con.” One
Sneaker Con in New York had 500 vendors and 19,000 people who
were looking at the most expensive sneakers or buying the least
expensive sneakers. People are calling Tinker Hatfield, a sneaker designer, the “Leonardo da Vinci”
of sneakers for designing some styles of the Air Jordan brand.
And what is hot besides a day made for the beach and a swim-
suit? Chili peppers, of course! The Scoville Scale was created by
a U.S. pharmacist, Wilbur Scoville, to measure the “heat” of chili
peppers. Some of the hottest peppers are the Carolina Reaper and
Pepper X. Their creator is a grower named Ed Currie, who owns his
own pepper company in the U. S. The common jalapeno pepper can
score between 1,000-10,000 on the scale. The Carolina Reaper scores
800,000 to 3,000,000! These peppers are so hot that some people
who eat them even have to go to the hospital! Ed Currie says that the
peppers were made to use in small amounts when cooking. “People
who eat whole Reapers are just being stupid,” he says. Would you
like to try one?

B. Answer the questions true or false based on the reading.

1. _____ Some people feel “cool” when they wear a certain sneaker.
2. _____ Sneakerheads like going to Sneaker Con.
3. _____ 500 people attended Sneaker Con in San Francisco.
4. _____ Ed Currie is a famous sneaker designer.
5. _____ The Scoville Scale is a way to measure how old a chili pepper is.
6. _____ Ed Currie made the Scoville Scale.
7. _____ Ed Currie thinks it is OK to eat a whole Carolina Reaper.
8. _____ Eating a Carolina Reaper pepper can be dangerous.

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UNIT 3

VOCABULARY: Months and seasons

A. Cross out the word in each group that doesn’t belong. More than one answer can be correct.

1. first third five seventh 5. skiing hiking biking running

2. hat gloves dress coat 6. socks shorts t-shirts sandals
3. Monday Sunday Wednesday Friday 7. swimsuit jacket coat scarf
4. fall wear spring October 8. August December January February

LISTENING: Repeat if true.

A. Listen to the narrator describe the picture below. If the sentence is true, repeat after the
narrator. If the sentence is NOT true, do not repeat the sentence.

Example
You hear: One woman is wearing a pink shirt.
You say: One woman is wearing a pink shirt.
You hear: The women are standing.
You say: (remain silent)

2 3

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 UNIT 3
SPEAKING: What are they wearing?

Ann Sam Ellen Carlos

A. Look at the pictures. Find the following items: belt, shoes, sneakers, glasses, bag, watch,
pants, bracelet, hat, backpack, jacket, earphones, and shorts.

B. Take turns quizzing each other on what each character is wearing.

1. Look at one of the character pictures for 15 seconds. Try to remember as much as you can.
2. Close your book. Tell your partner everything you can remember about what the
character is wearing. Speak in complete sentences (for example, “Carlos is wearing a
black shirt.”).
3. For each item you can remember correctly, you get one point. Now it is your partner’s
turn to be quizzed.
4. Continue until both of you do two pictures. The student who can remember the most
clothing items correctly is the winner.

SPEAKING: Phone calls

A. Make a phone call to a friend using the present progressive tense and making requests
with “can.”

Example A: Hi, _____________. What are you doing?

You: Hi, Tom. What are you doing? B: Hi, _____________. I’m _________________.
Friend: Hi, Carlos. I’m studying. A: Can you ______________ with me?
You: Can you go to a movie with me?
B: No, I can’t. I ___________________.
Friend: No, I can’t. I have a test on Thursday.
You: OK. Maybe next time.
A: OK. Maybe next time.

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UNIT 3

LISTENING: Family pictures

A. R
 ead the dialogue. Can you guess what words from the vocabulary
box will go in the blanks? Next, listen to the conversation between
Ellen and her grandfather and check your answers.

doing making looking silly speaking

first high smiling arms grandma

Ellen: doing
What are you ____________, Grandpa?
Grandpa: I am just ______________ at some old family pictures.
Ellen: Can I see them?
Grandpa: Sure. Take a look at this one. This is the ____________ picture of me. I am two
years old. My mother is holding me in her ____________.
Ellen: You were so cute! I love how you are _________ for the camera. How about this one?
Grandpa: This is in ____________ school. That pretty lady is your ______________. I am
trying to stay calm, but she is standing so close to me. It is _______________ me
nervous. That’s why I have this __________ expression on my face.
Ellen: Yeah, really smooth, Grandpa.

looking wedding showing grandmother beautiful

holding going parents walking mother

Wedding
Grandpa: Hey, but look at this one! This is our ________________ day. I am wearing a new suit and
your grandmother is looking so ________ with a pearl necklace. She is ________________
my hand and kissing my cheek.
Ellen: Ha ha! You look like a lottery winner!
Grandpa: That was a great day, but here is an even better one. Guess who that baby is?
Ellen: Is that my __________?
Grandpa: That’s right! That’s your _________ holding her.
Ellen: Wow! It’s strange to see my mother as a baby!
Grandpa: And these are your _______________ on their wedding day.
Both your mother and father are _________ so happy!
Ellen: They look so young! And who is this?
Grandpa: That cute little girl is you. You are_____________ for the first time, right here in my yard.
And look at you now! You’re all grown up and ________ to college!
Ellen: Thank you for _________ me these pictures, Grandpa. You have a lot of great memories.

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 UNIT 3
VOCABULARY: Weather
A. H
 ow’s the weather? Match the pictures to the
correct sentence.

E
1. It is windy. ____
A B
2. It is snowing. ____
f
d
3. It is raining. ____

C D 4. It is sunny. The sun is shining. ____

5. It is cloudy. ____

6. There are clear skies. ____

E F

WRITING: Picture description

A. Look at the following pictures. Use the words in the box and make there is/there are and present
progressive sentences. Follow the example.

Place Nouns Verbs

a cup of coffee
a blue shirt a red brick ride
on a merry-go-round sit
a yellow shirt building wear
in a puddle talk
blue pants an umbrella laugh
on the street smile
a white car a white and pink jump
on a bench backpack rain
a blue suit hold
a cell phone a watch

Example: There is a
young girl on a merry-
go-round in this picture.
She is wearing a seatbelt.
She is wearing a blue
shirt. She is laughing.

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UNIT 3

VOCABULARY: Feelings
A. Use a dictionary to look up any of these words you do not know.

satisfied embarrassed sad excited stressed relaxed

worried happy depressed energetic confident scared

B. Put the feeling words into two groups: positive feelings and negative feelings.

Positive satisfied happy depressed energetic confident relaxed

Negative worried embarrassed sad excited stressed scared

C. Name two feelings for each example below. Next, write two more sentences for #7 and #8 and
write the feelings for each of those sentences.

worried _________________
1. My vocabulary test is today, but I did not study. _________________ stressed
2. Our new baby brother is coming home today. _________________ _________________
3. My dog is very sick. sad
_________________ depressed
_________________
4. I am a new student at the university. scared
_________________ excited
_________________
5. My phone is not working. depressed
_________________ sad
_________________
6. I got a good grade on my test. happy
_________________ excited
_________________
7. _________________________________________ _________________ _________________
8. _________________________________________ _________________ _________________

VOCABULARY: Review of months and numbers

A. Answer the following questions. Then write two more questions to ask your partner.
1. What month comes after May? ____________________
2. What is the fourth month? _____________________
3. What number comes before twenty? ___________________
4. What are two warm months in your country? _____________________
5. What is the tenth month? _____________________
6. What month comes before January? ____________________
7. ________________________________________________________
8. ________________________________________________________

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 UNIT 3
WRITING & SPEAKING: Seasons and clothing

A. Write three sentences to answer each question. Then discuss your answers with a partner.

1. What is your favorite season and why?

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

2. What kind of clothing do you wear in different seasons?

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

3. What are you wearing now?

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

4. Who are two people that you know very well? What do you think they are doing
right now?

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

5. What activities are you doing a lot these days (more than usual)?

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

6. What is happening in the room you are in now? Who is in the room? What are they doing?

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

7. Select and describe an interesting picture you have in your cell phone or computer. Describe
who is in the picture, where you took the picture, and what is happening in the picture.

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

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