SKILL UP!

BusinessSpotlight

VOKABELTRAINING LEICHT GEMACHT

AUSGABE 37

The
weather
also:
The weather forecast | In Focus: climate change
CONTENTS

BRING ME SUNSHINE
Dagmar Taylor, language author
business@spotlight-verlag.de
Weather has an enormous impact on our daily lives. It affects
what we wear, how we travel, what we do and what we buy. In this
Skill Up!, we present the language you need to talk about weather
conditions, weather forecasts, climate change and more.
In Picture This! (pp. 4–5), our illustration shows what you might
see when you watch the weather forecast. Turn to Word Bank
(pp. 6–7) to find out more words and expressions to describe the
weather. And in our In Focus section (pp. 10–11), you can prac-
tise talking about climate change and extreme weather.
We hope you’ll use this guide to learn the words, expressions and
idioms you need — whatever the weather.

SKILL UP!
Recent Skill Up! topics As you work through this
vocabulary guide, make a
l Get connected!, no. 34 (5/2015) note of words that belong
l Architecture & design, no. 35 (6/2015) together (such as “rain”,
l Finance, no. 36 (1/2016) “rainfall”, “pour down”).
Using the words — and a
dictionary — create your
For a full list of Skill Up! topics covered to date,
own word-family chart.
go to www.business-spotlight.de/skill-up

Word of the Day

www.

On our website, you’ll find selected

vocabulary in our Word of the
Day section. You can listen to
the words, definitions and exam-
ple sentences — and download
the MP3 file of each word — at
Zusätzliche sowie zurückliegende Ausgaben von SKILL UP! können Sie www.business-spotlight.de
zusammen mit dem Sprachmagazin Business Spotlight nachbestellen:
www.business-spotlight.de/einzelausgaben
Tel. +49(0)89/8 56 81-16; E-Mail: leserservice@spotlight-verlag.de

2 SKILL UP! ISSUE 37

 Out came the sun and
dried up all the rain
iStock

CHECKLIST: WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Below, you will find the contents of this issue of Skill Up! and a checklist of what you should
be able to do with confidence after studying this guide. Ask yourself what you can really do.
If you can’t say yes to every statement, go back and spend more time on learning the relevant
vocabulary. Don’t forget to read our Skill Up! tips and do the online exercises!

wContents Page(s) Checklist Not yet A little Yes!

Picture This!
And now, the 4–5 I know the vocabulary for talking about the weather ❏ ❏ ❏
weather forecast and how weather is measured.
Word Bank
Wind, rain, sun, 6–7 I can use the correct words and expressions to talk ❏ ❏ ❏
snow about the weather.
False Friends
A flash of 8–9 I can identify the false friends presented here — and use ❏ ❏ ❏
lightning the correct translations.
In Focus
Climate change 10–11 I can use the language I have learned to talk about ❏ ❏ ❏
climate change and extreme weather.
Essential Idioms
Come rain 12–13 I can correctly use idiomatic expressions that have their ❏ ❏ ❏
or shine roots in the weather.
Close Relations
The temperature’s 14–15 I know how to use the different members of the “temper” ❏ ❏ ❏
rising family.
Small Talk
What a day! 16–17 I can make small talk about the weather. ❏ ❏ ❏
Your Profile
Whatever the 18 I feel more confident using the vocabulary in this guide. ❏ ❏ ❏
weather
Preview
19

ISSUE 37 SKILL UP! 3

PICTURE THIS!

Bernhard Förth
1

9
3

2
7
4

10
8
5

11
The weatherman:
bringing the outside inside

AND NOW, THE WEATHER

Meteorologists don’t always get it right, but we still listen to their predictions. In this illus-
tration, we focus on the words you need to talk about the weather forecast.

1. weather forecast Wettervorhersage 6. rain Regen

extended forecast weitere Aussichten pour down in Strömen regnen
prediction Vorhersage 7. cold front Kaltfront
2. weather chart Wetterkarte occluded front Okklusionsfront
3D graphics grafische Darstellung stationary front stationäre Front
in 3D 8. high-pressure system Hochdrucksystem
synoptic chart synoptische Karte pressure pattern Druckverlauf
[sI(nQptIk] sunny spell sonnige Periode
3. isobar [(aIsEUbA:] Isobare warm front Warmfront
air pressure Luftdruck 9. weatherman Wetterfrosch
isoline [(aIsEUlaIn] Isolinie meteorologist Meteorologe/
4. temperature Temperatur [)mi:tiE(rQlEdZIst] Meteorologin
5. cloudy bewölkt weathergirl ifml. Wetterfee
foggy neblig 10. soaking wet patschnass
overcast bedeckt; trübe 11. puddle [(pVd&l] Pfütze

4 SKILL UP! ISSUE 37

 What are they saying?
“Good morning! Well, as soon as I left the house this morning, it started to pour down and
now I’m soaking wet. I’m afraid the rain is going to persist all day. This is due to a cold front
moving in from the west. Our weathergirl Jane, however, is off to Spain later today, where the
high-pressure system means sunny weather and high temperatures. Lucky her!”

Measuring the weather “There is no such thing

anemometer [)ÄnI(mQmItE]
barometer [bE(rQmItE]
buoy [bOI]
hygrometer [haI(grQmItE]
measurement
meteorological office
observatory [Eb(z§:vEtri]
meteorological
observatory
radiosonde [(reIdiEUsQnd] Radiosonde
rain gauge [geIdZ] 
sling psychrometer
[)saI(krQmItE]
snow gauge [geIdZ]
thermometer [TE(mQmItE] Thermometer
weather balloon
Windmesser
Barometer
as bad weather, only
Boje inappropriate clothing”
Hygrometer, Luft- Sir Ranulph Fiennes, 71, English adventurer
feuchtigkeitsmesser
Messung; Messwert
Wetteramt
Beobachtungsstelle
Creating forecasts
Wetterwarte
atmosphere (Erd-)Atmosphäre
cloud formation Wolkenformation
cloud water Wolkenwasser
Regen-, Niederschlags-
messer equation (mathematische)
Gleichung
Schlingen-Feuchtig-
keitsmesser forecast model Vorhersagemodell
Schneemesser mesoscale modelling mesoskalige
Modellierung
nowcasting  Nowcasting, kurz-
Wetterballon
fristige Vorhersage

Photodisc
weather radar [(reIdA:] Wetterradar
numerical model numerisches Modell
weather satellite [(sÄtElaIt] Wettersatellit
precipitation formation Niederschlagsbildung
weather station Wetterstation
solar radiation Sonneneinstrahlung
synoptic weather synoptische Wetter-
temperature Temperatur
station station
troposphere Troposphäre
wind vane Windfahne
water vapour [(veIpE] Wasserdampf
weather pattern Wettermuster,
-modell

SKILL UP!
“Weather” is an uncountable noun;
you can’t use it with an indefinite
article and there is no plural form.
Did you know?
The Met Office (Meteorological Office)
Don’t say: “Such a nice weather to- is the United Kingdom’s national weath-
day.” Say: “What nice weather!” or er service. The Met Office is a world
“What a nice day!” leader in providing weather and climate
services and employs more than 1,700
people at 60 locations throughout the
world. The National Weather Service
(NWS) is the US equivalent.
It never rains,
but it pours
ISSUE 37 SKILL UP! 5
 WORD BANK

WIND, RAIN, SUN, SNOW

People love talking about the weather — no wonder we have so many words
to describe it. We present vocabulary for talking about weather conditions.

Wind
airstream Luftstrom
breeze Brise
calm [kA:m] Windstille
crosswind Seitenwind Did you know?
dust devil kleiner Wirbelsturm The Beaufort scale was creat-
gale Orkan, Sturm ed by Irish naval officer Francis
gale force Sturmstärke Beaufort in 1805. It is an empir-
gust [gVst] (Wind-)Bö ical measure for describing wind
headwind Gegenwind intensity based on sea condi-
hurricane [(hVrIkEn] Hurrikan, Orkan, Wirbelsturm tions. Beaufort used the numbers
jet stream Jetstream, Strahlstrom 0 to 12 to indicate the strength
mistral [(mIstrEl] Mistral of the wind, from calm (force 0)
monsoon [)mQn(su:n] Monsun to hurricane (force 12). The scale
prevailing wind vorherrschender Wind has also been adapted for wind
sandstorm Sandsturm conditions on land.
sea breeze Seewind-, brise
sirocco [sI(rQkEU] Sirocco
tailwind Rückenwind
tornado [tO:(neIdEU] Tornado, Windhose
twister US ifml. Wirbelsturm Rain
trade wind Passatwind band of rain Regenband
turbulence Turbulenz cloudburst Wolkenbruch
typhoon [taI(fu:n] Taifun deluge [(delju:dZ] Überschwemmung,
whirlwind Wirbelwind, Windhose (the Deluge die Sintflut)
wind direction Windrichtung drizzle Niesel-, Sprühregen
easterly wind Ostwind monsoon [)mQn(su:n] Monsun
southwester Südwestwind patchy rain stellenweise Regen
pelt down herunterprasseln
precipitation Niederschlag
puddle [(pVd&l] Pfütze
What does wind do? rainbow Regenbogen
blow [blEU] blasen, wehen
raindrop Regentropfen
die down abflauen
rainfall Niederschlag, Regenfall
drop nachlassen
shower (Regen-)Schauer
howl [haUl] heulen
torrential rain [tE(renS&l] 
Starkregen, sintflutartige
pick up stärker werden Regenfälle
roar [rO:] tosen
whistle pfeifen

6 SKILL UP! ISSUE 37

iStock
 Gale force winds
and torrential rain

SKILL UP!
If you have a smartphone, open Snow
your weather app. What is today’s avalanche [(ÄvElA:ntS] Lawine
weather forecast for the area blizzard  (heftiger) Schnee-
where you are? Describe what the sturm
weather will be like using the vo- flurry [(flVri] Schneegestöber
cabulary on this page. hail Hagel
What’s the weather like in oth- sleet  Graupel, Schnee-
er places? Try looking up Hong regen; Eisregen
Kong or Sydney and describing the slush (Schnee-)Matsch
weather there. snow drift Schneewehe
snowed in: be ~ eingeschneit sein
snowfall Schneefall
snowflake Schneeflocke
snowstorm Schneesturm
whiteout Whiteout

Sun
sunbeam Sonnenstrahl
sundown US Sonnenuntergang
sundowner UK ifml. Dämmerschoppen
sun-drenched sonnendurchflutet “We will see patchy
sunlight
sunlit
Sonnenlicht
sonnig, sonnenbeschienen
rain at times
sunny interval [(IntEv&l] sonniger Abschnitt this morning. Later,
sunray
sunrise
Sonnenstrahl
Sonnenaufgang
it will brighten up,
sunset Sonnenuntergang with some sunny
sunshine Sonnenschein intervals developing
sunspot Sonnenfleck(en)
suntrap UK sonniges Plätzchen and just the odd
shower”

What does the sun do?

beat down herunterknallen glare grell scheinen; blenden
be out heraus sein, scheinen glint off/on sth. auf etw. glitzern
blaze herunterprallen go down untergehen
break through (sth.) (durch etw.) durchbrechen rise aufgehen
burn herunterbrennen set untergehen
climb (hoch)steigen shine scheinen; strahlen
come out herauskommen sink sinken, untergehen
dip sinken, untergehen stream in hereinscheinen
drop sinken, untergehen warm sth. etw. (er-)wärmen

ISSUE 37 SKILL UP! 7

FALSE FRIENDS

A FLASH OF LIGHTNING
There are many words in German and English that sound similar but have very different
meanings. They are “false friends”. Learn the correct translations of these terms.

blow blaze

Digital Visiontt
iStock

What’s blasen in English? It’s not blaze!

blasen = blow blaze = brennen, (herunter)prallen
“There’s no point using an umbrella when the “The sun was blazing all afternoon, so I stayed
wind is blowing so hard. It’ll just break!” in the shade.”

degree

iSrock
What’s Grad in English?
Grad = degree
“It’s supposed to be 38 degrees tomorrow. I
think I’ll take the day off.”

It’s not grade!

grade
Fuse

grade = Note
“I have to talk to my daughter’s teacher —
she’s been getting terrible grades lately.”

Skill up! Audio

You can do an exercise on
Business Spotlight Audio

8 SKILL UP! ISSUE 37

 iStock Editorial
iStock

slush match
What’s Matsch in English? It’s not match!
Matsch = slush [slVS] match = Spiel; Streichholz
“I don’t mind the snow. It’s the slush I hate.” “How was the match last night? Did you win?”

lightning

What’s Blitz in English?

Blitz = lightning
“Did you see that flash of lightning?”

It’s not blitz!

Purestock
blitz (sth.) = B
 litzkrieg; Blitzaktion;
etw. heftig bombardieren
“The UK’s Tornados were deployed in the blitz
on the ISIS oilfields in Syria.”

Other translations
the Blitz = deutscher Luftangriff auf britische Städte
im Zweiten Weltkrieg
dpa/picture-alliance

During the Blitz in 1940, London was heavily bombed.

advertising blitz = (intensive) Werbekampagne
“The billboards in the city centre are only a small part blitz
of our advertising blitz.”

YOUR PROFILE
Write down your own example sentences for the false friends on this page.

ISSUE 37
 IN FOCUS

CLIMATE CHANGE
Here we present vocabulary and word partnerships for talking about
climate change, extreme weather and its impact on our lives.

What does a climatologist do?

A climatologist analyses the many factors that influence weather,
and studies the influence of weather on the environment.

Effects of climate change

drought increases [draUt] Dürreperioden nehmen zu
ecosystems shift Ökosysteme verschieben sich
[(i:kEU)sIstEmz]
famine spreads [(fÄmIn] Hungersnöte weiten sich aus
flooding increases Überschwemmungen nehmen zu
glaciers melt [(glÄsiEz] Gletscher schmelzen Storms
oceans acidify [E(sIdIfaI] Ozeane versauern electric storm Gewittersturm
permafrost thaws der Permafrostboden taut lightning Blitz, Blitzschlag
risk of forest fires increases die Waldbrandgefahr erhöht sich gathering storm aufziehendes
sea levels rise der Meeresspiegel steigt Unwetter
snow cover decline die Schneedecke nimmt ab squall [skwO:l] (Sturm-)Bö
storms intensify Stürme nehmen an Stärke zu tempest Sturm
temperatures increase Temperaturen steigen tempestuous stürmisch
[tem(pestSuEs]
thunderstorm Gewitter
tropical storm Tropensturm

Heat
extreme heat extreme Hitze
forest fire Waldbrand
global warming globale Erwärmung,
Erderwärmung
fight global warming die Erderwärmung
Waiting for Wilbert
bekämpfen The Met Office hopes that names will help raise public
global warming sceptic Zweifler(in) an der awareness of the strongest storms affecting the UK.
Erderwärmung The current list of names was compiled from names
heatwave Hitzewelle suggested by the public. Beginning with Abigail and
intense heatwave intensive Hitzewelle ending with Wilbert, the alphabetical list alternates
hyperthermia Überhitzung, between male and female names, but does not include
[)haIpE(T§:miE] Hyperthermie names starting with the letters Q, U, X, Y and Z:
wildfire Flächenbrand “Storm Abigail, Britain’s first official named storm,
brought gusts of up to 84 mph to parts of Scotland.”
iStock Editorial

10 SKILL UP! ISSUE 37

 Climate is what you expect, Effects of extreme weather
weather is what you get aftermath [(A:ftEmÄT] Nachwirkung(en)
catastrophe Katastrophe
Andrew John Herbertson (1865–1915), British geographer
chaos Chaos
crisis Krise; hier: Notstand
damage Schaden/Schäden
Tackling climate change devastation Verwüstung(en)
adapt to adverse effects (sich) an die nachteiligen disruption  Zusammenbruch,
Auswirkungen anpassen Beeinträchtigung
anthropogenic interference anthropogene Störung drought [draUt]  Dürre(n), Dürre-
[)ÄnTrEUpE(dZenIk] periode(n)
binding agreement verbindliches Übereinkommen fatality [fE(tÄlEti] Todesopfer
climate summit Klimagipfel impact  Auswirkung(en),
climate system Klimasystem Folge(n)
developed country Industrieland
developing country Entwicklungsland
emerging country Schwellenland
environmental issue Umweltthema
global temperature rise globaler Temperaturanstieg The effects of climate
greenhouse gases (GHG) Treibhausgase change include more frequent
carbon dioxide Kohlendioxid
[)kA:bEn daI(QksAId] wildfires, longer periods
CO2 [)si: EU (tu:] CO2
methane [(mi:TeIn] Methan
of drought and an increase in
nitrous oxide (N20) Distickstoffoxid the number and intensity
[)en tu: (EU]
increase resilience die Widerstandskraft stärken of tropical storms
major polluter größte(r) Umweltverschmutzer(in)
biggest emitter größte(r) Verursacher(in) von
Treibhausgasen
(man-made) emissions  (vom Menschen verursachte) What else does
reduce emissions
Emissionen
Emissionen verringern
climate mean?
obligation Verpflichtung Climate also means the general
raise awareness das Bewusstsein stärken development of a situation, or the
renewable energy erneuerbare Energie(n) conditions, feelings and opinions
post fossil fuel economy post-fossile Brennstoffwirtschaft
that exist at a particular time:
[)pEUst (fQs&l] “It would be unwise to expand
tackle the threat of climate den drohenden Klimawandel your business in the current eco-
change bekämpfen nomic climate.”

The Kyoto Protocol was the first binding agreement between

nations to reduce their emissions in order to stabilize concentra-
tions of greenhouse gases “at a level that would prevent dangerous
anthropogenic interference with the climate system”.

Climate catastrophe:
ISSUE 37
fighting wildfires
 ESSENTIAL IDIOMS

COME RAIN OR SHINE

Many idioms can be used to talk about the weather, or have their roots in the weather.
You can learn some of them in the short dialogues below.

SKILL UP! All wet: soaked

to the skin
First, read the two versions of the short conversations. Then
cover up the idiomatic version and read the simpler version
again. Can you remember how to say the same things idiomat-
ically? Check that you’ve understood them with our translations.

Digital Vision
First, the idiomatic way
Zoe: Brr. It’s brass monkeys out there.
Sam: I know — we should get the day off when it’s so Baltic!
Is it still pissing down? Check the translations
Zoe: No, thank God! I got soaked to the skin this morning. brass monkeys: es herrscht
it’s ~ UK ifml. eine Affenkälte
Now, more simply Baltic: be ~ ifml. arschkalt sein
piss down vulg. pissen
Zoe: Brr. It’s very cold out there.
get soaked to bis auf die Haut
Sam: I know — we should get the day off when it’s so freez- the skin nass werden
ing cold! Is it still raining heavily?
Zoe: No, thank God! I got extremely wet this morning.

First, the idiomatic way Now, more simply

Lulu: Gary called. He won’t be coming in today
— he’s a bit under the weather.
Barry: It never rains but it pours! I hope he feels
better soon. We’re snowed under.
Lulu: Don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll be as right as
rain tomorrow.
iStock
Lulu: Gary called. He won’t be coming in today —
he’s not feeling very well.
Barry: Another bad thing! I hope he feels better
soon. We have so much work to do.
Lulu: Don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll be in excellent
health tomorrow.

Check the translations

a bit under the weather: be ~ ifml. nicht ganz auf der Höhe sein
it never rains but it pours ein Unglück kommt selten allein
snowed under: be ~ (mit Arbeit) reichlich eingedeckt sein
(as) right as rain: be ~ ifml. kerngesund sein

Where’s the car?

It’s snowed under ISSUE 37
Cloud nine:
a happy place

First, the idiomatic way

Zoe: I’m afraid I’ll have to take a rain
check.
Sam: Oh, no. Why? I can usually count on you,
come rain or shine!
Zoe: I know. But if I can finish the report to-
night, I’ll be on cloud nine!

Now, more simply

Zoe: I’m afraid I’ll have to turn down the in-
Check the translations vitation.
take a rain check eine Einladung Sam: Oh, no. Why? I can usually count on you,
ausschlagen whatever happens!
come rain or shine was auch geschieht Zoe: I know. But if I can finish the report to-
cloud nine: be on ~ im siebten Himmel sein night, I’ll be extremely happy!

Is chasing rainbows a
waste of time?

First, the idiomatic way

Lulu: Sabine didn’t look too happy, did she? In
fact, she had a face like thunder.
Barry: That’s because you stole her thunder.
That was a great presentation!
Lulu: Thanks, Barry. Do you think I’ll get the
job? Or am I just chasing rainbows?
Barry: I think there’s a ray of hope!
iStock (2)

Now, more simply

Lulu: Sabine didn’t look too happy, did she? In Check the translations
fact, she looked really angry. have a face like rot vor Wut sein
Barry: That’s because you did what she was thunder
going to do before she could. That was steal sb.’s thunder jmdm. die Schau stehlen
a great presentation! chase rainbows einem Trugbild nachjagen
Lulu: Thanks, Barry. Do you think I’ll get the ray of hope Hoffnungsschimmer
job? Or am I just wasting my time?
Barry: I think there’s a little hope!

Skill up! Audio

You can do an exercise on
Business Spotlight Audio

ISSUE 37 SKILL UP! 13

CLOSE RELATIONS

THE TEMPERATURE’S RISING

Do low temperatures make you bad-tempered? Take a closer look at our overview and learn
how to use words from the “temper” family — in all sorts of contexts.

Moodboard
dis + distemper

+ ament temperament + al temperamental

temper + ance temperance in + intemperance

+ ate temperate + ly temperately

in + intemperate + ly intemperately

+ ature temperature

“It doesn’t make a difference

what temperature
a room is, it’s always room
temperature”
US comedian Steven Wright, 60

distemper üble Laune

intemperance Unmäßigkeit; Zügellosigkeit
intemperate unmäßig; ungezügelt
intemperately unmäßig; ungezügelt
temper Temperament; Stimmung; Beherrschung
temperament Temperament; Naturell
temperamental temperamentvoll; launisch; anfällig
temperance Mäßigkeit, Mäßigung
temperate gemäßigt, maßvoll
temperately gemäßigt, maßvoll
temperature Temperatur; Fieber
Bad-tempered?
Blame the weather

14 SKILL UP! ISSUE 37

 iStock

Use the family: temper

Port Isaac,
l I ’m afraid I lost my temper when it started to rain Cornwall, has
just as I was walking out of the hairdresser’s. My a temperate
climate
new hairstyle was ruined.
l Elizabeth told me that her temperament isn’t
suited to looking after small children. I can quite
believe it!
l Do you think we could call a technician? The cop-
ier’s being rather temperamental this morning.
l Most European countries have temperate cli-

mates. Spain has a Mediterranean climate.
l The politician apologized for what he referred
Which is faster, heat or cold?
to as his “intemperate remarks” at the climate
summit.
Heat, because you can catch
a cold!

IN ACTION: TEMPERATURE
If you have a temperature or are running a temperature, you have a higher body temperature
➜ 
than normal and this usually means that you are ill:
“I’m not feeling well at all. I think I have a temperature.”
In a particular situation, if you say that the temperature is rising, you mean that it is likely to
➜ 
become violent because people have become angry:
“The temperature was obviously rising, so I made a speedy exit.”
The temperature is the measured amount of heat in a place or in the body:
➜ 
“Skies will remain clear overnight and temperatures will fall below zero.”
Temperatures are usually measured in either degrees Celsius (°C) or degrees Fahrenheit (°F).
➜ 
The Celsius scale is common in the UK, whereas Fahrenheit is preferred in the US:
“The normal body temperature is 37.0 °C or 98.6 °F.”
Room temperature is the normal temperature inside a building — around 21 °C:
➜ 
“Red wine is best served at room temperature.”

ISSUE 37 SKILL UP! 15

SMALL TALK

WHAT A DAY!
The weather is one of the best topics to get people talking. Here we provide you with useful
vocabulary and expressions.

Situation:
It’s Monday morning. Colleagues Rufus and Pat- ark Arche
ty meet in the cafeteria at work. blessed: be ~ with sth. mit etw. gesegnet
sein
by the minute von Minute zu Minute
come down in buckets in Strömen gießen
Rufus: Morning, Patty! It’s a lovely day again, isn’t [(bVkIts] ifml.
it? doubt sth. etw. bezweifeln
Patty: You’re joking! I’m so sick of this rain — evacuate sb. jmdn. evakuieren
it’s coming down in buckets! Will it ever flood(ing)  Hochwasser,
stop? Überschwemmung
freak storm außergewöhnlich
Rufus: I doubt it. We may have to build an ark.
starker Sturm, Jahr-
Patty: 
(laughs) Or we could just get on a plane hundertsturm
and head for sunnier climes. get to (a place) (zu einem Ort)
Rufus: That sounds like a wise idea. Did you hear hinkommen
about all the flooding? havoc [(hÄvEk]  Verwüstungen,
verheerende Schäden
Patty: Yeah, it’s close to where my parents live,
actually. They’re lucky because they live up head for (a place) auf (einen Ort)
zusteuern
on a hill, but they’ve got a power cut and
power cut Stromausfall
haven’t been able to get to the supermar-
ket because of the treacherous condi- severe flood warning Warnung vor heftigen
Überschwemmungen
tions. One family they know has even been
sick: be ~ of sb./sth. jmdn./etw. satt
evacuated from their home.
haben
Rufus: 
That must be soul-destroying. I’m glad soul-destroying nervtötend
your parents are OK. I heard on the news sunnier climes [klaImz] sonnigere Gefilde
that the Met Office issued more severe treacherous conditions tückische Witte-
flood warnings this morning. [(tretSErEs] rungsbedingungen
Patty: I know. A friend of mine who lives in Scot- wave Welle
land was telling me about the freak storms wreak sth. [ri:k] etw. anrichten
they’ve been having. They’re wreaking all
sorts of havoc. She sent me a video of this
enormous wave — it was 20 feet high at
iStock

least!
Rufus: 
Heading for warmer climes is sounding
more attractive by the minute.
Patty: We’re not blessed with the best weather in
Britain, are we?
Rufus: No, but it gives us something to talk about!

Something to talk
about: UK weather
16 SKILL UP! ISSUE 37
iStock Editorial
Torrential rain:
evacuation in progress

CUMBRIA FLOOD CLEAN-UP

Sodden carpets and furniture line the pavements
in Carlisle as residents try to salvage what is
left of their belongings. Thousands of homes
were flooded as a result of the extreme weather
conditions and unprecedented rainfall, forcing
many families to evacuate their homes.
The storm has caused an estimated £500m of
damage across Cumbria in north-west England,
double the cost of the floods that hit the county
six years ago.
The government was warned by the committee
on climate change that it needed to take action
on the increasing number of homes in high-
flood-risk areas but rejected the advice, saying
it was not appropriate at that time.
Today, the government announced a £50m
repair and renew scheme, offering affected
homeowners and businesses grants to make
their homes and properties more flood-resilient.

affected: be ~ betroffen sein

announce sth. etw. ankündigen
belongings Habseligkeiten
climate change Klimawandel
county [(kaUnti] Grafschaft
damage Schaden
Describing rain estimated voraussichtlich
driving  peitschend, evacuate sth. etw. verlassen
prasselnd flood-resilient gegen Überschwem-
fine fein [ri(zIliEnt] mungen resistent
gentle sanft grant [grA:nt]  Zuschuss, Finanzhilfe
hard stark high-flood-risk area hochwassergefähr-
incessant anhaltend, Dauer- detes Gebiet
intermittant zeitweilig hit sb./sth. jmdn./etw. treffen
lashing peitschend, heftig reject sth. etw. zurückweisen
light leicht repair and renew hier: Hilfsprogramm
patchy stellenweise scheme zur Behebung von
pelting Platz- Schäden
persistent anhaltend, Dauer- salvage sth. [(sÄlvIdZ] etw. bergen, retten
pounding [(paUndIN] strömend, trommelnd sodden [(sQd&n]  durchweicht,
pouring [(pO:rIN] strömend durchnässt
steady Dauer-, Land- take action Maßnahmen ergreifen
torrential [tE(renS&l] sintflutartig, Stark- unprecedented  beispiellos, noch nie
dagewesen

ISSUE 37 SKILL UP! 17

YOUR PROFILE

WHATEVER THE WEATHER

Personalize this guide by adding your own example sentences — which should reflect
words and expressions you need in order to talk about your circumstances.

WEATHER CONDITIONS
Look at the forecast on your smartphone or in the local newspaper and use the vocabulary from Word Bank
(pp. 6–7) to say what the weather will be like in the next few days.

Using the vocabulary from In Focus (pp. 10–11), describe how climate change could affect our lives.

Use the idiomatic expressions in Essential Idioms (pp. 12–13) to describe your job and/or those of your
colleagues. How many idioms are you able to use?

SMALL TALK: WHAT’S IT LIKE TODAY?

Imagine you are talking to a colleague about the weather today and how you feel about it. Write a mini-
dialogue, using expressions from our Small Talk section (pp. 16–17).

18 SKILL UP! ISSUE 37

 PREVIEW
iStock Editorial

AGRICULTURE
Farming provides jobs and food. Our next
IMPRESSUM Skill Up! presents the language you’ll
HERAUSGEBER UND VERLAGSLEITER: need to talk about agriculture.
Rudolf Spindler
CHEFREDAKTEUR: Dr. Ian McMaster
GESCHÄFTSFÜHRENDE REDAKTEURIN (CvD): FALSE FRIENDS: sense, mist
Maja Sirola
AUTORIN: Dagmar Taylor WORD BANK: types of crops
REDAKTION: Margaret Davis, Hildegard Rudolph,
Michele Tilgner
PICTURE THIS: farming and the
BILDREDAKTION: Sarah Gough (Leitung), seasons
Thorsten Mansch
GESTALTUNG: loop grafikdesign München
PRODUKTIONSLEITUNG: Ingrid Sturm
VERTRIEBSLEITUNG: Monika Wohlgemuth
MARKETINGLEITUNG: Holger Hofmann also:
ANZEIGENLEITUNG: Axel Zettler

VERLAG und REDAKTION:

IDIOMS
Spotlight Verlag GmbH Make hay while
Postanschrift:
Postfach 1565, 82144 Planegg the sun shines
Hausanschrift:
Fraunhoferstraße 22, 82152 Planegg
Telefon: +49 (0)89 8 56 81-0;
Fax +49 (0)89 8 56 81-105
Internet: www.business-spotlight.de

LITHO: Mohn Media Mohndruck GmbH, 33311

Gütersloh
DRUCK: Rotaplan Offset Kammann Druck GmbH,
93057 Regensburg
© 2/2016 Spotlight Verlag, auch für alle
genannten Autoren, Fotografen und Mitarbeiter.
Cover photograph: iStock
Hay: animal
food for
iStock

ISSUE 37
the winter
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