Norwegian Summer
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Christian
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Todd
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Todd: Christian can you talk about the summers in Norway.
Christian: Yeah, a lot people think the summers in Norway are really cold, but actually they're not. Maybe everything, the weather is changing because of El Nino effect, I don't know, but we've had, for the last four or five years, we've had pretty warm summers.
It gets close to 30 degrees centigrade, and which is enjoyable I guess, and there's no humidity. It's nice and dry and it's just pleasant weather really. Yeah, and what we do in the summers is different.
Some people have a house on small islands on the coast, or some people have a house on the mountains, and you can either go to the mountains and enjoy the lakes, the forests, or you can go to the coast and enjoy the beach, the water, go fishing, so there's plenty of things to do in the summer, yeah, and we get a lot of tourist coming in the summer though, because it's not that hot. It's just pleasant and enjoyable.
Todd: Wow, sounds like a good place.
Christian: Yeah, it is.
actually
People think summers are cold but actually they're not.
In this example, "actually" has a similar meaning to "really." We frequently use this word to present information that may be different than what the listener believes is true. Notice the following:
- She is actually almost 40 years old.
- We were actually going to leave for an appointment in a few minutes.
effect
The weather is changing because of the El Nino effect.
An "effect" is a result or a consequence of an event. Notice the following:
- Her skin shows the effect of spending a lot of time in the sun.
- That is one of the negative effects of pollution.
close
The temperature gets close to 30 degrees.
If a temperature gets "close" to 30 degrees then it is almost 30 degrees, but is a little lower. If you have $4.97 you have "close" to $5.00, but a little less. Notice the following:
- He lives close to 4 hours away from here.
- They have close to 10 dogs that live in their house.
humidity
There's no humidity, it's nice and dry.
"Humidity" is water or moisture in the air. Notice the following:
- The humidity made it seem hotter outside than it really was.
- After a hot shower there is a lot of humidity in the bathroom.
pleasant
It's pleasant weather.
"Pleasant" weather is nice or comfortable weather and is probably sunny. This is a positive adjective. Notice the following:
- Even though it rained most days the vacation was very pleasant and relaxing.
- She is a very pleasant woman.
Vocabulary Quiz
humidity • pleasant
Christian is from Norway. He talks about what winter sports he likes.
