Life in Winter
Aiste: Hello, Christophe.
Christophe: So, how is Lithuania in like in wintertime?
Aiste: Oh, LIthuania is very cold in the wintertime. Usually we have snow from the beginning of November till the beginning of April. That means almost five months of snow, but the good thing about snow is that after miserable autumn, where it rains every day, and when the snow starts falling, you have white the atmosphere everywhere, and when people walk in snow, they're not that unhappy and not that desperate anymore, so I actually like snow because snow keeps your mood up. What about Belgium in wintertime?
Christophe: Belgium in wintertime is really miserable. It's raining all the time, almost every day rain, rain, rain. It's so miserable that people just look at the pavement when they are walking outside all the time. They look like they're so depressed. There's only one thing in their heads, "Oh, I hope it will be spring time soon." But, I was wondering, if it's snowing in Lithuania, isn't it cold?
Aiste: Oh, it is very cold. Just a few years ago we had a temperature that reached minus 26 in wintertime. It was really freezing. You almost can't get out of your house. Once you get out, your eyelashes get frozen, and when you get inside, you're just naturally crying because the ice is melting and running all through your face.
Christophe: How do you heat your houses when it's so cold?
Aiste: Well, when it's so cold, it's really a problem to heat your house at the proper temperature, and it definitely costs a lot of money. So far I don't have my house and I live with my parents, so my father was taking care of that. He was combining three heating parts with two different kinds of wood and also natural gas from central heating system and by combining this three parts of heating system, he was heating up the house, but still when it was minus 26, once the pipes were frozen, and it was really a huge problem to make the system running back again.
Christophe: Wow, that sounds like a really complicated and expensive heating system. I prefer rain in my country then.
miserable
The weather is really miserable today.
Miserable means very bad. Notice the following:
- I felt miserable after eating a whole chocolate cake.
- The country was miserable after losing in the Word Cup.
mood
The snow keeps your mood up.
Our mood is how we feel about someone or something. An up mood is positive. Notice the following:
- A funny movie always brings my mood up.
- A low test score always puts me in a bad mood.
There's only one thing in their heads
There's only one thing in their heads: I hope it will be spring soon.
When there is only one thing in our heads, it means that we are thinking about one very important thing. Notice the following:
- During the test there was only one thing in my head: Don't fall asleep.
- On my date there was only one thing going on in my head: Don't do anything stupid.
proper
Heat your house at the proper temperature.
Here, 'proper' means correct or suitable. Notice the following:
- You need to wear proper clothes in winter.
- A good resume must follow the proper format.
Vocabulary Quiz
proper