APPENDIX 1

Activities to practice the metaphor “MOODS ARE WEATHER” and other conceptual metaphors associated to weather.

– Activity 1

Literal meanings

Words which describe weather are often used to talk about people and their moods or emotions. Use these words to complete the following definitions:

1. Another word for a light or moderate wind is a ...............

2. 10 minutes of light rain is a ...............

3. When the sun is not clear it is...............

4. When the temperature drops to just below zero it is ...............

5. A day with lots of dark cloud is ...............

6. Sometimes even the sunniest skies can ............... and the day turns dull.

7. When the wind gets very strong, get ready for a ...............

8. Spring days can be quite warm, but it is usually ............... in the evening.

– Activity 2

Underline the correct word in the sentences below:

1. It was obvious that Charles was angry. He came storming/breezing into the room, threw the contract on the table and demanded to know why he had not been consulted.

2. It was obvious from the way Peter breezed/stormed in this morning that Mary had said yes to his proposal.

3. I think I drank too much last night at dinner. I’m afraid I’m feeling a bit under the sky/ weather this morning.

4. They used to be crazy about each other, but I think their relationship has cooled/frozen recently.

5. Meeting Jane’s parents for the first time was a bit worrying, but they gave me a very sunny/warm welcome. Her mother was lovely.

6. The car broke down on the way to my husband’s parents. We were two hours late for Sunday lunch. You can imagine we got a very frosty/ wet reception.

7. Ladies and gentlemen, can I start by thanking you for giving me such a warm/ hot welcome.

8. What’s the matter? Cheer up! You look a bit foggy/ gloomy.

9. I wish Dave was more dynamic. He always seems to be half sleep – he’s a bit damp/ wet, really.

10. My students really annoy me sometime – particularly when they never do their homework. They really are a shower/ storm!

– Activity 3

Match the following adjectives to their moods:

1. frosty 2. warm 3. hazy 4. stormy 5. gloomy

a. angry b. unfriendly c. sad d. confused e. friendly

– Activity 4

Fill in the correct word in the dialogues below:

1. Did you hear about David?

   1. No. Why did he leave so suddenly? Well, apparently, he left under a ............... Someone found out that he had been stealing from the company expense account!

2. How was the office party?

   1. A bit slow at first, but it soon ............... when the boss left!

3. So, you met my old friend Larry yesterday. What do you think of him?

   1. A great guy! Yes, I ............... to him straightaway.

4. Have you replied to that letter from the bank?

   1. Not yet. Can you help me? I’m a bit ............... about what to do, actually.

5. Did you have a good time last night?

   1. Not really. Jill had some bad news which ............... the whole evening.

6. Well, is it going to be a week sightseeing in Belgium or a fornight in Bali?

   1. Let’s throw caution to the ............... Two weeks in the sun! We can worry about paying for it when we come back!

7. Liz seemed a bit depressed this morning.

   1. Oh, she’ll soon ............... when I tell her she’s being sent to Paris!

– Activity 5

Discuss in pairs when was the last time you felt a bit under the weather?

– Activity 6

Put the following pairs of words into the sentences below:

a. stormed, room d. soon, when

b. feeling, weather e. given, frosty

c. gave, welcome f. hazy, do

1. The party ............... warmed up ............... Mark’s brother arrived.

2. We were ............... a very ............... reception.

3. They ............... me a very warm ............... .

4. He ............... into the ............... and shouted at me!

5. I’m a bit ............... about what to ............... next.

6. I’m ............... a bit under the ............... this morning.

– Activity 7

These adjectives all have metaphorical, as well as literal meanings. Suggest some metaphorical meanings for them. Check them in a dictionary.

– Activity 8

Use the adjectives in activity 1 to complete this conversation. (One of the adjectives should be used more than once).

Happy holidays

Characters:

Anne: a woman of about 40. Pleasant, enthusiastic, cheerful and friendly with1 ............... and a2 ............... smile.

Peter: Anne’s husband. In contrast to her, he does not show his feelings easily, and can sometimes seem rather3 ............... .

ANNE: So, have you had any more thoughts about where we should go on holidays this year?

PETER: (with a4 ............... look) I’ve told you, Anne, I’ve been far too busy to think about it.

ANNE: I Know you have, darling, but I do think we need to start planning.

PETER: Oh all right. Well, what about Greece? They always give us such a 5 ............... welcome on the island – they really are friendly people.

ANNE: It’s just the heat, though, in the summer. I really find it unbearable.

PETER: Well, what about Italy then? Although I suppose that could be hot too! I know we went about 20 years ago, but I’ve only got a 6 ............... memory of it. All I can remember was the food and that museum in Florence. Can you remember what I was called? You know, the one with those wonderful paintings?

ANNE: I haven’t got the 7 ............... idea what it was called, Peter! I found it rather 8 ............... to tell you the truth.

PETER: (in a9 ............... voice) You should show more interest in art, dear. Life isn’t just about animals and the countryside.

ANNE: But that’s what I’m most interested in! In fact, what about a camping holiday this year?

PETER: Ugh! It’s so uncomfortable.

ANNE: Oh Peter, don’t be so 10 ...............! Can’t you be a bit more enthusiastic? If we went camping, we’d be so close to nature.

PETER: (with11 ............... contempt) Too close, as far as I’m concerned.

ANNE: Oh dear! Why does our relationship always become so 12 ............... when we have to decide about holidays?

– Activity 9

Write the rest of Anne and Peter’s conversation

– Activity 10

Rehearse Anne and Peter’s conversation by reading it aloud a few times. Then act it out!

– Activity 11

Read the sentences. Are they true or false? Explain why.

1. The opposite of a “warm welcome” is “a frosty reception”

2. “A stormy meeting” is one in which people cannot agree with each other, and become angry and emotional with each other.

3. A person who is “wet” is strong and decisive.

– Activity 12

Choose one of the following and either act it out for other students or write down a short conversation to illustrate it. The other students guess which one you have chosen.

1. a sunny smile

2. a warm welcome

3. a frosty look

4. a frosty reception

5. an icy look

6. a breezy manner

7. a stormy relationship’

– Activity 13

Think of weather words in your own language. Are any of them used to talk about things which are not weather? Compare these uses with English.

– Activity 14

Underline the words or expressions connected with the weather in these sentences.

1. 1. Since we sent out the advertising brochure we have been really snowed under with work.

2. We were all enjoying the party very much until my dear brother arrived to cast a cloud over it.

3. The musical has taken the city by storm, and it’s impossible to get tickets for it.

4. Now that they have finally moved into their new home, the only cloud on the horizon is her cousin’s illness.

5. The storm was gathering for months, and it eventually broke when the two candidates in the election admitted taking bribes.

Complete these definitions of the phrases in 6–10 with one word.

1. to be snowed under: to have too much to do and not enough............. to do it.

2. to cast a cloud over something: to make people feel less optimistic or............. about a situation.

3. to take something by storm: to be very popular or............. in a very short time.

4. a cloud on the horizon: something that threatens to cause............. in the future.

5. a storm is gathering/breaks: there is a threat of............./............ happens.

– Activity 15

Complete the sentences with the words in the box. (Some words can be used more than once).

1. If you shower presents, ............., ............. or ............. on somebody, you give somebody a lot, in a rather extravagant way.

2. If something clouds your vision, your ............., your ............. or your ............. it makes it/them unclear, possibly because you have very strong feelings about something.

3. If you breeze into a ............. or a ............. You walk in quickly and confidently.

4. If you breeze through an ............. or some other ............., you cope with it successfully without looking as if you were worried or anxious about it.

5. If you storm out of the ............. or the ............. or even an ............., you leave it in a fast, noisy way that shows how angry you are.

6. A hail of ............. or ............. can hurt or injure you physically, while a hail of ............. can hurt you psychologically.

7. A whirlwind ............. or a whirlwind ............. is one that happens quicker than usual, possibly too quickly.

8. A strong intense reaction, usually resulting from a particular situation or event, and which causes a lot of trouble, is often described as a storm of bad publicity, ............., ............. or .............

– Activity 16

Choose one of the following and act it out for the class. They should guess which one you are acting out.

1. To shower somebody with praise

2. To storm out of the room

3. To be snowed under with work

4. To go on a whirlwind tour

5. To cast a cloud over the occasion

6. To shower somebody with gifts

7. To breeze into a room

8. To scream a hail of abuse at somebody

– Activity 17

Think about recent events and choose two or three of these ideas. Tell another student about:

1. a storm that gathered and broke (in public life)

2. something that took the country by storm (e.g. a new craze/ a new film)

3. a whirlwind tour (e.g. by a pop star)

4. a storm of controversy (e.g. over a new law/ over a book)

5. a storm of protest (e.g. over a new highway/ over a television programme)

6. a hail of abuse (e.g. at footballers who lost a match/ at a bank manager who defrauded his customers)

Answer key

1: 1 breeze, 2 shower, 3 hazy, 4 frosty, 5 gloomy, 6 cloud over, 7 storm, 8 cool

2: 1 storming, 2 breezed, 3 weather, 4 cooled, 5 warm, 6 frosty, 7 warm, 8 gloomy, 9 wet, 10 shower

3: 1b, 2e, 3d, 4a, 5c

4: 1 cloud, 2 warmed up, 3 warmed, 4 hazy, 5 clouded, 6 wind, 7 brighten up

5: Encourage students to do this in pairs before you go over it with the whole class.

6: 1d, 2e, 3c, 4a, 5 f, 6b

7: To help students speculate about the metaphorical meanings of the words, give them an example of one of the adjectives, e.g. stormy. Ask them to think about the literal meaning, and then to guess what it could mean figuratively. Some of the meanings will be easier for students to guess than others, e.g. those words involving ideas of “hot” and “cold” (e.g. frosty, sunny, icy, cold, warm) might be easier to guess than e.g. breezy and wet. Encourage students to use dictionaries to check the words they find especially difficult.

8: When doing feedback, encourage students to make connections between the literal and figurative meanings of the words. Also, encourage them to note down important collocations for the words, e.g. an icy voice/icy contempt, or any idiomatic expressions, e.g. not to have the foggiest (idea) about something.

1 breezy, 2 sunny, 3 cold, 4 frosty, 5 warm, 6 hazy, 7 foggiest, 8 dull, 9 icy, 10 wet, 11 icy, 12 stormy

9: Before students write the rest of the conversation, brainstorm some ideas with them, e.g. Do Anne and Peter finally agree on a holiday? Do they go on separate holidays?

Ask students to complete the conversation, while you monitor unobtrusively, helping with any grammar, vocabulary, etc.

10: This can be done in stages:

1. Students practice reading aloud the conversation (with their ending) in pairs.

2. Students read the conversation aloud a second time with more expression and intonation, closely following stage directions like in an icy voice.

3. Students use gestures, etc. to act out the conversation, but still reading their scripts.

4. Students act out the conversation, with improvisations allowed, without the scripts.

11: 1 T, 2 T, 3 F

12: Explain to students that in this activity they should convey the meaning of the phrase, without mentioning the phrase itself. For example, to illustrate a frosty reception they can act out somebody giving somebody else a frosty reception through body language, facial expressions and polite but cold language, without mentioning the phrase itself.

13: Students brainstorm in pairs/groups before reporting their cross-cultural comparisons to the whole class.

14: Explain to students that the rest of activities in this unit focus on how weather vocabulary can be used to describe different feelings, behavior or situations.

Ask students to complete the activity in pairs, using their literal knowledge of the vocabulary to help them understand the metaphorical meanings of the words. Do an example with them to illustrate this.

1 snowed under 2 to cast a cloud over 3 taken ... by storm 4 the only cloud on the horizon 5 the storm was gathering...broke 6 time 7 positive/happy 8 successful 9 problems 10 trouble/trouble

15: Explain to students that this activity practices common collocations (words with go together) for weather vocabulary. Encourage them to learn these collocations as set phrases.

Ask students to check the meanings of the words in a dictionary if necessary, and/or by discussing the words in pairs.

1 compliments, gifts, praise 2 judgement, mind, thoughts 3 house, room 4 exam, difficult situation 5 house, room, exam 6 bullets, stones, abuse 7 romance, tour 8 controversy, criticism

16: Give students some time to think of their “act”. Make it clear that they should not actually mention any of the phrases in 3, but should demonstrate their meaning.

Alternatively, ask students to write a short conversation which illustrates the phrase.

17: Ask students to discuss the questions in pairs. Monitor unobtrusively, noting down any errors for future correction.