July 30, 2023
Note: keep scrolling to see exercises based on this blog entry
Full confession: summer is probably my least favorite season. It’s hot, itchy and sticky. And with all the sweat, dust, sunscreen lotion and bug spray on your skin, one can never get completely clean. However, so far, this summer has been relatively mild. The few hot days (over 30 C) are tolerable as long as there is relief by evening. The mix of sun and rain, mugginess and cool breezes are what I’ve come to expect from Polish summers, and I admit I appreciate the variety.
When I was seven, we moved from California to Texas, where I lived until the age of seventeen. We moved around the state quite a bit, but mostly kept in the central part. Being outdoors was always a risk. For one, there were a host of little creatures that wanted to bite or sting you: mosquitoes, fire ants, wasps, ticks and lovely little invisible monsters known locally as “chiggers”, which left very visible, very itchy bumps on legs and feet. Even the plants were out to get you, as poison ivy seemed to be hiding along every trail, and would curse the inattentive hiker with two weeks of terrible oozing, burning, blistery rashes. So, my summer look was best described as “red-spotted”.
The outdoor heat was not friendly, either. It was hot (32-38+) and fairly humid. Sometimes, while riding my bike in the heat of the day, the asphalt would get so hot it would begin to melt, and I and my bike would be covered in chunks of black tar. You could beat the heat by jumping into any of the numerous lakes or rivers (although you did have to be wary of the the brain-eating amoebas and poisonous water snakes), or simply going inside. Every home, store, and restaurant had A/C. The difference between inside and outside was nearly traumatic. Walking in from the heat was like getting hit by an arctic blast of air, and going out again was as if someone threw a hot, wet blanket on your body.
Still, it is hard to replicate the joy of an ice-cold popsicle or watermelon on such extreme days. And of course, as a school kid, summers were free and easy. Sleep in as long as you want, play all day, or have road trips with the family. One year, we drove all the way to Washington D.C. and back, and then a week later we drove to California. Coast to coast in one summer!
Here in Poland, we usually go to the tri-cities area for a week or so. We also visit the forests here. My wife has a couple of months off during the summer, and my schedule is usually a little lighter, so it is bit like being a kid again – minus the melting streets, hot blankets and popsicles. Instead, we enjoy the cool Baltic waves, the songs of blackbirds and cuckoos arising from among green trees, ducks sleepily floating down slow rivers, and the seemingly perpetually tardy hedgehogs hurrying through the grass. Of course, mosquitoes and ticks do have their way with us; but just as all of nature lives and thrives this time of year, so do they. Is all the itchy, sticky, heat worth it? I’m beginning to think so.
Exercises
1. “This summer has been relatively mild.” Another example: I like hot sauce, but it’s to strong for my friend. He prefers something more mild.
Mild means:
a. Spicy
b. Cold
c. Medium
2. “The mix of sun and rain, mugginess and cool breezes are what I’ve come to expect from Polish summers. “ Another example: “In the desert, the heat is dry, but in the jungle, it is quite muggy.”
Mugginess/muggy refers to:
a. Air that is hot and dry
b. Air that is hot and wet
c. Wild nature
3. “When I was seven, we moved from California to Texas, where I lived until the age of seventeen.“
Which sentence is correct?
a. I lived in Texas for 10 years.
b. I lived in Texas since 10 years.
c. I lived in Texas until 10 years.
4. “For one, there were a host of little creatures that wanted to bite or sting you.”
This sentence means:
a. Little animals were the masters of the forest, and only one person could be bit or stung.
b. One time, I was bit and stung by a little animal.
c. One example: there are a group of little animals that want to bit or sting a person.
5. “You had to be wary of the the brain-eating amoebas and poisonous water snakes.”
Wary means:
a. excited
b. careful
c. ignoring
6. “The seemingly perpetually tardy hedgehogs hurrying through the grass.”
This sentence means that hedgehogs look as if they are always late for some meeting. Think of an animal you like. How would you describe its personality?
7. “Mosquitoes and ticks have their way with us.”
to have their way with us means:
a. to leave us alone
b. to do what they want with us
to follow us around
Answers:
1. c
2. b
3. a
4. c
5. b
7. b