When I think of the four seasons, I always remember autumn with the most fondness and look forward to it with great anticipation. Autumn brings with it not only a fabulous array of leaf colors, but also many other welcome changes. The first day of autumn usually falls on my birthday, so my family and friends are always ready to celebrate it with dinners, ice cream cakes, flowers, and fun. Autumn also signals the beginning of the academic year, so I receive a host of new students and academic challenges that I look forward to. Another reason I like autumn is the important holidays that it ushers in: Columbus Day, Halloween, Election Day, Veterans Day, and Thanksgiving. Also, the weather in New York changes from hot and humid to pleasantly cool. Harvest sales crop up everywhere, and the farms have bright, crisp apples of all kinds, freshly picked corn, and other autumn treats. It is hard to imagine a better time of year.
What is your favorite season? Why?
Vocabulary
autumn (noun) -- fall (September 23 - December 21)
fondness (noun) -- love, affection
anticipation (noun) -- joy, hope
fabulous (adjective) -- great, terrific
array (noun) -- variety
signal (verb) -- points the way to
challenge (noun) -- problem, difficulty, trial
usher in (verb) -- bring with it
crop up (verb) -- are, are held
Vocabulary Exercise:
Cloze exercise: Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary word.
1. I love the ________________, which begins in September. It does not bring the ______________ of winter, when there is too much snow on the roads.
2. There is an ________________ of activities, such as apple picking, the decoration of pumpkins, and ___________ views of the many-colored leaves.
3. The autumn _____________ cooler weather, but the weather changes also __________ that winter is coming.
4. Farmers wait for the autumn with ___________________ and ______________ because it means that their fruit and vegetables have all finished growing.
5. Parties ______________ to celebrate Halloween.
Grammar Point: Adjectives are words that describe nouns. In the passage above, there are several adjectives: great, fabulous, welcome .... Write three sentences about your favorite season using at least three of the adjectives from my paragraph.
