ESL Weather Reading

The ESL weather reading passage on this page is all about the weather in the United Kingdom. By reading and understanding the passage your ability to understand and talk about the weather will be improved.

You need to read the following passage and then try to answer the questions that come after it. Just click the ‘start’ button to start the quiz that has 5 questions about the passage. Read and understand the passage as well as you can before looking at the questions.

If you need any help with the vocabulary in the ESL weather reading passage you can look at the weather vocabulary page.

ESL Weather Reading Comprehension Passage

Weather in the UK

The weather affects everyone, and everyone has something to say about the weather. This is especially true in a country like the UK that has very changeable weather. In the UK the weather from one day to the next can be completely different, or even from the morning to the afternoon. The weather can change from being rainy one day to sunny the next, or from strong wind and gales in the morning to snow in the afternoon.

In the UK there are four seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter, and the weather is different in each of them. However, there is not a sudden change between the seasons. The end of the winter season is the same as the start of the spring season. It takes several weeks for the weather to change enough for people to notice the difference.

The summer is the season with the best weather. In general, it is hot and sunny with only a little rain sometimes. However, it can sometimes be cold and wet for one or two weeks at a time. British people like to spend a lot of time outside when it is nice in the summer. After the summer is the autumn. In this season the weather gets colder and there are stronger winds, also it will rain more. All the leaves will start to fall off the trees as it is cold. Frost might start to form on the ground towards the end of the autumn.

Winter is the coldest season in the UK. The temperature will often be at zero degrees Celsius. This means that ice will often form on the ground overnight where there were puddles. This makes it difficult to walk sometimes. There might also be snow, but the UK does not get much snow, mainly just cold rain in the winter. Then when winter ends the spring starts. The temperature will start to get warmer and the winds will not be as strong. Plants start to grow again and new leaves form. It is always nice when the spring starts as it means the nice weather in the summer is nearly back again.

Many people in the UK complain about the weather, but as the weather changes so much it is very interesting and gives the people something to talk about all year round.

ESL Weather Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension questions that go with the above reading passage.

1) How can the weather in the UK be described?

    A) Boring
    B) Wet
    C) Changeable
    D) Humid

2) How quickly can the weather change?

    A) From one week to the next.
    B) From one morning to afternoon.
    C) From one day to the next day.
    D) The weather does not change much.

3) How many seasons are there in the UK?

    A) Two
    B) Three
    C) Four
    D) Five

4) When will frost first start to form on the ground?

    A) In the spring
    B) In the summer
    C) In the autumn
    D) In the winter

5) Why do people like the spring?

    A) It means the summer is nearly back.
    B) It is not winter.
    C) It is the shortest season.
    D) It only happens every other year.

Score =

Correct answers:

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