The book describes the role of animals and birds in (2)_______________ the weather.
Sue's granny would (3)______________ sayings like Birds flying low, expect rain and a (4)__________, which I’ve always felt somewhat (5)_______________ about.
Were it not for the people's fascination towards the ability of birds to predict the weather, the sayings would not be (6)_______________. As a matter of fact, there are apparently 500 at (7)_____________. They are said to be more accurate for (8)__________________________.
Birds like swifts and swallows (9)_____________________ survival should they get trapped in ferocious weather conditions.
Since birds are also insect (10)______________, in good weather they soar following the bugs. Conversely, should rain be (11)______________, bugs seek for cover since they are covered with (12)_______________ hairs, which get completely (13)_____________ quite rapidly.
Should a bird called the (14)______________ diver, which was nicknamed the (15)_____________, fly to the sea, you must (16)____________________.
As a matter of fact, on a certain occasion on a boat the wind started to (17)____________ and it was forecast that a (18)____________ was (19)________________ from the north.
Not all (20)_____________ is about (21)______________. Some birds forecast when it is about to (22)____________________. For instance, a species of geese (23)_______________ their (24)______________ grounds in Iceland in fair weather, which is very useful to plan your (25)_______________ or house painting.
Farming and weather are (26)__________________ and the ability to predict it was essential. However, farmers weren’t the only ones with a (27)__________________ in weather forecasting. Human beings don't want to feel the victims of (28)______________________.
Many a saying probably (29)__________________ thousands of years. They are not always accurate. Many of them can even (30)_____________ each other.
For our forefathers the weather was a (31)_________________ situation
They were really (32)___________________ when they made connections between animal behaviour and the weather.
KEY
1. traditional lore
Lore: knowledge and information related to a particular subject, especially when this is not written down; the stories and traditions of a particular group of people. Sp. Tradición popular. E.g. Weather lore. Celtic lore. Traditional lore.
2. forecasting
3. come out with
Come out with: to say something, especially something surprising or rude. E.g. He came out with a stream of abuse. She sometimes comes out with the most extraordinary remarks.
4. blow
“If birds fly low, expect rain and a blow.” When the air pressure is high, it is easier for birds to fly at a higher altitude. If the air pressure is low, indicating bad weather, birds can’t fly as high because the air is less dense.
5. sceptical
Sceptical: /ˈskeptɪkl/ having doubts that a claim or statement is true or that something will happen. E.g. I am sceptical about his chances of winning. The public remain sceptical of these claims. She looked highly sceptical. The announcement was greeted sceptically by the press.
6. in current use
7. the last count
8. short-term weather forecasting
9. stand very little chance of
stand a chance (of doing something) to have the possibility of succeeding or achieving something. E.g. The driver didn't stand a chance of stopping in time.
- Swift: a small bird with long narrow wings, similar to a swallow. Sp. Vencejo. E.g. Birds that fly very high like swifts and swallows (Sp. golondrinas) stand very little chance of survival if they get caught in a bad storm.
Swift:
Swallow:
- Starling: a common bird with dark shiny feathers and a noisy call. Sp. Estornino. E.g. a murmuration of starlings (a flock of starlings).
10. feeders
- Feeder: an animal or plant that eats a particular thing or eats in a particular way. E.g. The swallows are insect feeders.
11. imminent
- Imminent: /ˈɪmɪnənt/ likely to happen very soon. E.g. The imminent threat of invasion. The system is in imminent danger of collapse. An announcement about his resignation is imminent.
12. water-repellent
- Water- repellent: /ˌwɔːtə rɪˈpelənt/a material, etc. that is water-repellent is specially treated so that water runs off it rather than going into it. E.g. a water-repellent spray.
13. soaked
14. red-throated
15. rain goose
Red-throated diver (Rain goose): E.g. The rain goose's behaviour is surprising.
16. draw your boat and flee
17. get up
Get up: if the sea or wind gets up, it increases in strength and becomes violent. E.g. The wind started to get up.
18. gale
- Gale: an extremely strong wind. E.g. The gale blew down hundreds of trees. Gale-force winds.
19. due
- Due: arranged or expected. E.g. A gale was due from the north.
20. weather lore
Lore: knowledge and information related to a particular subject, especially when this is not written down; the stories and traditions of a particular group of people. Sp. Tradición popular. E.g. Weather lore. Celtic lore. Traditional lore.
21. misery
- Misery: doom and gloom: a general feeling of having lost all hope, and of pessimism (= expecting things to go badly). Sp. Todo negro. E.g. Despite the obvious setbacks, it is not all doom and gloom for the England team.
22. brighten up
- Brighten (up): (of the weather) to improve and become brighter. Sp. Despejarse. E.g. According to the forecast, it should brighten up later.
23. set off for
- Set off: to begin a journey. E.g. We set off for London just after ten.
24. breeding
- Breeding: the producing of young animals, plants, etc. Sp. Cría. E.g. The breeding season. Some birds set off for their breeding grounds.
25. harvesting
- Harvesting: the act of cutting and gathering crops. E.g. You just have to wait and watch and then plan your harvesting.
26. intrinsically linked
- Intrinsically linked: /ɪnˈtrɪnsɪkli/ In an essential or natural way. E.g. Farming and weather are intrinsically linked. I think music and spirituality are intrinsically linked.
27. vested interest
- A vested interest: a personal reason for wanting something to happen, especially because you get some advantage from it. E.g. They have a vested interest in keeping the club as exclusive as possible. She thinks that lawyers have a vested interest in making the legal process move slowly.
28. chance and circumstance
29. go back
30. negate
31. life and death
32. clutching at straws
- Clutch at straws: to try all possible means to find a solution or some hope in a difficult or unpleasant situation, even though this seems very unlikely. To be willing to try anything to improve a difficult or unsatisfactory situation, even if it has little chance of success. Sp. Aferrarse desesperadamente a una esperanza. E.g. I know I'm just clutching at straws here, but is it possible that the doctors are wrong? They were really clutching at straws when they observed animal and bird behaviour and linked it to the weather. She offered to take a pay cut to keep her job, but she was just clutching at straws.
Transcript
Sue: Good morning. Now, the huge growth of
interest in environmental issues has led to a careful
re-examination of all kinds of traditional lore. With
me today, I have Peter Watkins. He’s written a best-selling
book The History of Weather Folklore, which
explains country sayings and the role of animals
and birds in forecasting the weather. Sayings my
granny used to come out with, like Birds flying low,
expect rain and a blow, which I’ve always felt rather
sceptical about.
Peter: Well, Sue, the way in which animals and birds
can apparently predict changes in the weather before
we can has always fascinated people and, for that
matter, still does. If it didn’t, the sayings wouldn’t
still be in current use, and of course, nowadays the
weather is anxiously studied because of climate
change.
Sue: But is there any truth in these old sayings? Given
that there are so many, apparently 500 at the last
count, and they’ve been around a while, presumably
they should be fairly accurate?
Peter: Mm, well generally, there’s a better chance of
their being right for short-term weather forecasting
rather than long-term. Of course, the most
interesting natural weather forecasters are the birds,
which is why there are so many sayings relating to
them. Birds depend on the right weather conditions
for flying and, in particular, birds that fly very high,
like swifts and swallows, stand very little chance
of survival if they get caught in a bad storm. They
are also insect feeders and when the weather is fine
the insects are high and the birds will follow them.
Insects have good reason to dive for cover if rain is
imminent as they are covered with water-repellent
hairs. It actually doesn’t take much for them to get
completely soaked, so they respond quite rapidly if
there’s a drop in temperature or a rise in humidity.
Sue: Oh, so there’s an element of truth in that one. Now,
I used to live off the coast of Scotland and they
had a saying on the islands about a bird called the
red-throated diver. They used to call this bird the
rain goose, and the saying went pretty much like this:
If the rain goose flies to the hill, you can put your boat
where you will, but if she flies to the sea, you must
draw your boat and flee. I must say that I used to be
rather puzzled by this saying, as I didn’t understand
why it would fly out to sea when the weather was
getting worse. Anyway, one time when I was out in
a boat the wind started to get up. We tuned into the
radio and it said a gale was due from the north. We
saw the geese everywhere flying around and heading
out to sea. So despite common sense telling you
otherwise, the saying of the local people seemed
to be true.
Peter: Yes, and we still don’t know the reasons for its
strange behaviour. But you know, not all weather lore
is about misery. Some birds can predict when things
are about to brighten up. Certain geese set off for
their breeding grounds in Iceland when the weather
is fine – you just have to wait and watch and then
plan your harvesting or house painting!
Sue: Not very practical! However, if there is some truth
behind these weather sayings, do they ever have any
practical use?
Peter: Obviously, weather lore had a very important
application in the farmer’s world. Farming and
weather are intrinsically linked and the ability to
predict, or at least think you could predict, was very
important to them, although of course, they weren’t
the only ones with a vested interest in weather
forecasting. One of the things about human beings is
that we do not like to feel that things are happening
with no purpose whatsoever. Weather lore makes a
connection between something that is happening
and something that is going to happen – we need
to feel we’re not simply the victims of chance and
circumstance. Although it’s very difficult to put dates
on these sayings, many of them probably go back
thousands of years. Some of them work and some of
them don’t, and some of them don’t even make sense.
Many actually negate each other.
Sue: Quite. So, how reliable are sayings which predict
the year ahead, if we can’t even rely on ones
predicting the weather the next day?
Peter: Mm, well, I find it very difficult to believe that
you can tell the rest of the winter from the way birds
are flying or how your cat behaves in the autumn. By
putting our own interpretations on how nature works
we can get it completely wrong. For our ancestors the
weather was a life and death situation – not just an
inconvenience – and I think that had they had
anything more reliable, they wouldn’t have had to
base their predictions on this kind of thing. They
were really clutching at straws when they observed
animal and bird behaviour and linked it to the
weather, but they really had no other choice.
Sue: My thanks to Peter Watkins. Next week we’ll ...
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