46
G. A. Skrebitsky. «Зима — художник»
Textbook: pp. 190–192
GoalG. A. Skrebitsky's text «Зима — художник»: describing nature with adjectives and comparison.
New words
зима · qishхудожник · rassomсолнце · quyoshснег · qor
Explanation
Georgy Alekseevich Skrebitsky (1903–1964) was a Russian writer, the author of stories about nature. In the tale «Зима — художник» four magic painters — Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn — argue about who paints best and choose the Sun as judge. Winter starts first: she covers the fields with fluffy snow and the river with thin ice, gives the hare a white coat and the fox a bright red one, and puts white “hats” on the fir trees. The text has many adjectives and comparisons: «пушистый, белоснежный, ярко-рыжий». Such words make a description of nature lively.
Worked examples
«Зима — художник» (a short retelling). «Четыре волшебника — Зима, Весна, Лето и Осень — спорили, кто лучше рисует. Судьёй выбрали Солнце. Зима покрыла поля белым снегом, а речку — льдом. Зайцу она дала белую шубку, а лисе — рыжую. Ёлки стояли в белых шапках. Солнце посмотрело на картину, и всё стало ещё красивее.» (Four wizards — Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn — argued about who paints best. They chose the Sun as judge. Winter covered the fields with white snow and the river with ice. She gave the hare a white coat and the fox a red one. The fir trees stood in white hats. The Sun looked at the picture, and everything became even more beautiful.)
Words: «художник», «пушистый», «белоснежный», «рыжий». Comparisons: «пушистый, как вата»; «белый, как снег».
Class activity
“Winter picture”. Draw a winter scene and describe it with 3 adjectives in Russian: «Белый снег. Прозрачный лёд. Серебристые ветки».
Practice
1
Author and years:
Г. А. Скребицкий, 1903–1964
2
The meaning of «пушистый»:
fluffy
3
What is winter compared to in the text?
художнику (to an artist)
4
Why do comparisons make a description lively?
They bring a familiar thing to the reader's imagination.