什么时候去北京最好？
The four seasons in Chinese: when is the best time to visit Beijing?
Name: ________________ Date: ________
我在北京住了很多年。我有一个朋友，明年她想去北京玩儿。她问我：“北京一年有四个季节，什么时候来最好？”
我告诉她北京的春天、夏天、秋天和冬天是什么样的。中文里，这四个季节也叫“春夏秋冬”。
北京的春天是三月到五月。天气一天比一天暖和，花也开了。可是春天风很大，也很少下雨。有的时候，风会带来黄沙，天都黄了。
夏天是六月到八月。夏天很热，雨也很多。七月最热，雨也最多。
秋天是九月到十一月。天很蓝，不冷也不热。十月的时候，香山上的树叶都红了，很多人去那儿看红叶。
冬天是十二月到二月。北京的冬天很冷，也很干。可是从十一月十五号开始，家家都有暖气，外边很冷，房间里很暖和。
所以，我对朋友说：“九月、十月来吧！很多北京人都说，秋天是北京最好的季节。五月也不错。”
朋友说：“好，我十月来。你带我去看红叶吧！”
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 告诉 | gàosù | to tell; to inform |
| 花 | huā | flower; blossom |
| 不错 | búcuò | not bad; pretty good |
| 季节 | jìjié | season; time of year |
| 最好 | zuìhǎo | best |
| 春天 | chūntiān | spring; springtime |
| 夏天 | xiàtiān | summer |
| 秋天 | qiūtiān | autumn; fall |
| 冬天 | dōngtiān | winter |
| 风 | fēng | wind |
| 蓝 | lán | blue |
| 干 | gān | dry |
English (for the teacher)
I've lived in Beijing for years. A friend of mine wants to visit Beijing next year. She asked me, “Beijing has four seasons in a year. When is the best time to come?”
I told her what spring, summer, autumn and winter are like in Beijing. In Chinese the four seasons are also called “chun xia qiu dong”.
Spring in Beijing is March to May. Every day is a little warmer than the last, and the flowers come out. But spring is very windy, and it hardly rains. Sometimes the wind brings yellow sand and the whole sky turns yellow.
Summer is June to August. Summer is hot, and it rains a lot. July is the hottest month, and the wettest.
Autumn is September to November. The sky is blue, and it's neither cold nor hot. In October the leaves on the Fragrant Hills turn red, and lots of people go there to see them.
Winter is December to February. Beijing winters are cold and dry. But from the fifteenth of November every home has heating, so it's cold outside and warm indoors.
So I told my friend, “Come in September or October! Lots of Beijingers say autumn is Beijing's best season. May is nice too.”
My friend said, “OK, I'll come in October. Take me to see the red leaves!”