The Elderly

Societal and familial treatment of the elderly also reflects the values of independence and individualism. Their financial support is often provided by government-sponsored social security of welfare systems that decrease their dependence on the family. Additionally, older people often seek their own friends rather than becoming too emotionally depended on their children. Senior citizen centres provide a means for peer-group association within their age group. There are problems, however, with growing old in the USA. Indifference to the age and glorification of youth have left some old people alienated and alone. It is estimated that 15% of men aged 65 to 74 and 35% of women in the same age group live alone.

It is a common practice for families to place their older relatives in nursing homes because of physical disabilities or illness rather then caring for them in their homes. There is, however, less common for those cultural groups within the USA whose values include fulfilling obligations to the extended family. Yet, some “non-ethnic” families (i.e., those who typically emphasize obligations to the nuclear family rather than to the extended family) are realizing that the care in many nursing homes is inadequate, and thus they are looking for better alternatives to nursing homes. Some middle-age children provide care for older relatives in their own homes, while others attempt to find nursing care for them in their parents’ own homes. The ideal situation is when parents can stay in their own homes even if they cannot care for themselves. Many older people do not want to have to rely on their grown children. The same spirit of independence that guides child raising and young adulthood affects older people. If given a choice (financial status is large consideration), many older people would choose to live in retirement communities where they have the companionship of peers and many recreational and health services. The disadvantage of this type of living arrangement is that it results in a separation of the generations. Some people see this as psychologically unhealthy; others prefer the separation.

FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES

Step 1. Discuss the questions below in pairs.

1. What is a family in your understanding?

2. What are the main functions of the family? Which of them are the most important? Why?

3. What is a “traditional” family? Why was it the most acceptable model of a family in the past?

4. What other common structures of the family exist today? How do they differ from each other?

5. What “parenting styles” can you name? Which of them do you personally approve of? Why?

6. Why do the older and younger generations have problems understanding each other?

7. Why do so many couples get divorced nowadays?

8. What kinds of conflicts occur in the family when several generations live under the same roof?

9. What obligations should children have towards their elderly parents? What is the common practice of treating the elderly in this country?

10. Why is the family size decreasing in the European countries including Belarus? How many children is it better for a family to have in your opinion?

11. Why do so many couples cohabit without being married these days? Is it a fashion of the day?

12. What were the traditional roles of a husband and wife in the past? How have their responsibilities changed since then? What influenced this change?

13. What are the main family problems that affect the relationship among members of the family?

14. What does it depend on that some families can easily solve their problems and others just can’t?

15. What makes a perfect husband or wife?

16. Why does verbal and physical abuse have a deleterious effect on children?

17. What do you think of arranged marriages? What are the advantages and disadvantages of them?

18. What are the positive and negative sides of marriage bureaus?

19. Is it possible to be a successful career woman and a mother at the same time? Why? Why not?

20. What makes a happy family?

Step 2. Approve or disapprove of the following ideas reasoning your own opinion.

1. Family life is the most important thing in life.

2. Marriages are getting younger these days.

3. The only responsibility of a man is that of a “breadwinner”.

4. Young couples should live with their parents and grandparents in order to gain family life experience.

5. Marriage is less respected today than it was yesterday.

6. Children should take part in making important decisions in the family.

7. Fathers usually have more powerful effect on children.

8. Parents should spoil their children.

9. Most marriages end in divorce if both spouses are perfect.

10. It is important for both mates to get on with in-laws.

11. The main reason for divorce has always been adultery.

12. It is impossible to bring up a child without beating.

13. Elderly parents shouldn’t depend on their children.

14. Adopted children have little chance of being happy.

15. The duties in the family should be distributed only between both parents.

16. Marriage of convenience will never lead to divorce.

Step 3. Comment on the quotations below. Be as specific as you can.

1. “Men make houses, women make homes”. O. Wilde

2. “Many men can make a fortune, but very few can build a family”. J.C. Bryan

3. “Marriage is like life in it – it is a field of battle and not a bed of roses”. R.L. Stevenson

4. “It is a woman’s business to get married as soon as possible and a man’s to keep unmarried as long as he can”. G.B. Shaw

5. “There is no such thing as a good wife or a good husband – there is only a good wife to Mr. A or a good husband to Mrs. B”. G. Mikis

6. “The happiest unions are those mixed marriages in which one of the mates is perfect and the other is not”. A. Buchwald

7. “Parents can rely on their feelings in rearing their children, rather than having to adhere to a set of rigid rules”. Dr. B. Spock

8. “Most parents want their children to succeed and lead full, happy lives. It is in trying to help them achieve this goal that, ironically, harm is sometimes done”. Dr. J. Brothers

9. “Families give us a sense of belonging and a sense of tradition. Families give us strength and purpose. Our families show us who we are”. M. Christopher

10. “If you can take in another person’s point of view, even if you don’t like it, and say ‘I’ll think about what you said’, rather than dismiss it, you will have a more resilient family”. T. Peck

11. “It is important to remember that love and happiness can grow in any home”. D. Martin-Morris

Step 4. Make up stories using the following proverbs and sayings. The contents of the story should reveal the gist of the proverb/saying.

1. Little children – little sorrow, big children – big sorrow.

2. A good husband makes a good wife.

3. Marriages are made in heaven.

4. Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.

5. First thrive and then wive.

6. To understand your parents’ love, bear your own children.

7. If you look for a faultless woman, you will remain a bachelor.

8. Marry with your match.

9. Every man is the architect of his own happiness.

10. Every family has a skeleton in the cupboard.

Step 5. Read the beginning of the text about sibling rivalry and develop the idea touched upon in it.

When I was a small child, my sister and I used to torture my mother with all sorts of typical kids’ questions:” If the house was on fire, Mummy, which one of us would you rescue first?” “If you had to go away and could take only one of us, which one would it be?” and so on.

“Why do you ask me these things?” my mother would respond irritably. “You know that your father and I love you both the same. Will you stop this nonsense?”

But we didn’t…

Step 6. Make up and act out conversations that would be appropriate in the situations below. Work in groups of 2 or 3.

1. You are a childless couple. You want to adopt a child badly, but your husband disapproves of this idea being afraid of the possible negative consequences of it. You are trying to convince him that adoption is the only way to become a mother and a father and have a chance to have a normal family life.

2. You are married and live in your spouse’s house. Your mother-in-law turns out to be a bossy woman. She thinks she has the right to decide about everything in her own house. You are not willing to obey and make up your mind to have a talk with her in order to solve the problem.

3. You are a single mother. You have a teenage daughter and son. You find it really difficult to understand your children and this leads to endless rows in the family. You’ve come to a psychologist in order to find a qualified help.

4. You consider yourself to be successfully married. Your husband makes good money and wants you to stay at home to run the household and look after the children. But you want to combine a job and a family. Discuss this problem with your spouse.

Step 7. Arrange a group discussion on the problems suggested below.

1. Express your opinion on the following Leo Tolstoy’s quotation “All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”.

2. Old people should be encouraged to stay in Old People’s Homes rather than live with the family. What is your point of view?

3. A single- parent family. Is it a family at all? Give your reasons.

4. Adoption of children has become a flourishing business. Foster parents pay enormous sums of money to adopt a child. Are adoption agencies interested in making money or making children happy?

5. Violence in the family is a serious problem nowadays. Victims of brutality at home are usually children or women. What measures should be taken to protect them?

6. Upbringing of children is a very long and complicated process. What is the most effective way of rearing children: strict or permissive? Give your reasons.

7. About half of all marriages in Belarus end in divorce. What are the main reasons for it? Is it possible to save family before it splits up? Do you know any tips?

8. Parents all over the world value and give priorities to different qualities in their children. What are the reasons for this phenomenon? What qualities would Belarusians like to see in their children?

Step 8. Debate on the controversial statements. Work in two groups. One group should agree with the statements below and the other should disagree. Put forward the appropriate arguments and convince the members of the other group.

1. Divorce is better than unsuccessful marriage.

2. Marriage should be sustained for the sake of children.

3. The spouses whose educational background is different will never be happy together.

4. Parents should let their teenage children have their own way.

Step 9. Fulfill the following written assignments.

1. Write a thank you letter to the psychologist who helped you to solve the problem with your teenage daughter.

2. Write an argumentative essay on the topic “Parents shouldn’t be permissive”.

3. Write a magazine article entitled “Love begins at home”.

4. Write a letter to your pen-pal telling about the relationship with your parents and siblings.

5. Write about your experience of bringing up your child pointing out the advantages and disadvantages of the parenting style that you adhere.

UNIT 2

LEISURE TIME. HOBBIES.

READING

Read the texts below attentively in order to immerse into the atmosphere of the topic under discussion and be able to use information and ideas from them in the activities following afterwards.

Text 2.1.

Historical Background of Hobby

In the 16^th century a favourite toy for children of all ages was the hobbyhorse. In appearance a hobbyhorse could be as simple as a stick, or it could have a decorated wooden framework with an imitation horse's head attached. Whether simple or elaborate, children used them for the games of the time involving war and knighthood, much as children in the early part of the 20^th century played cowboys and Indians. In time the popularity of the hobbyhorse declined, but the pleasure of doing something outside the routine activities of daily life had brought a new word into the language, the word hobby, which is shortened form of hobbyhorse.

Hobbies today include a vast range of activities. The definition that best covers all these activities is probably constructive leisure-time activities. This definition excludes games and sports, and it leaves out purely spectator activities, like watching television. It also excludes schooling and work done to make a living. A hobby, like playing with a hobbyhorse, is an activity apart from the ordinary routines of life. It should encourage the use of creativity and imagination and bring the reward of learning. Some hobbies bring monetary rewards as well.

Before the 20^th century, hobbies were something that only wealthy people had the time and money to enjoy. The present-day interest in hobbies throughout the world is the product of more free time for far more people, resulting from shortened working hours and greater prosperity.

Some popular hobbies are as old as civilization. These include such activities as music, dance, literature, painting, sculpture, carving and whittling, weaving, raising pets, astrology, and the making of pottery, baskets, beadwork, kites, toys, leather goods, dolls, hunting decoys, fishing lures, jewelry, and miniatures or models.

Rulers in ancient times often collected valuable objects, rare manuscripts, and art treasures. The monasteries of the Middle Ages maintained libraries to store the valuable documents and art works that they collected and produced. Later, individuals who were well educated and had a broad range of interests made field trips and travelled to other countries, bringing back fossils, plants, artifacts, and other objects. Such people also built up extensive personal libraries and collections.

During the second half of the 19^th century the Arts and Crafts Movement in England appeared as a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and prompted a great popular interest in handicrafts through its magazine, appropriately named The Hobby Horse. There were public exhibitions of handicrafts in England between 1888 and 1896, followed by similar expositions in Boston and Chicago in 1897.

Hobbies are either consciously chosen, or they arise from an individual’s interests, skills, daily work, tastes, ambitions, or past schooling. Stamp or coin collecting are example of hobbies based on deliberate choice. Making model airplanes can be something to do for a pastime, or it might develop as a result of service in an air force or as an airline pilot. Designing computer programs is apt to be a hobby based on work experience or schooling. All hobbies involve activity, but some involve more than others. Collecting – whether of antiques, coins, or first editions of books – is relatively passive compared to doing one’s own paintings or making furniture.

There have traditionally been four types of hobbies – those relating to history, nature, handicrafts, and the arts. Recently, with advances in electronics, many individuals have made computer use a hobby, while other use videocassette cameras to make their own movies. There can be considerable overlap between some types, especially between hobbies relating to the arts and those that have to do with the past. Scrimshaw, for instance, is an art, but it is also a kind of memorabilia relating to 19^th century sailing. Many hobbies require both collecting and creating.

Text 2.2.

Tastes Differ

Our everyday life is rather tough and busy. It is full of work, troubles, unexpected situations, problems. People get really tired and stressed that they need time for relaxation and recreation. That's why they look forward to their weekends and holidays and plan their leisure. We should balance our work and pastime in order to gain strength, refreshment, energy and high spirits. I think our hobbies can help us. A hobby is something you enjoy doing in your spare time, actually, it’s your favourite pastime. For some people hobby is travelling, changing something, for others hobby is sitting and doing nothing. Well, tastes differ... Much depends on what this or that person does in his or her everyday life, on his or her mode of life, education and even fashion. But if you have chosen a hobby to your liking, lucky you are: you have made your life more interesting and exciting.

Hobbies broaden our outlook and enrich our mind; they develop our personal gifts and talents, increase our knowledge and help to socialize with people.

Numerous hobbies can be subdivided into four large classes: doing things, making things, collecting things and learning things. The most popular of all hobby groups is doing things. It includes a wide variety of activities, everything from gardening to travelling and from playing sports to mountaineering. Gardening is one of the oldest man's hobbies whereas playing computer games and gambling are relatively new.

Making things includes drawing, painting, making sculpture, designing costumes and handicrafts like knitting, sewing, embroidery, pottery, carving.

Almost everyone collects something at some period of his life: stamps, coins, matchboxes, books, records, postcards, CDs. Many people collect antiques and paintings and their private collections become so large and valuable that they are housed in museums and galleries, so that others might take pleasure in seeing them.

No matter what kind of hobby a person has, he always has the opportunity of learning from it. By reading about the things he is interested in, he is adding to what he knows. Learning things can be the most exciting aspect of a hobby.

Sometimes people's hobbies turn into a life passion, become an all-absorbing interest of the whole life which brings satisfaction and pleasure.

Text 2.3.

Hobby

Almost any kind of leisure activity can become a hobby. Hobby is an activity pursued in spare time for pleasure or relaxation. Hobby can be any type of activity that people do during their leisure time. Most people take up a hobby for relaxation, pleasure, or friendships, or to develop new interests. A hobby can also lead to additional income.

Hobbies occupy much of the leisure time of many people. Large numbers of people enjoy raising flower or vegetable gardens or indoor plants. Other popular hobbies include stamp collecting, coin collecting, and photography.

People of almost any age can enjoy hobbies. A hobby offers a way to relax after periods of hard work. Hobbies offer broadened areas of interest and ways to pass the time pleasantly. Hobbies can be important in helping patients recover from physical or mental illness because they provide distractions from the patients’ problems. For people who are ill or bedridden, hobbies offer fascinating ways to pass the time. Hobbies can be an important form of occupational therapy.

In the past, hobbies were largely limited to the wealthy. The average person was too busy earning a living to find time to pursue a hobby. People today generally have more leisure time because of higher incomes and improvements in working conditions. In addition, most people also live longer and retire from their jobs at an earlier age. To fill their free time, they often develop interests in hobbies.

Most hobbies fall into one of four general categories, which may overlap. They are: the arts, collecting, handicrafts, and games and sports.

The Arts provide outlets for hobbyists with a special interest in such art forms as dancing, drama, painting, graphic arts, and music. Each art form has many separate possibilities for a hobby. For example, music may include singing or playing an instrument. Painting offers the hobbyist a wide choice of materials, such as oil paints or water colours.

Collecting is probably the most widespread kind of hobby, because almost anything can be collected. Stamps and coins are probably the most popular collected items. Hobbyists also collect such things as autographs, comic books, costumes, and baseball cards.

Handicrafts attract hobbyists who can work skillfully with their hands. Many hobbyists engage in needlework activities, notably crocheting, needlepoint, knitting, and sewing. Hobbyists use kits to make model airplanes, boats, and trains. Using woodworking tools, they can create carvings, furniture, and bowls. Other handicrafts include ceramics, metalworking, jewelry making, weaving, batik, and leatherworking.

Games and sports are popular with many hobbyists who enjoy competition, physical activity, and healthful exercise. Thousands of hobbyists take part in sports, such as bowling, fishing, mountain climbing, skiing, and tennis. These sports give hobbyists the opportunity to display their individual skills and sportsmanship. Popular indoor games include bridge and other card games, backgammon, chess, and Monopoly.

Electronics-related hobbies are becoming increasingly popular. Many hobbyists enjoy flying model airplanes by remote control or assembling and operating ham radios. Both young people and adults take up computers as a hobby, frequently assembling computers from kits. Some people raise pets as a hobby. For many people gardening and photography are rewarding hobbies.

People sometimes choose a hobby without realizing they are doing so. A casual interest grows into a fascination as the person learns more about the subject and devotes an increasing amount of time to it. After deciding on a hobby, individuals may gather as much information as they can from reference sources, especially books and magazines. They can also gain information by taking courses in school, attending hobby conventions, and joining hobby clubs. Hobbies often can study exhibits relating to their hobby in museums and galleries. Clubs and other organizations sponsor tours that allow hobbyists to visit places where they can pursue their hobby and meet people with similar interests.

In most cases, beginning hobbyists should start with a few basic items. As they become more experienced and enthusiastic, they may buy more elaborate materials. Hobby dealers provide information about equipment, supplies, and techniques.

Text 2.4.

Collectors

What is a collector? After all, people collect a wide variety of things, from the obvious ones like stamps, coins or autographs, to the less common ones, such as beer bottle labels, bus tickets or gramophone-needle tins. The economies of several small countries rely heavily on the sale of colourful stamps. Some collectors spend hours looking through junk shops and build up a collection for a few pence per item, while collectors of antiques, fine china or paintings might spend thousands of pounds on a new acquisition. Some people collect as an investment, but most do it for fun. Collecting is basically illogical. If you simply want to listen to Elvis Presley’s first record, you can get a copy at most record shops. A collector, however, will want to own an original 1955 disc, complete with its original sleeve and label, and will be willing to pay for it.

What makes an item valuable? Rarity and condition are the most important factors. A coin or stamp which is worth hundreds in mint condition might be worth only pence in average or poor condition.

What should you collect? Most collectors begin acquiring things which interest them, and as the collection grows, knowledge of the subject grows. If you want your collection to grow in value, it is probably best to avoid things which are sold especially for collectors. Nearly everybody who buys a set of new coins or stamps will preserve them in perfect condition, so that a mint set will never become rare. The most valuable items are often things which were widely available, but which usually thrown away after use, such as Coca-Cola bottles or toy cars. An interesting collection can be started very cheaply.

One collector has started a collection of 1950s and 1960s ball-point pens (‘biros’). At the moment it’s worth nothing, but she predicts it will one day be valuable. Ball-points were widely available, and were made in a large range of colours and styles. They were often designed to be thrown away when they were empty. Many people are reluctant to throw away used pens, and put them in a drawer or box, perhaps hoping they might work again one day. So it is possible to find unusual examples, made thirty years ago or more, for nothing.

Text 2.5.

Hobbies in Britain

In Britain, one of the most popular hobbies is do-it-yourself (DI Y). People choose to maintain and improve their homes by doing their own building work, carpentry, painting, electrical work and plumbing. Almost every town has a large DIY store where all the necessary materials can be bought. Gardening is also very popular and one reason why the British prefer houses to flats is that they like to have a garden. Some people grow their own vegetables, others take pride in their lawn or specialize in growing a particular type of plant, for example roses or alpine flowers. Most towns have at least one garden centre, at which everything needed for the garden can be bought.

Collecting is a hobby that can become an obsession. People col­lect all kinds of objects, from beer-mats and matchbox labels to antiques and old cars. There are collectors of stamps, coins, medals, first editions of books, records, prints, picture postcards, etc. Some people specialize in objects from a particular period or region, for example Victorian dolls or Chinese stamps. Train-spotters visit stations and collect the numbers of the locomotives they see, and autograph hunters collect the signatures of famous people.

Creative hobbies include photography, painting, brass rubbing and model making. People who want to write can join a local writers' group to discuss their work with other enthusiasts. People with musical talent can join a local choir, choral society or orchestra. Many communities, even quite small ones, have their own amateur dramatic societies, which perform plays locally. Similar groups, organized nationally, include the Sealed Knot Society, whose members dress up and re-enact battles of the English Civil War.

Text 2.6.

Fitness or Fun?

We British as a nation do all kinds of things in our spare time: we go shopping or jogging, we play darts or football, we collect records or stamps, we go to church or to the pub. The average working person has 40 hours of free time a week, sleeps for 49 hours, spends 45 hours at work or tavelling to and from work. The remaining hours are spent on ‘essential activities’ (food shopping, housework, child care, cooking, etc.). Of course, some of our free time activities, like visiting relatives or taking driving lessons, may not be fun, but whatever we do, the way we spend our free time is probably providing other people with work. Leisure is our fastest growing industry.

According to the latest figures, during the past year, the most popular activity of all was walking: 35 million British people regularly walked two miles or more. More energetically, ten million people went to keep fit classes or took part in aerobics or yoga and half as many did some kind of weight training in a gym. Not only did nine million people go cycling but four million went jogging and the same number played football and played golf. Other popular sports were bowling (six million), badminton (five million) and squash (three million). Less actively, twelve million people played snooker or pool, seven million played darts and three million went fishing.

Watching other people playing is also a popular leisure activity: the favourite sports among TV viewers are football, horse-racing, snooker, cricket and tennis. But although millions watch the matches on TV, not so many regularly go to watch football matches. ‘New’ television sports like American football, basketball or even darts are attracting loyal armchair experts.

The fitness boom of the eighties led to a big rise in the numbers of people participating in sports. To cater for this boom and provide the up-to-date facilities people want, over 1,500 private health and fitness clubs and the same number of public leisure centres have been built during the past twenty years. These modern centres, with their swimming pools (22 million people went swimming last year), squash courts, gyms and indoor courts for tennis and other sports, are competing with clubs, pubs and cinemas as places for people to go to spend their leisure time – and their money. Now practically every town has a leisure pool, often with a wave machine, water slides and tropical plants. Families can even spend their holidays at huge indoor water parks, where they can play or relax all day long in warmth and comfort without worrying about the weather outside. But this may not be helping us to get fitter: we may be becoming a nation of splashers, but not a nation of swimmers. The big question fitness experts are asking is: should sport be taken seriously or should it just be fun?

Text 2.7.

The Use of Leisure

By the way in which a man uses his leisure his character can be told – more surely, in all probability, than by the way he does his work. For most men, work is necessity in order to gain a living. Vast numbers of men have not even been able to choose what work they would do, but have been forced by economic necessity to take the first job that came their way. But in their leisure time, they do what they really want to do and their real selves are reflected in their actions.

Some people are completely passive during leisure hours. If such people go out they go to some places of entertainment where no effort is required by them, a cinema or a dance-hall, and if the latter, they do not dance but simply sit and watch others dancing.

A different type of person hurries home from work full of eagerness to begin on some scheme which he has been planning for his leisure time. Perhaps his hobby is carpentry or model engineering or gardening; or he might wish to write, or to study some subject in which he is interested. This is a creative type of character. For him, his leisure hours are full of promise and he can look back on them with satisfaction when he reviews what he has achieved in them.

Leisure should be refreshment; it should send a man out with fresh spirits to battle with the problems of life. Sometimes this freshness comes not from doing anything, but by filling one’s mind with fresh springs of beauty. Many a man gets full value from his leisure by contemplating nature, listening to music, or reading noble books. By this sort of occupation he may not have made anything that he can show, but he has none the less recreated his own source of inspiration and made his own mind a richer and fuller treasure house. This is the true use of leisure.

Text 2.8.

Americans and Leisure

Americans spend their leisure time in many different ways. Although in general they lead a rather hectic life, they find it important to relax and to have some fun.

At least once a week they go out to dinner after work. In America there is no tradition of cafes which are so popular in many European countries. Instead of sitting over a cup of coffee and a piece of cake, Americans prefer going to a restaurant for pizza, hamburger or some Italian or Chinese specialty.

At home they like watching television, playing games with children, making, improving and mending things in the house, or fumbling with the car. Many of them also find some time for fitness activities, such as jogging or cycling.

Americans are very sociable people. They often get together and give parties for kids and grown ups on various occasions. It is also quite common that they invite their friends or relatives for a barbecue and a few drinks.

On Saturday afternoon they go to drive-in movies which are especially popular with families with little children (no need to get a babysitter!).

Another popular pastime in the US is going to sporting events together with some friends and having parties afterwards.

Camping and family picnics are a great way of spending a weekend break. Americans are very mobile and sociable. They like travelling, visiting new places and meeting new people. On Saturday they head towards the recreation areas – campsites located in picturesque places, state or county parks, or public beaches. Unfortunately, they cannot rest wherever they like because practically there is no informal countryside in the US. In some places money is charged for each car coming while to others access is forbidden because they are usually someone’s property.

During the summer vacation Americans also travel a lot. Many go to visit the old home or relatives while others visit beautiful or historic places. The most popular tourist destinations are the cities of New York and San Francisco; Yosemite, Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks; the Grand Canyon; Niagara Falls; the White House in Washington, D.C.; and Mount Rushmore with four famous presidential heads hewn in rock. If Americans want to relax and enjoy the sunshine, they go to sunny Florida or Hawaii.

Many Americans visit foreign countries as well. They usually travel to Europe, South America, West India and the Caribbean. Also Asian and African countries attract more and more tourists every year. Americans are indeed a nation on the move.

FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES

Step 1. Discuss the questions below in pairs.

1. Why do people need leisure?

2. How do people usually spend their leisure hours?

3. What is it possible to learn about people’s character by the way they use their leisure?

4. What is the difference in the ways of spending leisure time by active and passive people?

5. What is the positive effect of a well-spent leisure?

6. What are the most popular ways of spending spare time among the youth and the elderly these days?

7. What is hobby? What does the choice of hobby depend on?

8. What is the historical background of hobby?

9. What is the origin of the word ‘hobby’?

10. What impact do hobbies have on our life?

11. Should we balance our work and pastime? Why? Why not?

12. What kind of activities do hobbies include and exclude?

13. What categories do all hobbies fall into?

14. Is there any difference between hobby and pastime? If yes, what?

15. What are the most popular leisure pastimes in Belarus?

16. What do we consider taking up a hobby?

17. What is your hobby now? How does it influence your personality and way of life?

18. What kind of hobbyist are you?

19. What kinds of hobby are enjoyed by the British and Americans?

20. What hobbies are considered fashionable nowadays?

Step 2. Approve or disapprove of the following ideas reasoning your own opinion.

1. Hobbies reveal one’s creativity.

2. Occupation can be hobby as well.

3. Taking up hobbies is a complete waste of time.

4. It is necessary to encourage children’s hobbies.

5. Collecting requires a lot of expenses on the part of the collector.

6. Watching TV can’t be considered a hobby.

7. Some people take up hobbies because they are fashionable.

8. Male and female hobbies are completely different.

9. Going to the cinema and theatre is just a remarkable pastime.

10. Leisure activities must always be enjoyable.

11. Hobbies promote communication among people.

12. Using the Internet is a fast growing leisure time activity.

13. Some hobbies bring monetary rewards.

14. The majority of people like passive way of spending leisure hours.

15. Betting and gambling have become very popular nowadays.

16. Leisure gives energy and refreshment.

17. Hobbyists are interesting people to know.

18. Times change and hobbies change.

19. Hobbies provide opportunities for self-expression.

20. Recreation is big business.

Step 3. Comment on the quotations below. Express your own attitude towards their essence.

1. “Labour is doing what we must; leisure is doing what we like”. Bernard Shaw

2. “If you collect books, that is a hobby. If you actually read them, it’s not. If you watch a butterfly in the field, that is not a hobby. If you put a pin through its little heart, that is a hobby.” Richard Cohen

3. “What is this life if full of care

We have no time to stand and stare?” W.H. Davies

4. “For too much rest itself becomes a pain”. A. Pope

Step 4. Make up stories using the following proverbs and sayings. The contents of the story should reveal the core of the proverb/saying.

1. Every man has his hobby-horse.

2. Tastes differ.

3. The busiest man finds the most leisure.

4. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

5. Work done, have your fun.

6. Business first, pleasure afterwards.

Step 5. Read the beginning of the text about spare time and develop the idea.

People always lack free time and dream of having more. These days our life is so busy and stressed and people get so tired that they really need spare time to relax and have a rest. That’s why they look forward to their weekends and holidays. Isn’t that also the time when they can take up their hobbies? ...

Step 6. Make up and act out conversations that would be appropriate in the situations below. Work in groups of 2 or 3.

1. You are planning to spend a weekend together with your friend. The problem is that you prefer an active way of spending your leisure. You are keen on hiking and doing all kinds of sports. You friend considers that the best way of spending spare time is to stay at home, watch his/her favourite programmes or read a book. Try to find a compromise.

2. Ask your parents what interests they used to have when they were young, when and why they took up their hobbies. During the conversation try to compare the way of spending spare time of older generation with that of your peers.

3. You have been collecting stamps since childhood. You are absolutely crazy about your collection. Your mother is sick and tired of your hobby considering that it is a great waste of time and money. She is sure that you need to give up collecting and take up something else to enrich your life and experience. Try to persuade your mother that you find satisfaction and inspiration from your hobby.

4. While visiting Art Gallery you accidentally meet the author of your favourite paintings. You are in heaven as it has always been your dream to talk to this famous artist. Surprisingly you find out that he doesn’t really have any special education. Moreover, painting used to be his hobby which gradually turned into an occupation and passion of his life.

5. You are a TV reporter. You are preparing a programme about famous people and their hobbies. Invite some celebrities in your studio and ask about their interests and favourite ways of spending leisure.

Step 7. Arrange a group discussion on the problems suggested below.

1. For many people what they do in their leisure hours depends on what the weather is like and what mood they are in. And what about you? Do you plan you plan your weekends and days off? What does your choice of leisure activities depend on?

2. There is a saying that by the way “man uses his leisure his character can be told more surely, than by the way he does his work”. Comment on this idea reasoning your opinion.

3. People usually think of a positive effect of hobby. Can hobbies do us any harm? Could you think of any examples?

4. Think of the reasons why people take up different hobbies. What influences their choice of hobbies? Have your hobbies changed since childhood? Share your experience.

5. When we compare pastimes and hobbies enjoyed by people of different nations we find both similarities and differences. How can we possibly reason this phenomenon?

Step 8. Debate on the controversial statements. Work in two groups. One group should agree with the statements below and the other should disagree. Put forward the appropriate arguments and convince the members of the other group.

1. It is necessary to plan leisure.

2. Hobby is always an obsession.

3. People collect as an investment.

4. Sport can never be a hobby.

5. Once you have chosen a hobby you never give it up.

6. Passive people do not have hobbies.

7. Nowadays people lack time for taking up hobbies.

Step 9. Fulfill the following written assignments.

1. Write an article into a magazine under the title “Hobbies make our life full and enjoyable.”

2. Write a letter to your English friend describing your way of spending spare time and ask him/her some questions concerning the leisure activities which are popular with the young British people today.

3. Write an argumentative essay “Hobbies never have negative influence on people”.

4. Express your opinion on the problem “Why do young people take up dangerous kinds of hobbies these days?”

5. Write a composition “The story of my hobby”.

UNIT 3

SHOPPING

READING

Read the texts below attentively in order to immerse into the atmosphere of the topic under discussion and be able to use information and ideas from them in the activities following afterwards.

Text 3.1.

Shops

Britain has two main types of shops: those that are part of a chain or a group, and those that are individually owned.

A typical high street in a smallish town in Britain will contain a mixture of chain stores and individual shops. The individual shops sell goods that are also available in larger stores, but often pride themselves on the quality of their goods and service. Typical examples of such shops are clothes shops, cake shops ( many of which also have tea-rooms), butchers, bakers, gift shops, newsagents (which also sell sweets), antique shops, chemists’ shops, pet shops, greengrocers, china and glassware shops, delicatessens, jewellers, bookshops, florists, hairdressers, furniture and carpet shops, and shops that provide services such as opticians and estate agents. Most towns also have a gas and an electricity showroom where bills can be paid.

A special kind of general shop is the ‘corner shop’, so called because it is often on a street corner in a part of town where there are no other shops. It is similar to a newsagent’s but has a wider variety of goods, including food and drink, cleaning materials, stationary, etc. In rural areas a similar shop is called the ‘village shop’, often the only shop in a village. Like the corner shop it normally stocks a mixed range of goods and may also be the local post office. In the USA, a similar kind of shop is called a ‘variety store’.

In Britain, the usual opening hours for shops are 9.00 am until 5.00 pm. Some places have an ‘early closing day’ when the smaller shops close at midday on one day of the week. Newsagents open much earlier, and corner shops, too, often open early and close late in the evening. Chain stores usually have the normal opening hours, but supermarkets, which sell mainly food, often stay open until 8.00 0r 9.00 pm.

The largest type of shop in Britain is called a hypermarket or superstore, which is a supermarket on a large scale and usually situated outside a town, where there is space for a large car-park. Many supermarkets have cash dispensers, petrol pumps and a café.

Whereas, formerly, the High Street was the main shopping street in a town, larger towns now usually have a shopping centre, which is in area for pedestrians only, with shops grouped together, sometimes enclosed in a large building.

Goods can be bought not only in shops and stores but also in outdoor markets. Almost all towns and cities have a market once or twice a week. A market today will have a number of stalls, mostly selling cheap or second-hand goods, but also flowers, fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as meat and fish.

In the USA people do most of their shopping not in individual shops but in department stores, supermarkets or shopping malls. These are mostly far larger than their British counterparts, with supermarkets more like hypermarkets, for example. Rather than go to separate shops such as the baker, butcher, greengrocer, etc, most Americans prefer to do their shopping in a single store. Supermarkets sell not only foods but household goods, and some sell goods as diverse as cameras, guns and ammunition.

Opening hours vary widely, but most suburban department stores are open from 9.00 am to 9.00 pm, while city-centre stores usually close at 6.00 pm. Sunday opening is more widespread than in Britain, although some states, especially in the Midwest, restrict Sunday sales. Often shopping malls outside city centres will open on Sunday afternoons, while city-centre store do not.

A typically American kind of shop is the ‘drugstore’, which usually includes a chemist’s (called a pharmacy in the USA) but also sells food, alcoholic drink, stationary and even clothes, as well as drinks and snacks. Rural areas often have roadside stalls where local produce is sold, and many cities have ‘farmers markets’, similar to the weekly markets in British towns.

Text 3.2.

Shopping in New York

Any visitor to New York will inevitably include shopping in their plan of action. The city is the consumer capital of the world: a shopper’s paradise which is a constant source of entertainment, with dazzling window displays and a staggering display of goods.

Opening Hours

Most shops in New York are normally open from 10am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday. Many department stores, though, are open all day Sunday and until 9pm at least two nights a week. The best time to avoid crowds is weekday mornings. The most crowded times are lunch hours (noon to 2.30pm), Saturday mornings, sales and holidays.

Taxes

The New York city sales tax, 8.25%, is added to the price when you pay. But you may still be asked to pay duty on goods at customs if you exceed the allowance. If the goods are sent direct, you won’t have to pay sales tax.

Department Stores

Most of New York’s large department stores are in midtown Manhattan. Allow plenty of time to explore as all these stores tend to be enormous, with an amazing range of goods. Prices are often high, but you can get bargains during the sales.

Stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s provide a diverse and extraordinary range of shopping services, including doing the shopping for you. But then you would miss out on what may be the shopping experience of a lifetime.

Abraham & Strauss, more familiarly known as A&S, is a bustling store which carries reasonably-priced ready-to-wear fashions for adults and children. It is the centerpiece of an Art Deco-style mall, the largest in Manhattan.

Barney’s New York is a favourite among the young professional New Yorkers. It specializes in excellent, but expensive designer clothes. A branch for men is located in the glittering World Financial Centre.

Bergdorf Goodman is luxurious, very elegant and understated. It carries top-quality contemporary fashions at high prices, specializing in European designers. The men’s store is right across the street.

Almost every visitor to New York includes Bloomingdale’s on their sightseeing list. “Bloomies” is the Hollywood film star of the department stores, with many eyecatching displays and seductive goods. Its ambience is of a luxurious Middle Eastern bazaar, filled with wealthy, immaculately dressed New Yorkers seeking out the newest trendiest fashions. Bloomingdale’s also has a high reputation for household goods and gourmet food – it has a shop devoted entirely to caviar. Extensive shopping services and amenities include a noted restaurant, Le Train Bleu, and a theatre ticket discount agency.

Lord & Taylor is renowned for its classic and much more conservative fashions for men and women. The store places an emphasis on US designers. You need a strong pair of legs, comfy shoes and lots of spare time to wander around.

Macy’s, the self-proclaimed largest store in the world, manages to sprawl over an entire city block. It has ten floors, and sells everything imaginable from tiny openers to massive TVs.

Saks Fifth Avenue is synonymous with style and elegance. It has long been considered one of the city’s top-quality department stores, with service to match. It sells stunning designer clothes for men, women and children.

Text 3.3.

How to Shop

In America, just as in England, you see the same shops with the same boards and windows in every town and village.

Shopping, however, happens to be an art of its own and you have to learn slowly where to buy various things. If you are hungry, you go to the chemist’s. A chemist’s shop is called a drug-store in the United States; it is a national institution and a very good institution at that. In the larger drug-stores you are likely to get drugs, too, but their main business consists of selling stationary, candy, toys, braces, belts, fountain pens, furniture and imitation jewellery. Every drug-store has a food counter with high stools in front of it and there they serve various juices, coffee, sundaes, ice-cream, sandwiches, omelettes and other egg dishes.

If you want cigarettes, you are expected to go to the grocer; if you want your shoes cleaned, go to the barber; if you want a radio, go to a man’s shop; if you want a suit-case, go to the chemist’s. On the other hand if you want to send a telegram, avoid the post office, because telegrams are sure to be handled by private companies. Nor has the post office anything to do with the telephone either, as telephone service is supplied by the American Telephone and Telegraph Co. Nor will you find public conveniences in America in the British sense of the word because a lavatory turned out to be a strictly private enterprise in the United States, well hidden from the public eye.

Whatever you buy, it may be exchanged later for something else in the same shop. This seems to be a great pastime with the Americans. A great many people do not really buy things – they only want them to be exchanged later for something else. It is not unusual at all to see a lady bringing back a hat with a lot of fruit on it and exchanging it either for real fruit or a real hat; or to see somebody bringing back a refrigerator with the remark that he made a mistake and now he wants to subscribe to the Reader’s Digest instead.

Text 3.4.

Shops and Markets in London

London is still one of the most lively shopping cities in the world. Within just a few minutes’ walk you can find both vast department stores, with glittering window displays, and tiny, cluttered rooms where one customer almost fills the entire shop. Many of the most famous London shops are in Knightsbridge or Regent Street, where prices can be steep, but Oxford Street, which is packed with a huge number of shops offering quality goods at a range of prices, is also worth a visit. All over London, there are plenty of places tucked away down side-streets – and don’t forget to try the markets for antiques, crafts, household goods, food and clothing.

When to shop

In Central London, most shops open somewhere between 9am and 10am and close between 5pm and 6pm on weekdays; some earlier on Saturdays. The ‘late night’ shopping (until 7pm or 8pm) is on Thursdays in Oxford Street and the rest of the west End, and Chelsea; some shops in tourist areas, such as Covent Garden and the Trocadero, are open until 7pm or later every day, including Sundays.

Best of the department stores

The king of London’s department stores, by tradition, is Harrods, with its 300 departments and staff of 4,000. Prices are not always as high as you may well expect. The spectacular food hall, decorated with Edwardian tiles, has splendid displays of fish, cheese, fruit and vegetables; other specialities include fashions for all ages, china and glass, electronics and kitchenware. Though Harrods is still just as popular, especially with well-heeled visitors, Londoners often head instead for nearby Harvey Nichols, which aims to stock the best of everything with the price tags to match. Clothes are particularly strong, with the emphasis firmly on very high fashion, with many talented British, European and American names represented. There is also an impressive menswear section. The food hall, opened in 1992, is one of the most stylish in London.

Selfridge’s vast building on Oxford Street houses everything from Gucci bags and Hermes scarves to household gadgets and bed-linen. Miss Sefridge, the popular high street fashion chain, also has a branch in the store.

The original John Lewis was a draper and his shop still has a gorgeous selection of fabrics and haberdashery. Its china, glass and household items make John Lewis, and its well-known Sloane Square partner, Peter Jones, equally popular with Londoners.

Liberty, the last privately owned department store in London, still sells the hand-blocked silks and other oriental goods at was famed for when it opened in 1875. Look out for the famous scarf department.

Fortnum and Mason’s ground floor provisions department is so engrossing that the upper floors of classic fashion remain peaceful. The food section stocks everything from baked beans to the beautifully prepared hampers.

Marks and Spencer

Marks and Spencer has come a long way since 1882 when Russian émigré Michael Marks had a stall in Leeds’s Kirkgate market under the sign, ‘Don’t ask the price – it’s a penny!’ It now has over 680 stores worldwide and everything in them is ‘own label’. It stocks reliable versions of more expensive clothes – Marks and Spencer’s underwear in particular is a staple of the British wardrobe. The food department concentrates entirely on upmarket convenience foods. The main Oxford Street branches at the Pantheon (near Oxford Circus) and Marble Arch are the most interesting and well stocked.

Text 3.5.

The Big Stores of London

One of the features of London is the number of big stores, most of which are to be found in or near the West End. These stores are a mixture of tradition and modernity.

They developed in the nineteenth century; they maintain the dignity of that century, yet they are always ready to follow new trends.

The big stores of London are vast buildings, many storeys high, equipped with speedy lifts and escalators, with well-planned lighting, ventilation and heating.

Departments are carefully named; “Budget Dresses” are really cheap dresses – but no customer likes to be thought of as a “cheap” shopper. The same applies to “Ready-to-wear”. It used to be used for the garments that were not made-to-measure, though now off-the-peg clothes are the rule rather than the exception. “Mother-to-be” or “Lady-in-waiting” will often be found instead of the conventional “Maternity Wear”. Then there are newer words for the new trends in fashion – “Mix-and-match”, “Unisex”, which are used alongside the more old-fashioned names: “Haberdashery”, “Millinery”, “Gowns”, and sometimes still the words derived from the French – “Mantles” for coats, “Layette” for baby-wear. Another feature of London’s shopping life is the chain-stores, on which the goods are displayed on open counters. A wide variety of goods is offered – chiefly foodstuffs, household goods, clothing and stationery. These chain-stores have branches in most British towns of importance.

One very well-known firm of chemists has shops in many parts of London (and elsewhere); here you may buy not only medicines but also cosmetics and toilet supplies.

Dairy firms have shops in various parts of London, too, and in these you may buy not only dairy produce but also groceries, soap and household articles.

Most of the food stores, called supermarkets, operate on the self-service system: you go in, pick up a basket, walk round the shop and choose what you want. At the exit there is a check-out point, a cash-desk where you pay for all your goods together.

Text 3.6.

Shopping in Hypermarkets

Nowadays more and more small local shops in Poland are closing because people prefer to drive to huge shopping centres outside town. According to many surveys, about 57% of Polish families regularly do their weekly shopping in very large chain-stores such as Hit, Jumbo, Auchan or Real.

Why is out-of-town shopping so popular in Poland? Firstly, there are no problems with parking the car and people can do all their shopping in one place. Secondly, many Poles treat shopping as a pleasant way of spending their leisure time. The whole families usually go to a shopping centre on Saturday or Sunday and spend long hours walking round, examining the items, looking for bargains and drinking coffee in the store cafeteria. Thirdly, hypermarkets are well-stocked. They offer a great variety and a wide choice of things. They are organised in departments in which customers can find almost everything they want. They can buy food, clothes, shoes, cosmetics, sports equipment, toys, records, books, household goods and many other products – all under one roof. What is more, the goods in hypermarkets are generally sold more cheaply than those in small local shops. A lot of items are reduced or sold off at lower prices. Bargain hunters can save a lot of money on things which are on sale or special offer.

If customers buy something they are not satisfied with, they have the right to take it back and get their money back. They can also choose the method of payment. They can pay cash or by credit card. In most hypermarkets it is possible to buy an article on hire purchase, which means that people can make regular payments for it over a period of time, for example several months.

All hypermarkets are open until late in the evening, as well as on Sunday. This is very convenient for people who work.

To sum up, the success of hypermarkets comes from many different factors. A wide assortment of goods, the possibility of having a close look at each item, competitive prices, convenience, good service and caring about customer satisfaction make shopping in hypermarkets pleasant. Therefore, it is not surprising that they attract more and more shoppers in Poland.

Text 3.7.

About Online Shopping

Every year, more and more people are using the Internet to do their shopping. That’s because more and more people are discovering that shopping on the Internet is fast, easy and safe. Unlike many stores, the Internet is open 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. You can shop at your convenience, from your home or office.

Things bought over the Internet are usually cheaper, even when you include delivery costs. This is because online stores don’t cost as much to run as ordinary stores. They also want to attract new Internet consumers so they keep their prices down.

In fact, you can get almost everything over the Internet today. You can buy movies, music, books, games and software and it is even possible to send flowers and gifts. But perhaps the most exciting new service is online supermarket shopping. Most major British supermarkets in big towns now offer an Internet shopping service so you can do your weekly supermarket shopping from your home and receive your delivery the next day.

Text 3.8.

Customer-Clerk Relationships

One of the points about customer-clerk relationships is that clerks or salespeople are not normally looked down on or treated in a way that makes them seem less worthy than people in higher status occupations. In fact, foreign visitors are often startled by the degree of informality with which some salespeople treat them.

Commercial transactions do not normally emphasize a personal relationship between the buyer and the seller. Both parties are considered to have a role to play, and they play their roles without necessarily making an effort to learn about each other’s personal viewpoints or lives. This fact is quite plain to a customer who notices the mechanical smiles of clerks in many stores, and who hears again and again the refrains, “Have a nice day” and “Thank you for shopping at…” The customer-clerk relationship may seem utterly dehumanized.

There are exceptions. Experienced sellers of automobiles, houses, major appliances, and other so-called “big-ticket items” will pay much attention to the buyer as an individual human being. People selling these products will operate on the assumption that they must become acquainted with their clients in order to help them select a product that will suit them and, at the same time, in order to understand what “pitches” are most likely to be effective with them. For example, an automobile salesman is likely to try to determine whether a particular customer will be more attracted to a high-performance sports car or to a “sensible”, more conservative automobile. A person selling clothing may try to determine whether a particular customer is the type who will prefer something unusual or something that is popular.

Foreign visitors will notice striking differences in the degree to which clerks and salespeople are able to be helpful. Some are well informed about their products and can answer questions about them and their employer’s policies and procedures. Others seem to know little other than how to operate the cash register and fill out the forms involved in credit sales.

Text 3.9.

Sales Tactics

Sales tactics, like advertising, reflects aspects of the basic assumptions and values that prevail in a country. By carefully listening to salespeople who are actively trying to sell them something, foreign visitors can enlarge their understanding of the way Americans perceive and think about things. Common sales tactics include trying to make the buyer feel sympathetic toward the seller; trying to make a male buyer feel that his masculinity is at issue when he is considering buying something, and that he will be less manly in some way should he not make the purchase; trying to make a female buyer believe that her attractiveness in the eyes of males will be enhanced by a particular purchase; placing a premium on a rapid decision to buy, with the idea that the opportunity to make the purchase will soon be gone; and trying to make the buyer believe that a particular purchase would be “ wise”, an example of the buyer’s cleverness and foresight.

No doubt many of these tactics are used in some form or other in other countries. But the subtleties with which they are employed in the States are likely to be distinctive.

Two phenomena that startle some foreign visitors are those of the telephone solicitor and the door-to-door salesperson. Salespeople will telephone a person’s home or just appear unannounced at the door and attempt to sell something to the occupant. Foreign visitors may need to realize they are not obligated to be courteous or attentive to such people. They need not be discourteous, but they can interrupt the salesperson, state that they are not interested, and hang up the telephone or close the door.

FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES

Step 1. Discuss the questions below in pairs.

1. What is your favourite day of the week for shopping? Why?

2. What kinds of shops exist in your town? Which ones are the most popular?

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of shopping in a supermarket?

4. What products can you not buy in department stores in your town? Where would you buy these items instead?

5. Can shopping be a hobby? Why? Why not?

6. If you had a chance to go shopping at any place in the world where would you go? Why?

7. Why do some people enjoy looking for bargains?

8. What factors are important for you when you do shopping? What do you think first about: the price, the quality or the brand name?

9. Where do you prefer to buy foodstuffs: in small shops or in a supermarket? Why?

10. What is sold at the butcher’s, fishmonger’s, baker’s?

11. What sorts of vegetables and fruit can be found at the greengrocer’s?

12. Why do so many people prefer purchasing at the market nowadays?

13. Where do people buy consumer goods? Where do you personally prefer shopping for consumer goods? Why?

14. What departments are department stores composed of? What goods do they sell?

15. What is your favourite department and why?

16. What types of trade can you name? How do they differ?

17. What modern ways of shopping are used today to attract customers?

18. Why is advertising a very specific phenomenon of our life? What is your attitude to TV commercials?

19. Why is it important to know the customer’s rights? Is it easy for you to complain about faulty goods?

20. What are the advantages of shopping in hypermarkets?

Step 2. Approve or disapprove of the following ideas reasoning your own opinion.

1. The prices for foodstuffs are quite reasonable in the stores of Belarus.

2. Merchandise in the boutiques is extremely expensive.

3. Some people dislike doing shopping in big stores.

4. Many department stores in Belarus organize clearance sales.

5. The worst thing about shopping is standing in queues.

6. Door-to-door salespeople are very pleasant and easy to deal with.

7. Fruit and vegetables can be bought cheapest at the open-air markets.

8. Shop-assistants are never polite and helpful in this country.

9. London’s shopping life is very busy.

10. Shopping is an art.

11. Shopping is a great pastime with young people.

12. You can get only drugs in a drug-store in the USA.

13. Customers prefer to go to self-service shops.

14. Buyers always want to buy merchandise at a lower price and sellers want to make some profit.

15. Salespeople must always be helpful and well-informed about the product they sell.

16. In the USA the price marked on an item doesn’t include the sales tax.

17. You will never get cash refunds for a faulty item in Belarus.

18. Bargaining over prices is acceptable at “garage” and “yard sales” in the USA.

19. Harrods in London can supply anything a customer orders.

20. Chain-stores have branches in most British cities.

Step 3. Comment on the quotations below. Express your own attitude towards their essence.

1. “The customer is always right”. H.G. Selfridge

2. “Do not buy what you want, but what you need; what you do not need is dear at a farthing”. Cato the Elder

3. “Advertising may be described as the science of arresting human intelligence long enough to get money from it”. G. Orwell

4. “Necessity never made a good bargain”. B. Franklin

Step 4. Highlight the meanings of the following proverbs and sayings and make up situations to illustrate them.

1. Shop till you drop.

2. You get what you pay for.

3. A bargain is a bargain.

Step 5. Read the beginning of the text and develop the idea.

Today, mass advertising persuades people of many different nationalities to use the same products. Millions of people around the world drink the same soft drinks, drive the same cars, wear the same clothes, and eat the same hamburgers. People’s tastes are getting more homogeneous today…

Step 6. Make up and act out conversations that would be appropriate in the situations below. Work in groups of 2 or 3.

1. You are invited to your friend’s party. You’ve made up your mind to go to the jeweller’s to buy a present. There is such a variety of rings and earrings, necklaces and brooches, pendants and bracelets there. It’s very hard for you to make a choice, but you are lucky because a salesgirl turns to be very polite, patient and helpful. At last you decide on purchasing a gorgeous silver bracelet.

2. You feel frustrated as you’ve found out that a beautiful expensive watch you bought two weeks ago doesn’t go when you wind it. Your mother starts criticizing you for being in a rush and inattentive while making a purchase. You are mad at yourself and looking for the receipt everywhere. At last you calm down and together with your mother think the problem over and decide what to do.

3. You’ve just come back from the United States. Your friends ask about your impressions concerning American stores. You tell your friends about the easy procedures of returning and exchanging purchases, importunate telephone salespeople and on the contrary extremely polite shop-assistants in practically all stores.

4. You are visiting your grandparents in the village on the occasion of their golden wedding anniversary. You go to a local shop together with your sister/brother. You need to buy a lot of foodstuffs to cook dinner for the special occasion. The salesgirl is rather nervous and impatient especially when you are not sure what you particularly want.

Step 7. Arrange a group discussion on the problems suggested below.

1. All shoppers fall under different customer categories: fun shoppers, practical shoppers, reluctant shoppers. What category do you personally belong to? Justify it.

2. Many people are fond of window-shopping and they do get much pleasure out of it. For others it’s just a mere waste of time. What’s your attitude to window-shopping?

3. Modern ways of shopping such as TV shops, online stores are getting more and more popular. Have you ever purchased anything this way? Think of the advantages and disadvantages of such kinds of shops. Think of the advantages and disadvantages of such kinds of shops.

4. What type of shop do you personally give preference to? Explain your choice.

5. Some advertisements help us choose right things to buy. Do you agree? Have you ever been influenced by adverts? Share your shopping experience.

6. Nowadays shopping has become more exciting than it used to be. Can you explain why?

7. Some people shop till they drop. What’s your way of doing shopping?

Step 8. Debate on the controversial statements. Work in two groups. One group should agree with the statements below and the other should disagree. Put forward the appropriate arguments and convince the members of the other group.

1. It is uncommon for Belarusians to stock up for the week at weekends.

2. Shops must be open seven days a week.

3. Shopping over the Internet is the most convenient way of shopping nowadays.

4. Bargaining over prices at the market is considered to be rude.

5. Shoplifting can never be stopped.

6. Men’s and women’s shopping styles are opposite.

Step 9. Fulfill the following written assignments.

1. Write an argumentative essay “Advertisements persuade people to buy things they don’t need”.

2. Write an article “Hypermarkets: Future belongs to them”.

3. Write an essay about your memorable purchase.

4. Create a shopping list of Christmas presents you want to buy for your family and friends.

5. Write a letter of complaint expressing your strong dissatisfaction with the quality of jeans you bought in a specialized jeans store.

6. Write a letter to your friend sharing your shopping experience in London.

UNIT 4

CHARACTER AND APPEARANCE. RELATIONSHIPS.

READING

Read the texts below attentively in order to immerse into the atmosphere of the topic under discussion and be able to use information and ideas from them in the activities following afterwards.

Text 4.1.