Appearance

When we speak about somebody’s figure, face, hands, feet we mean his or her appearance. A person may be tall, middle-sized or short, thin or skinny, plump, muscular, well-built, overweight, slim, fat.

A face may be round, oval or square. In summer some people may have freckles on their faces. Old people have wrinkled faces.

People’s hair may be long or short, thin or thick, good or bad, straight or curly. If it is long it is often plaited.

Its colour may be black or fair, chestnut or red. Old people have grey hair.

Eyes may be large or small. They may be of different colour, grey, green, blue, or hazel (brown).

Cheeks may be rosy or pale (if a person is ill), plump or hollow (if a person is very ill). Some people have dimples in their cheeks when they smile.

Women usually have their hair done ‘at the hairdresser’s.

The manner of walking is called the walk (gait). One’s step maybe: light, heavy, firm. Old people often shuffle their feet, have a shuffling gait.

Vocabulary

a figure – фігура

thin (skinny)/plump/medium-build/muscular/well-built/slim/fat/overweight – худий/середньої будови тіла/повний/мускулистий/ставний/стрункий/товстий/ надлишкова вага

round/oval/square/wrinkled – кругле/овальне/квадратне/зморщене

chestnut/dark/fair or blonde/red/grey – каштанове/темне/світле/руде/сіде

curly/wavy/plain (straight)/plaited – кучеряве/хвилясте/пряме/заплетене

grey/green/blue/hazel (brown) – сірі/зелені/блакитні/карі

a cheek – щока

rosy/pale/plump/hollow – рожеві/бліді/пухкі/запалі

a dimple – ямочка (на щоці)

a walk (gait) – хода

light/heavy/firm/shuffling – легка/важка/впевнена/шаркаюча

Exercise 7. Answer the following questions:

1. What is appearance?

2. How can we describe a face?

3. How can we describe hair?

4. How can we describe eyes?

5. What is gait?

Exercise 8. Complete the sentences:

1. When we speak about somebody’s figure, face, hands, feet we mean his or her …..

2. A person may be tall, … or short, thin or skinny, plump, …, well-built, overweight, …, fat.

3. A … may be round, oval or square.

4. People’s … may be long or short, thin or thick, good or bad, straight or curly.

5. … may be large or small. They may be of different colour, grey, green, blue, or hazel (brown).

6. … may be rosy or pale (if a person is ill), plump or hollow (if a person is very ill).

7. The manner of walking is called the walk (…).

Exercise 9. Answer the questions about yourself:

1. What colour is your hair?

2. Is your hair long or short?

3. What colour are your eyes?

4. Are your eyes large or small?

5. What is your face like?

6. What is your nose like?

*Exercise 10. Guess the fairy-tail person:

1. This is a girl. She has a round face, large blue eyes and small nose. Her hair is blue, long and curly. She has a large blue ribbon in her hair. She is very friendly and has a lot of friends.

2. This boy is Malvina’s friend. He is a small wooden boy. He has a round face, a very long straight nose and large brown eyes. His hair is dark and short. He has long thin arms and legs.

3. This girl is thin and slim. She has long red hair. She doesn’t have any legs, but she has a tail. This girl has green dress and lives in the bottom of the sea. She is very beautiful.

*Exercise 11. Describe your neighbor (friend sitting near you). Use the scheme:

№1 №2

He is a boy. His face is oval. He has got short straight hair. His ears are small. His eyes are small and dark. His nose is small and straight. His mouth is smiling.

She is a girl. Her face is oval. She has got long wavy hair. Her eyes are dark and big. Her ears are small. Her nose is small and straight. She has got a smiling mouth.

*Exercise 12. Read and translate the texts and try to describe one of your parents:

My father is tall. He has large hands and his feet are size 45. He has short, dark, curly hair and a small beard. He's a cheerful person and when he laughs, you can see even white teeth. He wears spectacles (glasses) and you can't see his eyes, but I know they are steel grey. He's 43.

My mother is a very interesting person. She's short and plumpish. She has small hands and feet. She has long, strong, fair hair. She has rosy cheeks and lips. Her favourite colours are red and light blue.

My 20-year old sister likes to be well-dressed. She used lots of make-up. She's tall and slim, with slender arms and elegant legs. Her full lips are always red. She's open-minded and nice. She is married and has a baby.

*Exercise 13. Find out the meanings of the words from the box and fill in the gaps. Put them in the correct form:

to change, to improve, to neglect, to judge people, to worry about your appearance, to be similar in appearance

1. That hat costs 500$, but it does nothing …………….her appearance.

2. Don’t……………………………..You look great!

3. She has definitely started …………her appearance. She looks terrible!

4. We all know that you shouldn’t…….. by appearances. But we all do it!

5. Some people try ………….their appearances with plastic surgery.

6. The twins………………………….but they have different characters.

Exercise 14. a) Read Kate’s thoughts about what she thinks of the appearances. Translate it, choose the best title:

Kate (18, a student):

It is obvious that our experience is just a mask of our soul. It usually influences our first impression about human. But sometimes it is wrong. When we get to know a person closer we find out what her real nature is. It often happens that a pretty girl is not frank and unfriendly, and a handsome fellow – rude and selfish.

It’s a pity that sometimes people with common appearances lock their hearts and don’t believe in their own beauty. To my mind the real beauty lies in our souls, but not reflected in the mirror.