2. Read the text again. For each gap (1 - 8) choose the most suitable word or phrase from the list a – I. There is an extra one which you do not need to use.

A. They are as like as two peas.

2. An iron fist in a velvet glove.

3. As cool as a cucumber.

4. A model to follow!

5. What an impolite stupid bore!

6. A scrooge!

7. A mediocrity!

8. Variety is the spice of life.

9. A heart of gold!

3. Vocabulary

Find a word from the text that means:

Para.1 a) making people believe that something is not true__________

Para.2 b) caring only about small, unimportant things__________

c) skill at inventing things and thinking of new ideas________

Para.3 d) using money carefully and wisely____________

e) spending a lot of money on things that are not necessary___

Para.4 f) able to control and influence events_________

Para.5 g)clever______________

h) a feeling of comfort____________________

Para. 6 i) a feeling of unhappiness________________

j) a choice____________________

Para. 7 k) a joke_____________________

4. Learn the following words and word-combinations. Provide the context in which they were used in the text. Use them in situations of your own.

nothing in common

to appear

to clash

to create an impression

to deny

to depend on

to differ

to display

to expect

to resemble

to take after

to turn out

5. Say if the following statements are true or false and give the right variant.

1. A hunky man is a man who is not attractive.

2. A fragile person is one who is never ill.

3. A scrooge is someone who is very generous.

4. Unique means behaving in a polite way.

5. Someone who is wilful is determined to do what they want and does not care if they upset other people.

6. Explain the meaning of the following phrases. Make use of the active vocabulary.

An iron fist in a velvet glove; a heart of gold; as like as two peas; as cool as a cucumber; a mediocrity; a bore; variety is the spice of life

7. Say whether you agree or disagree with the following statements and give reasons.

1. A person’s appearance is a reflection of their character.

2. Appearances are deceptive.

3. Handsome is that handsome does.

4. Looks are less important than character.

5. Nobody is perfect.

Reading IV

CHINESE HOROSCOPES

Read the text and study the chart below.

Most people are aware of their astrological signs, and know the characteristics associated with the twelve signs of the zodiac. Astrology is based upon your month of birth. Traditional Chinese astrology is different. It's based on your year of birth. There are twelve signs, too, but they are named after animals. The Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year but it begins somewhere between mid-January and mid-February. The twelve-year cycle begins with the year of the Rat. The legend is that the order was decided thousands of years ago by Buddha, who called all the animals to a New Year meeting. Only twelve came, and the years were named after the twelve animals in the order in which they arrived. First was the aggressive Rat, second was the hard-working Ox. Then came the smiling Tiger, followed by the cautious Rabbit. The showy Dragon came next, then wise Snake. The gifted Horse was next, followed by the gentle Goat, then the merry Monkey and the proud Rooster. Last were the faithful Dog and the honest Pig.

People born in specific years are supposed to have characteristics of the year's animal. This should not be taken too seriously. The animals arc symbols, and the Chinese idea of each animal’s character is often different from a traditional Western view. The interesting thing about the cycle of Chinese years is that they relate to the cycles of change in the Sun which is known to affect the Earth's weather, and may also relate to earthquakes and electrical changes in the atmosphere.

It's up to you how seriously you take them. Anyway, it makes a change when someone comes up to you and says, “'I can always tell people’s birth signs – you’re a Virgo”. You can always reply by saying, “And I can always tell people’s Chinese signs. You’re a Pig!”

The Rat	The Ox	The Tiger	The Rabbit	The Dragon	The Snake
aggressive	hard-working	smiling	cautious	showy	wise
energetic	lonely	magnetic	clever	artistic	sympathetic
jolly	leaders	lucky	hospitable	enthusiastic	lucky
charming	strong	strong	sociable	lucky	sophisticated
sociable	proud	honorable	friendly	healthy	calm
humorous	reserved	leaders	sensitive	generous	decisive
generous	methodical	liberal-minded	ambitious	sentimental	attractive
intellectual	original	courageous	careful	successful	philosophical
sentimental	eloquent	generous		independent	elegant
honest	patient	passionate			compassionate
persistent	silent
greedy	rigid	vain	private	demanding	lazy
small-minded	bad losers	rash	timid	irritable	possessive
power-hungry	authoritarian	disobedient	thin-skinned	loud-mouthed	tight-fisted
destructive	conventional	undisciplined	old-fashioned	stubborn	bad losers
suspicious	jealous	argumentative	hypochondriac	discontented	changeable
tiresome	stubborn	rebellious	squeamish	wilful	vengeful
gamblers	slow				extravagant
Nixon	Chaplin	Elizabeth II	Einstein	John Lennon	J.F.Kennedy
Brando	Hitler	De Gaulle	Bob Hope	Ringo Starr	Jackie Kennedy
Shakespeare	Napoleon	Ayatollah Khomeini	Confucius	AI Pacino	Howard Hughes
Mozart	Walt Disney	Beethoven	Sinatra	Abraham Lincoln	Bob Dylan
Tolsloy	Mrs. Thatcher	Marilyn Monroe		Freud	Mao Tse Tung
	Nehru			Charles Darwin	Gandhi
The Horse	The Goat	The Monkey	The Rooster	The Dog	The Pig
gifted	gentle	merry	proud	faithful	scrupulous
athletic	artistic	enthusiastic	enthusiastic	loyal	loyal
charming	peace-loving	witty	stylish	noble	sincere
quick-witted	sweet-natured	good in business	popular	modest	honest
hard-working	lovable	clever	lively	devoted	sociable
entertaining	creative	fascinating	amusing	prosperous	sensitive
powerful	inventive	passionate	generous	courageous	sensual
skilful	amorous	youthful	adventurous	respectable	truthful
cheerful	tasteful	very intelligent	industrious	selfless	peaceful
eloquent	intelligent	inventive	conservative	dutiful	intelligent
independent			courageous	intelligent
weak	insecure	vain	pompous	introverted	naive
unfeeling	pessimistic	adolescent	pedantic	cynical	epicurean
hot-headed	unpunctual	long-winded	short-sighted	critical	insecure
selfish	undisciplined	unfaithful	boastful	moralizing	gullible
ruthless	dissatisfied	untruthful	mistrustful	stubborn	defenceless
tactless	irresponsible	untrustworthy	extravagant	defensive	non-competitive
impatient					earthy
rebellious
Buzz A1drin	Mack Jagger	Yul Brynner	Katharine Hepburn	W. Churchill	Al Capone
Neil Armstrong	Joni Mitchell	many comedians	many military	Elvis Presley	Lucille Ball
Paul Simon			officers	Sophia Loreu	Ellon John
Paul McCartney				Brigitte Bardot	Humphrey Bogart
Jimi Hendrix					Alfred Hitchcock

EXERCISES

1. Look at the chart of characteristics for each sign. Work out your sign, and the signs of three people you know very well. Go through the list, putting a tick (v) by characteristics you think are right, a cross (x) against ones you think are wrong, or a zero (0) if you don't know. Be honest - especially the Monkeys - and open-minded - especially the Oxen!