A Famous Model

Claudia Schiffer is a very successful Ger­man supermodel. She has appeared on the covers and fashion pages of all the major fashion magazines and is one of the faces of Chanel.

Claudia, now in her mid-twenties, is a very beautiful woman. She has а ... figure and is ... with very long legs. Her most stun­ning feature, though, is her attractive ... face with her ... eyes and ... nose. At the mo­ment she has ... blond hair but its style and colour are often changed to suit each mod­elling assignment.

Not only is Claudia a professional mod­el, but she is also a very... businesswoman. She has her own fitness video and is a part­ner in the new chain of 'Fashion Cafes'. She is also very ..., spending a lot of her time working with various charity organisations helping children in need. Claudia is ... too, and likes being with famous people. When Claudia is not modelling or doing charity work, she likes read­ing and watching old films. She also enjoys going to parties, but she rarely stays out late.

Although Claudia's popularity as a model rises and falls with the sea­son (as it does for all supermodels), Claudia is so beautiful, talented and most of all... that she will" be famous for a long time to come.

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A. Read the list of adjectives and identify which are used to describe physical appearance and which describe character. Then, read the text andfdl in the blanks.

intelligent heart-shaped tall generous sociable successful sparkling straight slim shoulder-length

B. Describe a person whose beauty you admire.

?4.n interesting IfXelghbowz

I first met my friend Max Westlake two years ago when he knocked on my door. 'Hello,' he said warmly. 'My name is Max, and I've just moved in next door, so I'm your new neighbour.'

He's a handsome, well-dressed young man in his early twenties. Max is quite tall and slim, with hazel eyes and carefully-styled light brown hair. He likes wearing expensive clothes such as leather jackets and silk scarves.

He has a great sense of humour, and I love to listen to his amusing stories. What's more, he is a very kind-hearted person who is always ready to help a friend in need. On the other hand, though, he can seem arrogant and conceited sometimes because he likes to be the centre of attention.

He enjoys dangerous sports such as mountaineering and hang glid­ing. He's a great dancer, too, and he often goes to clubs and discos.

All in all, life is never dull when Max is around. Who wouldn't be happy to have him for a friend and neighbour?

A. Questions.

1. Who is Max? 2. What does he look like? 3. What does he usually wear? 4. What kind of person is he? 5. What sports does he enjoy?

B. Practice.

1. Fill in the correct word from the list, then use the expressions to talk about Max.

amusing centre early dangerous hazel humour kind-hearted leather

1- ... twenties 2. ...eyes 3. a ... jacket 4. a sense of ... 5. the ... of attention 6. ... sports

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2. Fill in the blanks with good, kind or well, then make sentences as in the example.

1. ...-looking 2. ... built 3. ...-hearted 4. ...-mannered 5. ...-dressed 6. ...-natured 7.... behaved 8. ...-humoured 9. ...-educated

John is a good-looking man in his early thirties.

3. Study the examples, then fill in the gaps using and, who, with or as well as.

3> Paul has got big blue eyes. He's got dark, curly hair.

Paul has got big blue eyes and dark, curly hair.

Paul has got big blue eyes as well as dark, curly hair. >=- Paul is a plump boy. He has dark curly hair.

Paul is a plump boy who has got dark, curly hair.

Paul is a plump boy with dark, curly hair.

Nancy is a pretty girl in her teens ... is tall ... slim, ... fair hair, bright blue eyes ... a small straight nose.

Tom,... is in his mid-thirties, is a tall, well-built man ... almond-shaped eyes,... an upturned nose ... a moustache.

4. Rewrite this short description, using the linking words/phrases above. Jerry is forty years old. He is of average height. He is muscular. He has got big blue eyes. He has got short blond hair. He has got a beard. He likes wearing casual clothes.

My Favourite Fictional Character

Who hasn't heard of Robinson Crusoe? The main character of Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe is a young sailor who is shipwrecked on a desert island, where he spends the next twenty-eight years.

Robinson Crusoe's appearance after years on the island shows how difficult his life is. His face is rough and sunburnt from years in the hot sun, while his fair hair and beard are dirty. His ragged clothes are made from animal skins.

Crusoe's personal qualities help him overcome the difficulties he faces. Firstly, he is imaginative. He finds clever ways to make the things he needs. For example, he uses coconut shells for pots and builds a house from wood and stone. Crusoe is also very determined and brave,

and never gives up the struggle to survive. He shows his bravery when he saves a prisoner, Man Friday, from being killed by savage natives.

In conclusion, these qualities make Robinson Crusoe my favourite fic­tional character. You should definitely read the book, because you will meet one of the most unusual and most popular characters in English literature.

A. Questions.

1. Who is Robinson Crusoe? 2. What does he look like? 3. What kind of man is he? What examples does the writer give? 4. How does the writer feel about Robinson Crusoe?

B. Practice.

1. Fill in the blanks with the correct word from the list, then make sen­- tences using the completed phrases.

personal hot main coconut desert classic

1. the ... character 4. the ... sun

2. a...novel 5. a...island

3. ... qualities 6. ... shells

2. Fill in the blanks with words from the list.

confident going headed minded hearted tempered thinking willed

1. bad— 5. easy—

2. absent — 6. level —

3. self— 7.quick—

4. strong— 8. cold—

3. Fill in the gaps in the sentences with completed adjectives from the list above.

1. Obelix is quite ..., and he gets very angry when people call him fat.

2. Professor Brainard is terribly .... For example, he forgets to go to his own wedding — three times!

3. Jane Eyre is a very ... young woman who is determined to many the man she loves.

4. Hercules Poirrot is a ... person who believes himself to be a brilliant detective.

5. Indiana Jones is vety ..., so he acts sensibly and doesn't panic in difficult situations.

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6. Cruella De Vil is so ... that she plans to kill adorable Dalmatian pup­pies just to make a fur coat!

7. Crocodile Dundee is very..., so he doesn't easily get annoyed or upset.

8. James Bond is a ... secret agent who makes brilliant plans in a matter of seconds to save himself from danger.

4. Fill in the blanks with adjectives from the list.

jealous punctual honest protective intelligent naughty

1. Oliver Twist is a(n) ... little boy who hates stealing and doesn't like telling lies.

2. Sherlock Holmes is extremely ... . As a result, he is able to solve the mystery of even the most puzzling crime.

3. Snow White's stepmother is ... of her because Snow White is young­er and more beautiful than she is.

4. Mulder is quite ... of his partner Scully and takes care of her on dangerous missions.

5. Huckleberry Finn is very .... For instance, he never does what he is told and is always getting into trouble.

6. Phileas Fogg likes to be ... . For example, he eats his breakfast at the same time every morning and he is never late for an appointment.

C. Describe your favourite fictional character or a character from a film or a TV series. Do it as in the text below.

Mr Bean is one of my favourite characters. He is an ordinary-looking man in his early forties, of medium height and quite slim. He has brown eyes and short brown hair, and he usually wears a brown suit. He hasn't got many friends, but he doesn't seem to mind. He likes to drive his small car and he loves his teddy bear. Most people who meet him think he is strange, but I believe he's just shy.

Personality

Here is a newspaper article: 'Sports personality of the year'.

I would like to name Gary Lineker as Sports Personality of the Year. I think he is not only a good footballer, he is also a very nice person and very different from other football stars. First of all, in spite of being intelligent, talented and good-looking, he is actually veiy modest. He never boasts about what he's done or pretends to be somebody he isn't. Even though he obviously earns a lot of money and lives in a nice house in London, he doesn't throw his money around like others do.

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Secondly, he is much more open-minded than other football stars. Many footballers work and live abroad but not many try to become part of the culture of the country. When Lineker lived in Barcelona, he made Spanish friends, lived a Spanish way of life and made a point of learning to speak Spanish.

Another thing that makes him different from other footballers is his sense of fair play on the field. Since he started his career, he has never been reported in the newspapers for bad behaviour and he has never been sent off for fouling or swearing.

Finally, you get the impression that Lineker is a human being with human emotions like anybody else. When his baby developed a life-threatening illness, he and his wife went through a very difficult time. He showed that he is not only capable of strong emotion, he is also prepared to show it in public.

For all these reasons, I think he deserves the title of 'Sports Person­ality of the Year'.

A. Questions.

1. What aspects of Gary Lineker's personality are mentioned?

2. What details, if any, do you learn about:

• his football career?

• his family?

• his lifestyle?

B. Write in 250 words about the person who you think deserves the title of 'Personality of the Year'. They can be from the world of politics, entertainment, sport, the arts or business — or they may be somebody completely unknown.

Who are these people describing?

1. She's absolutely adorable. I think she's very pretty^ she makes me laugh a lot, um... she tells terrible jokes but I like the way she tells them. She's a bit naughty sometimes and I curse her when she gets me up at six o'clock in the morning, but when I hear her singing in the morning, well, all is forgiven. She can twist me round her little finger, of course.

2. He was very boring and predictable. The kind of person who remem­bered birthdays and anniversaries, but who made you angry because there was absolutely nothing spontaneous about him. His ideas of fun

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were so unadventurous. Well, the first few years were OK, but after that I'd just had enough. Reliable, stable, dependable, and boring. 3. Well, he's quite well-dressed and punctual. Sometimes he's cheerful and tells us jokes, but other times we have to do a lot of work. We don't really know him very well. Oh, I know he's married, but I've never met him socially or anything like that. He seems very professional.

A. Write a description of a person that you know.

Do you have a’ Type A’ or ‘Type B’ personality?

Some doctors believe there are two main types of personalities: 'Type A' and 'Type B'. Type A people are ambitious, aggressive, hard-working, and competitive; they are sometimes impatient and are often in a hurry. Type В people are more relaxed and don't get bothered easily. Doctors say that because they are so hard driving, Type A personalities often suffer from stress and high blood pressure.

Pair work. Take turns asking your partner these questions. Is your part­ner a Type A or Type В personality? How about you?

Yes No

1. Are you always in a hurry to finish things?

2. Are you ambitious and always looking for new challenges?

3. Are you often impatient with other people?

4. Do you get upset when people are late for ap­pointments?

5. Do you often do two things at once, such as watch­ing TV while eating?

6. Do you get upset easily when things go wrong?

7. Do you sometimes stop listening when people are talking to you?

h) Do you expect to be the best at everything you do? i) Do you often interrupt people while they are

speaking? j) Do you think the best way to get a job done is to

do it yourself?

To score: Six or more Yes answers = Type A; six or more No answers -= type B.

A Letter

This is a letter from Dave. Dave is an American exchange student in Great Britain, who is living in Frank's home, while Frank is staying in the U.S. with Dave's family.

Dear Frank,

Hi! How are you getting along in the States? I'm having a wonderful time here in England with your family and friends. Everyone is so friendly, and hospitable. They all welcome me into their homes and treat me as one of the family.

I've been very surprised by English people. I thought they would all be very conservative and traditional. Instead I've found them very open to new ideas. I also thought English people would be rather shy. But most people seem very outgoing and self-confident, almost as much as Ameri­cans. I find the English very tolerant too. Nobody here seems to mind very much how you dress or what you say. Of course, there are some narrow-minded people too. But I don't think there are as many as there are back home in the States.

I often think of you in my home and what you must be thinking about Americans. I imagine you think we're too hard-working and too materia­listic. I never realised how much Americans talk about money, until I came to Britain. And you probably also think that Americans are very rude compared with the British. I don't think we're really so rude, it's just that we sometimes forget to use all those polite phrases like 'do you mind' and 'could Г and 'may Г.

One difference I have noticed is that the British don't seem as opti­mistic as Americans. In America we always think we can change things and make them better. But I get the feeling that the British have a rather pessimistic view of life.

I'm feeling lazy, so that's all I'm going to write now. I look forward to hearing your impressions of the US.

Yours, Dave

A. According to Dave, do these words best describe British people (B) or American people (A)?

1. rude 2. materialistic 3. hard-working

4. tolerant 5. self-confident 6. optimistic

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2 Зак. 2342

33 —

В. Think about

A. Read the letter. Then choose the best meaning for each of the words below.

1. What characteristics do people from other countries think peo­ple from your country have?

2. Do you sometimes feel shy? In what situations?

3. In what ways do you think your parents' generation is differ­ent from your generation?

4. Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future? Why?

5. Have you ever been to a foreign country? What do you think of the people in that country?

A Letter Of Reference

Howard Watson has applied for a job at International Business Equip­ment, Inc. The personnel director there has contacted Barbara Long, one of Mr Watson's colleagues, and asked for a letter of reference. Here is Mrs Long's letter.

February 19, 19

Ms Erica Garcia, Director of Personnel

IBE, Inc.

390 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10018

Dear Ms Garcia,

Regarding your request, I am pleased to write this letter of recommen­dation for Howard Watson. I have known Mr Watson for almost six years. After meeting at the University of Chicago, where we were both studying economics, we became very close friends. I have always been impressed by Mr Watson's remarkable success at school and by his sub­sequent success jn his career.

Mr Watson is sincere and reliable, and has a true facility for getting things done. Although he can be impatient with others, he is never de­liberately unkind or thoughtless.

Even though Mr Watson is a serious and dedicated worker, he is also involved in many outside activities. He enjoys swimming, gardening and cooking. Regarding your request, he entertains and travels often. He is well liked by his colleagues at work, and he has many friends.

I hope you will consider Mr Watson seriously for the position with your company when making your final decision. I feel certain that he will be an asset to your staff.

Sincerely, Barbara Long

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1. Regarding means

a. referring to

b. looking at

2. A letter of recommendation gives

a. positive facts and information.

b. negative facts and information.

3. Close friends

a. live near each other.

b. like each other very much.

4. Remarkable means

a. very noticeable

b. not very noticeable.

5. Subsequent means

a. coming before something else.

b. coming after something else.

6. Facility means

a. ability to do things easily.

b. inability to do things easily.

7. Deliberately means

a. on purpose.

b. by accident.

8. Be involved in means

a. dislike.

b. participate in.

9. Outside activities are

a. things you do in a garden or park.

b. things you do besides work.

10. An asset is

a. something that is valuable.

b. something that isn't valuable.

B. What is, according to Barbara Long, Mr Watson like!

C. Imagine that someone you know has applied for a job and has asked you to write a letter of reference. Using some of the words in the list below or in the letter above, give reasons why you think the person would or would not be good for the job.

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1. to hand something over

2. to take someone in

3. to talk someone into doing something

4. to come across as something

5. to get away with something

6. to pass someone/something off as someone/something

7. to go by something

Notice the use of the prefixes im-, in-, un-, ir-, anti-, and dis-. When you add these prefixes to a word, you add the meaning of 'not’.

* He is not very sincere. = He is very insincere.

aggressive/easy-going (un)kind (anti)social

(im)patient (un)selfish (in)sensitive

(in)dependent (in)sincere optimistic/pessimistic

serious/not serious confident/insecure (dis)honest

(un)reliable argumentative thoughtful/thoughtless (irresponsible

Focus on phrasal (multi-word) verbs.

Going by Appearances

A. Last week, Mrs Alice Woolf, aged 65, was tricked into handing over all her savings to a smooth-talking doorstep salesman who said he was selling burglar alarm systems. 'I was completely taken iji,' she said. 'I know it was foolish to let him talk me into giving him all my savings, but he seemed such a nice man. He came across as completely honest. But I won't make the same mistake again. Once bitten, twice shy'

When asked if she thought the man would be caught, she replied, 'I don't think he'll get away with it. I'm sure the police will catch him sooner or later.'

B. The police are looking for a well-dressed young man who has been pass­ ing himself off as, a doorstep salesman. Last week, he tricked an elderly lady into giving him all her money as a deposit for a burglar alarm system.

A police spokesman said, 'Unfortunately, it's quite easy for dishon­est people to make a living doing this kind of thing. I suppose we all tend to go by appearances, and very often it's not easy to see through a clean-shaven, well-spoken young man in a good suit, and with a pleas­ant manner. Appearances can be deceptive, and not everyone is a good judge of character. My advice to people is not to handover any money until they have checked people's references and made sure they belong to a reputable organization. Meanwhile we'll do our best to catch the man who took Mrs Woolf's savings.'

A. Workinpairs. One of у on read text A, and the other read text B. Find out what happened and why. Then exchange information.

• 36 —

B. Practice.

1. Match the verbs in A with the definitions in B. A

В

a. to persuade someone to do something

b. to deceive or trick someone

с to pretend that someone/something is someone/something else

d. to give something to someone so that they control or own it

e. to give the impression of having a particular characteristic

f. to judge according to something

g. to see the true nature of someone / something despite a deceptively pleasant appearance

8. to see through someone/ something

h. to escape being punished or criticized for something

2. Read the sentences. Then say the sentences again, using the multi­ word verb prompts. The first one has been done for you.

1. I was completely deceived by his charming manner, {take in) I was completely taken in by his charming manner.

2. I never base my judgments on first impressions, (go by)

3. She could see what kind of man he was immediately, (see through)

4. She pretended to be an American tourist, (pass off)

5. She gave an impression of being a very kind person, (come across as)

6. He persuaded me to lend him some money, (talk into)

7. You won't escape being punished for this! (get away with)

8. The police told him to give them the gun. (hand over)

3. Complete the sentences, using multi-word verbs from this text.

1 • My sister is a very good judge of character. She can ... people immediately if they tiy to deceive or trick her.

2. He escaped from the country by ... as a tourist.

2. I lent him some money because he seemed an honest person, but after that I never saw him again. I soon realized I ... .

3. Don't... his appearance. He may look nice but he's completely untrustworthy.

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5. When I first met him he ... as a very indecisive person who didn 't know his own mind.

6. The salesman ... me ... buying a new washing-machine, although my old one was fine.

7. The robber told him to ... the keys to the safe.

8. The robbers laughed when the bank manager said: 'You won't ... this. The police will catch you one day.'

4. Work in pairs. Take turns asking and answering the questions below. Use the multi-word verbs in brackets.

1. Do you ever base your judgement of people on first impressions?

Why?/Why not? (go by) 1. What impression do you think you give of yourself when you

meet someone for the first time? (come across as)

3. What do you think is the best way to avoid being tricked or de­ceived by people? (take someone in)

4. Has someone ever persuaded you to do something that you re­gretted later? If so, what was it? (talk someone into)

5. Imagine you could pretend to be someone else for a whole day. Who would you choose to be? Why? (pass yourself off as)

5. Translate into English:

1. Меня ввел в заблуждение его внешний вид. 2. Он показался мне очень приятным человеком. 3. Он сбежал со всеми деньгами. 4. Он выдавал себя за летчика. 5. Я никогда не сужу по внешности. 6. Пре­ступник был передан в руки полиции. 7. Я разгадал его планы/про­делки.