Introductory reading and talk
Appearances are deceptive. It is a common truth; practically everyone has met at least someone whose character and appearance differ radically.
When one sees a tall, broad-shouldered youth, one expects him to be strong-willed and brave. One thinks: 'A model to follow!' How often a good-looking individual turns out to be petty, weak-willed or even cowardly. Then one thinks: 'A mediocrity!'
At the same time everyone knows that a lot of great people were of a poor build: short and fragile. It did not stop them from displaying intelligence and courage. Ingenuity does not depend on one's complexion or constitution.
Plump or fat people create an impression of generous and kind personalities. Strangely enough, not rarely they may be thrifty or even greedy. One usually thinks: 'A scrooge!'
On the other hand, thin or slim nervous ladies often tend to be lavish. They like to buy and never think twice when they pay. One thinks: 'I would call her open-handed and Mother would call her a spendthrift'. Yes, mothers are always stricter in judgments.
Has it ever happened to you that you come to an important office and see an important boss? You immediately evaluate his looks: 'Round-faced, small narrow eyes, dimples on the cheeks and an upturned nose. What a kind-hearted person! A simpleton!' You tell the boss of your troubles and expect immediate help. But the boss appears to be rude, harsh and willful. You never get your help and think: 'A stone heart and an iron fist'.
When someone sees a delicately built pretty blonde with curly hair, blue eyes, a straight nose and a high forehead, one is inclined to think that the beauty is intelligent and nice. It may be disappointing to think later 'What a stupid, capricious, impolite bore!'
On the contrary, when one sees a skinny brunette with ugly irregular features — a hooked nose, pointed chin, close-set eyes and thin lips, strange thoughts come to one's head; because it is the image of evil people — cruel and cunning. It may be a relief some time later to find her a clever, gentle and good-mannered lady and think: 'What charm! A heart of gold!'
Another general misconception lies in the fact that children are always expected to resemble their parents. And parents like it when children take after them. Relatives like to compare moles, the shape of noses, etc. The greatest compliment is: "They are as like as two peas'. The greatest disappointment is to find nothing in common. We want to deny people their exclusiveness, we don't want to admit that nature has selected other options from an enormous genetic fund developed over generations. Why do we like our copies? Who knows!
Nature likes to play tricks on us. But don't you think it is a present on the part of nature? Life becomes not a boring routine, but a brilliant kaleidoscope of characters and appearances which often clash.
1. Do you agree that appearances are deceptive? Tell your classmates about your own experience.
2. Do you think it is worth judging by appearances? Give your reasons.
3. Look at the pictures below and choose the right word from the lists to describe the shape of one's face, eyes, nose, chin, lips and a forehead.
Face:
a) oval b) round c) long d) square
Eyes:
a) almond b) slanting c) round d) narrow
Nose:
a) aquiline b) hooked c) straight d) upturned
Chin:
a) protruding b) split c) double d) pointed
Lips:
a) thin b) plump c) thick d) heart-shaped
Forehead:
a) wrinkled b) narrow c) balding d) high
4. Find people among your relatives who resemble one another. Describe their appearance.
5. Say a few words about your character. Do you take after your parents?
Exercise 1. a) Repeat the successions of words after the teacher / partner.
b) Translate them by ear.
c) Find the odd word in each line. Why are they odd?
1) protruding - split - double – tall – pointed;
2) aquiline - overweight - hooked - straight - upturned ;
3) almond - slanting - round - hooked - narrow ;
4) oval – split - round - long – square.
Exercise 2. “Snowball”. Work in a group. Every student names one item of person’s character and appearance, the others repeat the previous and add one more item. Continue working until the students can remember the succession of words.
Exercise 3. Read the following word-combinations as quickly as possible. Translate them, switching from Russian into English and vice versa.
delicately built – не хотим признать - resemble – создавать впечатление – enormous genetic fund – неправильные черты – 'a stone heart and an iron fist' – сравнивать родинки - harsh and willful.
Exercise 4. a) Repeat the description of person’s appearance with additional information after the teacher / partner.
Moles 5, brunette 45, height 167, overweight 120, slim 56, wrinkled 73.
b) Translate the text by ear.
How important is it for you to be attractive? Although everyone wants to be good-looking, do you think beautiful people are always happy?
I don’t think so. For example, it must be a problem to be a very beautiful woman, because some men may be more interested in looking at this woman than talking to her. They think of her like a picture rather than a person. Some people think that very pretty women and handsome men are stupid, as a rule. These people are thought to be only interested in their appearance.
Some people believe that only unattractive people can be clever. But surely no one wants to be really ugly; and no one wants to be plain either — that is to have rather simple face that can be easily forgotten. Being attractive can help you find happiness, but it does not always make you happy. So maybe the best thing is not to worry about your appearance. It is more important to try to be an interesting personality because interesting people are always attractive.
Exercise 6. Sum up the following text in 5 sentences.
How Good Looks Can Guarantee Lifetime of Opportunity
Beauty is far more than skin deep, according to a leading scientist.
Good looks can smooth the way to a better education and well-paid job as well as getting the best out of others.
Attractive men and women reap benefits from their appearances all through their lives, says psychologist Dr. Nancy Etcoff.
Bonny babies get preferential treatment over plain ones while teachers assume their most attractive pupils are the smartest. In later life, police officers, judges and juries are more lenient towards pretty women and handsome men.
Dr. Etcoff, who works at Harvard Medical School in the U.S., in her book "Survival of the Fittest: The Science of Beauty" argues that beautiful people are "sprinkled with Stardust right from the beginning".
Her studies showed both women and men tended to be more helpful towards a pretty woman asking for help than a plainer one. In one experiment, researchers left a coin in full view in a telephone kiosk and waited for passersby to make a call.
The callers were then approached by one of two actresses and asked if they had found a coin left behind. The better looking woman got her coin back 87 per cent of the time. But the plainer actress was less successful, scoring a 64 per cent return rate.
The two women later stood at the roadside by a car with a flat tyre. The prettier one was far more likely to be helped first, the study found.
Dr. Etcoff shows mothers are more likely to talk and play with beautiful babies, while teachers expect good looking pupils to be "smarter and more sociable".
Dr. Etcoff said that while good looks can make life easier, they do not guarantee happiness.
"Beautiful people are perhaps a little bit happier," she said. "But not as much as we might imagine."
Although ideals vary between generations and nationalities, Dr. Etcoff believes the appreciation of human beauty is "gene deep", rather than the result of cultural and social pressures. Even three-month-old babies stare the longest at attractive people when shown pictures, she said.
It suggests that we all come into the world with these beauty detectors.
"The fascination with beauty seems to run very deep. Forty thousand years ago, people had red ochre crayons and they were painting their faces. Today we have breast implants, hair plugs and 24-hour mascara, but it's the same thing."
Her book also claims that beauty ideals are not imposed on women by men. They are part of an evolutionary process in which humans do whatever they can to advertise their fertility and health to potential mates.
We use appearance to judge how suitable a potential partner is, she said. Big eyes in women are linked to high levels of the female hormone estrogen, while a red flush on the face indicates fertility.
Research has shown that people with symmetrical appearances are regarded as more attractive than those with irregular features.
Symmetry has also been linked to health and may be a sign of a long-living partner.
One in three women under forty has considered cosmetic surgery. Women from the South of England are more likely to submit to the surgeon’s knife than those from elsewhere in the country. Women in their twenties and early thirties are most likely to opt for breast enlargement.
The survey of more than 1,200 women between 15 and 40 was carried out for the Lanark Centre, a London cosmetic surgery clinic.
More than 50,000 patients had cosmetic surgery in Britain in 1997. Ahmed Jawad, the center’s chief surgeon, said surgery had long been more popular in the U.S. but added: "Now everyone wants to realize their full potential in terms of their features and physique, so demand is rising."
Exercise 7. a) Listen to a person speaking about people’s appearances. Translate the texts.
b) Produce the main idea.
c) Reproduce the sentences as a whole adding as many details as you can.
As you know people from different countries do not look the same. For example, people from countries such as Denmark, Norway and Sweden are usually tall. They have fair hair, blue eyes and a pale complexion.
Most people in Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Spain and Greece are rather short. They have usually got black or dark brown wavy hair, brown eyes and light brown skin.
Most people from central and southern parts of Africa have got black curly hair and very dark skin. They have also got dark brown eyes, full lips and a wide, flattish nose.
People from Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Libya have usually got dark hair and dark brown eyes. They have also got dark skin.
The northern Chinese are quite short, with thick black hair and dark, slanting eyes. They have got a small nose and a yellowish complexion.
Those who live in hot countries wear light clothes like shorts, T-shirts and sandals. People from northern countries such as Canada, Russia and Finland wear too much clothes in winter – coats, hats, scarves, winter boots and other warm things.
In my opinion character does not depend on appearance. So, a very beautiful girl can be angry, nervous person who hates everybody and everything. But an ugly plump person can be really nice and friendly. He can be a good friend, who can always help you. So, I advise everybody not to judge people by their appearance.
Exercise 8. “Snowball”. a) Repeat each line after the teacher.
b) Translate every sentence.
1. People who can't hear often learn to understand a spoken language with their eyes.
2. People who can't hear often learn to understand a spoken language with their eyes. They watch the mouth of the person talking and follow the movement of his lips.
3. People who can't hear often learn to understand a spoken language with their eyes. They watch the mouth of the person talking and follow the movement of his lips. This is called lip-reading.
4. People who can't hear often learn to understand a spoken language with their eyes. They watch the mouth of the person talking and follow the movement of his lips. This is called lip-reading. Some people think the distance between your hair and your eyebrow is a sign of how intelligent you are.
5. People who can't hear often learn to understand a spoken language with their eyes. They watch the mouth of the person talking and follow the movement of his lips. This is called lip-reading. Some people think the distance between your hair and your eyebrow is a sign of how intelligent you are. The bigger your forehead is, the more intelligent you are supposed to be.
6. People who can't hear often learn to understand a spoken language with their eyes. They watch the mouth of the person talking and follow the movement of his lips. This is called lip-reading. Some people think the distance between your hair and your eyebrow is a sign of how intelligent you are. The bigger your forehead is, the more intelligent you are supposed to be. Nowadays, a person who doesn't like his or her nose can have it changed with plastic surgery.
7. People who can't hear often learn to understand a spoken language with their eyes. They watch the mouth of the person talking and follow the movement of his lips. This is called lip-reading. Some people think the distance between your hair and your eyebrow is a sign of how intelligent you are. The bigger your forehead is, the more intelligent you are supposed to be. Nowadays, a person who doesn't like his or her nose can have it changed with plastic surgery. Plastic surgeons can change your face in many other ways too.
8. People who can't hear often learn to understand a spoken language with their eyes. They watch the mouth of the person talking and follow the movement of his lips. This is called lip-reading. Some people think the distance between your hair and your eyebrow is a sign of how intelligent you are. The bigger your forehead is, the more intelligent you are supposed to be. Nowadays, a person who doesn't like his or her nose can have it changed with plastic surgery. Plastic surgeons can change your face in many other ways too. They can make your cheeks a little rounder.
9. People who can't hear often learn to understand a spoken language with their eyes. They watch the mouth of the person talking and follow the movement of his lips. This is called lip-reading. Some people think the distance between your hair and your eyebrow is a sign of how intelligent you are. The bigger your forehead is, the more intelligent you are supposed to be. Nowadays, a person who doesn't like his or her nose can have it changed with plastic surgery. Plastic surgeons can change your face in many other ways too. They can make your cheeks a little rounder. If you don't like your chin, a plastic surgeon can break your jaw and re-make the whole lower half of your face.
10. People who can't hear often learn to understand a spoken language with their eyes. They watch the mouth of the person talking and follow the movement of his lips. This is called lip-reading. Some people think the distance between your hair and your eyebrow is a sign of how intelligent you are. The bigger your forehead is, the more intelligent you are supposed to be. Nowadays, a person who doesn't like his or her nose can have it changed with plastic surgery. Plastic surgeons can change your face in many other ways too. They can make your cheeks a little rounder. If you don't like your chin, a plastic surgeon can break your jaw and re-make the whole lower half of your face. If you think your skin looks too old and wrinkled, he can take: the wrinkles away and make you look twenty years younger.