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Windows on Britain 
Chapter 2: Over the Top (for students) 

2
Over the Top
U N I T  T W O - S T U D E N T  B O O K

In Unit Two you learn
Themes about fashion and families
Communication how to describe people's appearance, character and habits how to express your opinions how to agree or disagree with what people say
Vocabulary words to describe people's appearance and personality
Grammar present simple and present continuous the use of continuous forms to describe annoying habits prepositions of time
 
1. Whoever are they? 
Read the following short descriptions of four well-known people.  
Can you identify them all? 

1. Although still only in her thirties, she has been one of the world's most photographed young women for many years. She has fair hair and is always very well-dressed. She is slim, but thin, and above average height. She has two children and has apartments in London and a house in the country. 

Who is she? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  

2. He is one of Hollywood's most famous actors and has starred in several historical films. Often casually (and in some films strangely) dressed, he is physically well-built and not particularly tall. Unfortunately, one of his more recent movies was very expensive and very unsuccessful. vocabu-lary 

Who is he? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  

3. Alegend in her own time, this highly talented actress first appeared in films in 1948. Archetypal 'sex-symbol'of the era, she frequently played the role of a dumb blonde. Her most famous films include 'Some Like It Hot'and 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'. She married several times and died, some say rather mysteriously, in 1962. 

Who was she? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  

4. This actor is essentially ugly - but definitely attractive! Heavily built, coarse featured, over-weight, long-haired and never well-dressed he is, nevertheless, one of the hottest French box-of-fice properties of recent years. What makes him such a hit? Is it his nose? Who knows! 

Who is he? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  

Can you identify them all? 

Now look at these words. They all come from the descriptions above. Make sure you know what they all mean. If you are not sure, look back at the description and see if you can guess the meaning of the word from the context. 

fair hair  ·  well dressed  ·  slim 
average height  ·  in her thirties
well built  ·  striking  ·  casually dressed
dumb  ·  blonde  ·  ugly  ·  attractive
heavily built  ·  coarse featured
overweight  ·  long-haired 
BITS 'N' PIECES 
Why is the Oscar movie award called an Oscar? 

ANSWER: 
In 1931, Margaret Herrick, a director of the company that awards Oscars, said the statue looked like her Uncle Oscar - and the name stuck! 

Bits about THE BRITS 
Young British Style - out to shock 

British culture places less emphasis on appearance than some other European sultures, where to dress badly is social death. Yet at its youth-focused cutting edge, British style is radical beyond that of any other nation. British women were the first to bare their knees when Mary Quant produced the mini-skirt in the Sixties. Since then, British youth style has often been anti-fashion; punk style, for example, was never about looking pretty. As punk hit the street in the mid-Seventies, British teenagers stuck safety pins through their noses and wore black ripped bin liners. With their hair coloured bright green or orange and fixed into hard spikes with glue, the first punks shocked the adult world. Later, the Goths arrived, also shocking with their white, powdered faces, dyed black hair, black clothes and penchant for hanging around in graveyards. Bright colours came back with the Acid House movement; followers wore T-shirts with big smiley faces and danced till they dropped at huge Acid House parties - some times under the influence of drugs. Nineties New Agers adopted long hippie skirts and loose clothes, and the Grunge movement from Seattle, USA added its eclectic mix of colours and styles. British street style has had a downbeat glamour that speaks of neither elegance nor wealth, but has an energy and an identity of its own. 

BITS 'N' PIECES 
Why do brides wear veils? 

ANSWER: 
The original purpose was to conceal the brides' blushes. Veils then became part of the wedding traditions. 

2. Working with words 
When we describe people, we can talk about a variety of characteristics; their height, their age, their character, their face, their hair-lots of things! Look at the categories below and see how many words you can add to the net. We have given you a few suggestions to start the ball rolling - and remember to add the words from the previous exercise. 
 
 

  
 

Now work in pairs. Think of a famous person or actor - someone who is still alive or who died quite recently - and write a short description. 
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  

Read it aloud to the class and see if other students can guess who it is. 
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  


That can't be true
How to agree or disagree with what people say 

3. Why can't we wear our jeans? 
Before you read - discuss these questions in groups.  
1. What do you usually wear to school?  
2. Would you like to have a school uniform?  
3. If you had to wear school uniform, what colour would you like it to be? 

Julie and Gill, like many British students, have to wear school uniform. Read the dialogue and find out how each of them feels about it, and what their mother thinks. 

Mother: Here's your school blazer, Julie. 
Julie: Yuk! It looks as disgusting as ever. I wish we could wear decent clothes to school. 
Gill: So do I! I just can't wait to leave school. 
Julie: Neither can I. And I'm going to burn my uniform as soon as I leave. Gill: So am I! I don't understand why we have to wear them. We've got plenty of other clothes. Why can't we wear our jeans? 
Julie: Yes! Nobody in the rest of Europe has to wear school uniform nowadays. It's such a waste of money. 
Mother: I'm not so sure about that. Your home clothes are expensive too, you know. Anyway, you'd look really scruffy in jeans and T-shirts. 
Gill: No we wouldn't. We'd look much nicer. Nothing could be worse than school uniform. 
Julie: It's such a depressing colour. Who wants to wear just brown? Brown shoes, brown socks, brown skirt, brown everything. No boys ever look at us while we're in uniform. 
Mother: That can't be true. You're always meeting boys. Anyway, lots of boys have to wear uniform too. 
Gill: I suppose that's true. But it's different for boys. 
Julie: Exactly! 
Mother: Well, I don't see why. 
Julie: It would be OK if we could at least wear a bit of make-up. It's not fair. We don't stand a chance with the boys. Girls at the college can wear what they like. 
Mother: Well, I'm afraid I agree with the no make-up rule. Make-up is a waste of money at your age, and it's really bad for your skin. You two are just fashion victims. 
Gill: That's rubbish, Mum! Anyway, if make-up's so bad for you, how come you wear it when you go to work? 
Mother: That's different. 
Julie: It's just not fair! 

Useful words and phrases
blazer: .......................... 
scruffy:.......................... 
depressing:.................... 
fashion victims: ............ 
How come...? (coll.): .. 
......................................
Now read the text again, and underline all the phrases you can find for agreeing or disagreeing with what someone has said. Then complete the key phrases. 
Key phrases
Agreeing Disagreeing
So . . . . . . . . .  I'm . . . . . . . . 
Neither . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . 
So . . . . . . . . . . . . can't be . . . . 
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . rubbish!
. . . . . . . . . .
I . . . . . . . . .
 
4. Exactly! 
Look at the following statements, then work with a partner. Do you agree or disagree with these sentences?  
Write down what you think - and remember to use the key phrases! 

1. Soft drugs should be legalised. 
............................................... 

2. Violence on TVand videos produces violence on the streets. 
............................................... 

3. Women who go out to work destroy the family. 
............................................... 

4. Cigarette advertising should be banned. 
............................................... 

5. Sixteen is too young to vote. 
............................................... 

6. It's better to live together than to get married. 
............................................... 

Add two more controversial statement of your own. Find out if other members of the class agree or disagree with you.  

7.  
............................................... 

8.  
............................................... 

BITS 'N' PIECES 
Why do Scottish names often start with 'Mac'? 

ANSWER: 
Mac means 'son of', so Macdonald means 'son of Donald'.