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 . . . . . . . . . |
|
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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'. |
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