In this unit we are going to learn how to give a physical description of a person.

Part I

Vocabulary

Study the words and word-combinations you can’t do without:

AGE

young

middle-aged

old

elderly

in his/her teens/ 20’s/30’s/forties//fifties etc

in his/her early/mid-/late teens/twenties/thirties/40’s/50’s etc

under/over/about/nearly 20/ thirty/forty etc

in his /her prime

past his/her prime

in the prime of youth/life

to be of age/to come of age/to be under age

to be the same age (as)

to look one’s age

to look more/less (older/younger) than one’s age

 

VOCABULARY NOTES

middle-aged adj between the ages of forty and sixty, e.g. He is only 24, but he behaves as if he is already middle-aged.

elderly adj (of a person) old; elderly is a polite way of saying old. e.g. My father is rather elderly now and can’t walk very fast.

in his /her teens between the ages of 13 and 19, e.g. She is in her teens. Mary is in her early teens.(=about 13-14 years old) I am in my mid-teens. (=about 15 years old) He is in his late teens. (=about 16-19 years old)

in his/her/their twenties aged from 20 to 29, e.g. She has three sons, all in their twenties.

under 20/30/50etc younger than stated, e.g. Children of nine or under must be accompanied by an adult. He is just under 40.

over 20/30/50 etc older than stated, e.g. children of seven and over (=older)/ He is over 90.

in your prime at the time in your life when you are strongest and most active, e.g. She is 40 now and still in her prime. She is still good-looking, but she is past her prime.

to be/ come of age to reach the particular age, usually 18 or 21, at which one becomes responsible in law for one’s own actions, e.g. Has your son come of age yet? (= Is he of age yet?)

to be under age to be too young to legally drink, drive a car, vote etc,e.g. You can’t drive a car yet - you’re still under age.

 

EXERCISES

I. Give English equivalents of the following Russian words and word-combinations:

Старый; пожилой; молодой; среднего возраста; немногим за двадцать; нет еще тридцати; около пятидесяти; несовершеннолетний; в расцвете жизненных сил; на закате лет; выглядеть на свой возраст; выглядеть моложе/ старше своего возраста; быть одного возраста; достичь совершеннолетия.

 

II. Match the expressions on the left with those on the right:

1. He’s 14. a) He is in his late teens.

2.He’s 28. b) He’s in his early forties.

3.He’s 35. c) He’s fairly elderly.

4. He’s 48. d) He’s in his mid-thirties.

5. He’s 42. e) He’s in his early teens.

6- He’s 85. f) He’s middle-aged.

7. He’s 19. g) He’s in his late twenties.

 

III. Point out the sentences in exercise II of which the following statements can be true:

1. He has just come of age. 2. He’s still under age. 3. He’s in the prime of youth. 4. He’s in the prime of life. 5. He’s already past his prime.

 

IV. Use these words to complete the expressions with ‘age’ below:

same less (younger) look as

under more (older) of (2 times) than

 

1. Our son is the _____ age _____ the boy next door. They’re in the same class.2. Is their daughter _____ age yet? - No, she is still ____ age. She’ll come ____ age next year. 3. She doesn’t ____ her age. 4. Every woman wants to look ____ than her age. 5. Hardships make people look ____ than their age. 6. You’re not really 50, are you? I don’t believe it. You look less _____ your age.

 

V. Read the short conversations and match the phrases in bold type with the meanings below.

Disagreement 2.Surprise 3.Doubt

a)

- How old is Johnny Depp?

- What Johnny Depp?

- Johnny Depp, an actor.

- Well, I’m not sure … He might be about 40.

b)

- Do you know that Madonna is in her fifties?

- Is she really? I can’t believe it!

- Yes, she is 55 this year.

 

c)

- Lady Gaga is in her forties, I suppose.

- Actually, she is under thirty.

 

VI. Practise the dialogues in Exercise V for good reading and learn them by heart.

 

VII. Make up short conversations of your own. Follow the given models (a), (b) and (c). Make use of the phrases in bold type.

VIII. Read the conversation and pay attention to the meanings it expresses (e.g. agreement, disagreement, doubt, surprise etc.)

- Have you heard of Meryl Streep?

- What Meryl Streep?

- Meryl Streep, an American actress.

- Of course, I have.

- Do you know how old she is?

- Well, I’m not sure … She might be in her forties.

- Actually, she is over 60.

- Is she really? I can’t believe it.

- Yes, she is 64.

- Anyway, she looks much younger, doesn’t she?

- No doubt, she does.

 

IX. Think of a new dialogue in which the speakers express their surprise, agreement, disagreement etc. about someone’s age. Get ready to act it out.

 

BUILD

 

fat

stout

plump

overweight

well-built

stocky

thin

slim

skinny

lanky

of small/medium/powerful/athletic build

broad-shouldered

 

VOCABULARY NOTES

build n [C; U] shape and size, especially of the human body, e.g. a powerful build/ My brother and I are of the same build. We can also use the word figure, when we consider the human shape from the point of view of being attractive, e.g. She has a good figure.

 

fat adj weighing too much because you have too much flesh on your body. It is a very direct word. You might use it about yourself but it will usually cause offence if you use it about somebody else, e.g. I’m so fat at the moment. Syn. stout, plump, overweight. Saying that somebody is stout, plump, or overweight is more polite than saying they are fat. e.g. He is slightly overweight. She is 10 kilos overweight. He was a plump red-faced man. My teacher was a stout old lady. Plump is often used to talk about women and children meaning fat and rounded in a pleasant way, e.g. a plump baby/ The nurse was a cheerful plump woman.

well-built adj having a big strong body. It is a fairly polite way to describe somebody with a large, strong or fat body, e.g. John was a powerful, well-built man.

stocky adj thic k, short and strong, e.g. He was short and stocky.

thin adj having little fat on the body. It is a general word and is usually, but not always, disapproving, e.g. thin arms/legs/lips etc She looked thin after her illness. Teenage girls all seem to want to be thin. Syn. slim, skinny, lanky. Slim means thin in an attractive way, e.g. her lovely slim figure/ a slim young woman/ a slim waist/ I wish I were as slim as you. Skinny is a fairly informal word meaning very thin, which is usually disapproving, e.g. Some supermodels are far too skinny. Lanky means tall and thin and moving awkwardly, e.g. a lanky young man

 

EXERCISES

I. Match the pairs of sentences with the pictures:

1. He isn't very tall.

He's short and stocky.

 

2. She's tall and slim.

She's got a lovely figure.

 

 

3. He's quite a big guy.

He's quite well-built.

 

4. She's a bit overweight.

She's quite plump, isn't she?

 

5. He's very fat.

He's absolutely
enormous.

 

6. He's very thin.

He's so skinny.

 

II. Transcribe and translate the words:

Build, stout, medium, athletic, broad-shouldered, fat, overweight, lanky.

 

III. Give English equivalents of the following Russian words:

статный, пухленький, толстый, полный, худой, стройный, долговязый, тощий, широкоплечий, коренастый

IV. Decide whether these statements are true or false:

1. Lanky means ungracefully tall and thin. 2. Slim people are short and plump. 3. Skinny means unattractively thin. 4. Someone who is stout is rather fat and heavy. 5. Well-built means small and well-proportioned. 6. An overweight person weighs more than is expected or usual. 7. If a person has a big strong body, he is fat. 8. Plump people look fat and unattractive. 9. Someone who is stocky is tall and strong.

V. Choose the right word:

1. Skinny / slim is more positive and attractive than thin. 2. If somebody is skinny / slim they are too thin. 3. Saying that somebody is fat / overweight is neutral and polite. 4. Plump / well-built people are strong and muscular. 5. Tom looks really pale and thin / slim. I’m worried he might be ill. 6. He’s two kilos stout / overweight. 7. Ann is slim / lanky and graceful.

HEIGHT

 

1.7 m/4 ft 7 inches tall/ in height

of medium/ average height

below/ above average height

tall/ tallish

short/ shortish

VOCABULARY NOTES

height /hait/ n [C; U] the quality or degree of being tall or high; high /hai/ adj; e.g. His height makes him easy to see in the crowd. What’s the height of the Empire State Building? High is used to describe something that is a long way above the ground (or whose top is a long way above the ground), e.g. The rooms on the ground floor have very high ceilings. The top shelf was too high for me to reach. The high wall made it impossible for prisoners to escape. Ant. low, e.g. a low ceiling/shelf/wall etc Tall( not high) is used to describe people, animals, trees, plants and things which are narrow and above average height, e.g. Most of the tall trees have been cut down. I’d like to marry someone tall with a sense of humour. He is almost 6 feet tall. Ant. short, small, e.g. a short (small) woman

Note that in Russia we use the metric system and express a person’s height in centimetres and metres,e.g. He’s over 1 metre80 centimetres in height. (1 metre 80) British people measure height in feet and inches, e.g. He’s 4 feet7 inches tall. (4 ft 7)

1 foot is equal to 30,5 centimetres/ 1 inch is equal to 25,4 millimetres

EXERCISES

I. Transcribe and translate the words: height, average, below, above.

II. Express the height of these people in metres and centimetres:

1. He’s 5 ft 7 tall. 2. He’s 6 ft 3 tall. 3 He is 4 ft 7 tall.

III. Answer the questions:

1. What is your height? (in centimetres/ in feet) 2. How tall is your friend? Is he shorter or taller than you? How many centimetres/ inches shorter or taller is he? 3. Do you know many people who are below or above average height? 4. Who is the shortest/tallest person you know? How tall are they exactly? 5. How do you feel about your height? Would you like to be shorter or taller? Why? 6. Do you think it is good to be below/above average height? Give reasons.