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

Disapproval

Surprise

Disagreement (2)

Expressing your view

 

1)

- Who is your favourite actor?

- Robert Pattinson.

- Oh, what do you see in him? He’s so thin and frail.

- I wouldn’t say that. In my opinion, he’s quite well-built.

- You are joking!

2)

- Have you heard of Rene Zelveger?

- That plump girl with chubby cheeks?

- Yes, but she’s lost weight and she’s slim now.

- Fancy that!

3)

- Have you seen Chris Hemsworth’s latest film?

- What Chris Hemsworth?

- That tall, athletic-looking guy starring as Thor. He’s so gorgeous!

- Nothing to write home about.

 

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

 

VI. Make up short conversations of your own. Follow the given models (1), (2), and (3). Make use of the phrases in bold type.

 

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

 

- Who shall we choose for the role of the superman?

- Daniel Radcliff, I think.

- Who? That skinny boy from Harry Potter series? You can’t be serious.

- I don’t agree. Although he is thin, he looks quite strong and fit.

- But he’s so short!

- You don’t really mean it, do you? He isn’t short, but a trifle below average height.

- But he doesn’t look athletic at all!

- And so what? He’s so charming!

 

VIII. Think of a new dialogue in which the speakers express their personal opinion, surprise, doubt, agreement, disagreement etc. about someone’s height and build. Get ready to act it out.

APPEARANCE

 

beautiful

handsome

pretty

lovely

good-looking

attractive

plain

ugly

funny(-looking)

weird(-looking)

noble(-looking)

VOCABULARY NOTES

beautiful adj extremely attractive to look at; Syn. pretty, handsome, good-looking, attractive, lovely. Beautiful is a much stronger word to describe a person’s appearance than pretty, lovely, handsome, good-looking or attractive. Beautiful, pretty and lovely can be used of women, children, and things, but not usually of men, e.g. a beautiful woman/ house; a pretty child/ picture; a lovely girl/ view etc. Handsome is usually used of men, but a handsome woman is good-looking in a strong healthy way. Good-looking can be used of men and women, but not usually of things. Attractive can be used of men, women, and things, e.g. an attractive young man/ an attractive pattern.

plain adj not beautiful or attractive, often used because you want to avoid saying this directly, e.g. Mrs Cookson was a rather plain woman.

ugly adj extremely unattractive and unpleasant to look at, e.g. a very ugly man/ the ugliest building in town; ugly is the most negative word to describe somebody; plain is more polite.

 

EXERCISES

I. Translate and transcribe the words:

Beautiful, handsome, pretty, lovely, good-looking, attractive, plain, ugly, funny-looking,

weird-looking, noble-looking.

 

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

Хорошенькая, красивая, милая, привлекательный, красивый, приятной наружности, некрасивый, безобразный, благородной / странной наружности.

 

III. Replace the underlined word in each sentence with a word which is either more suitable or more polite.

1. He told me he met a handsome girl in the disco last night. 2. She’s beautiful but her younger sister is really quite ugly. 3. I think Peter is getting a bit fat, don’t you? 4. Most people want to stay slim, but not as skinny as that girl over there. 5. I think she hopes she’ll meet a few beautiful men at the tennis club.

 

HAIR COLOUR

black

brown

red

fair

auburn

blond(e)

grey (gray)

white

dark

mousy (mousey)

dyed

highlighted

a blonde

a brunette

a redhead

 

 

VOCABULARY NOTES

Your hair can be fair (blond or light brown) or dark (dark brown or black) in colour. E.g. She had long fair hair. He was a slim, dark-haired boy. If your hair is mousy (= mousey), it is a dull light brown colour (the word mousy shows disapproval) E.g. Her mousy hair was loose and untidy.

When a person gets old their original hair colour changes to grey (=gray) before it becomes white. E.g. She had dark hair that was just beginning to turn grey. My grandfather went white at the age of thirty.

If your hair is highlighted, you have changed some of its parts in colour. If all your hair is changed in colour, it is dyed. E.g. She’s got dyed blonde hair.

Note that you can say ‘She’s a redhead ” but you can’t say “She’s a blackhead” or a “blondehead” etc. Instead, you should say “She’s a brunette ” or a “ blonde ”.

EXERCISES

I. Transcribe and translate the words:

Hair colour, black, brown, fair, auburn, blonde, white, mousy, dyed, highlighted, brunette, redhead.

 

II. Arrange these hair colours from the fairest to the darkest:

black, blonde, dark brown, auburn, light brown, mousy, red

 

III. Give English equivalents of the following Russian words:

светлые, белокурые, русые, темные, рыжие, золотисто-каштановые, седые, крашеные, мелированные (волосы)

IV. Decide whether these statements are true or false:

1. If your hair is white, it is dyed. 2. Light brown hair is fair. 3. If your hair is grey, it is mousy. 4. Auburn hair is lighter in colour than black hair. 5. Blond hair is white. 6. Mousy hair looks attractive. 7. Redheads don’t have a natural hair colour. 8. Light brown hair looks the same as red hair. 9. Old people usually have grey or white hair. 10. Dyed hair can’t be brown in colour.

 

 

HAIRSTYLE

long

short

(of) medium length

shoulder-length

straight

wavy

curly

thin

thick

sleek

spiky

neat

tidy/untidy

loose

swept / tied back

a fringe

a parting

a plait

a ponytail

a bun

dreadlocks

shaved

bald / balding

thinning

receding

to put/wear your hair in a bun/

in a ponytail/loose/in plaits etc

 

VOCABULARY NOTES

 

shoulder-length adj shoulder- length hair reaches down to your shoulders, e.g. She had shoulder-length brown hair.

thick adj if someone’s hair is thick, they have a lot of hair, e.g. She ran her fingers through her thick brown hair. Ant. thin, e.g. Your hair is getting very thin.

thin v [I] if someone’s hair is thinning, they have less hair than they used to, e.g. a tall man with thinning hair

sleek adj straight, shiny and healthy-looking, e.g. a young man with sleek dark hair

spiky adj hair that is spiky is stiff and stands up on top of your head, e.g. short black spiky hair

neat adj carefully arranged and looking nice; Syn. tidy; Ant. untidy, e.g. His hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail.

loose adj hanging freely rather than being tied back, e.g. Her hair fell loose around her shoulders.

fringe n [C] short hair that hangs down over your forehead, e.g. a tall girl with straight brown hair and a fringe / The girl wore her hair in a fringe.

parting n [C] BrE the line on your head made by dividing your hair with a comb, e.g. a centre parting / a side parting

bun n [C] a hairstyle in which a woman’s hair is tied in a tight round ball at the back of or on top of her head

dreadlocks n [pl] a way of arranging your hair in which it hangs in thick pieces that look like rope

shave v [I, T] your hair is shaved if it is cut off very close to the skin

balding adj (used of a man) beginning to lose the hair on the top of their head, e.g. a balding man in his mid-thirties

bald adj (used of a man or his head) someone who is bald or whose head is bald has little or no hair on the top of their head, e.g. a bald man / You are going bald. He has a large bald patch.

recede v [I] (used of a man or his hair) if your hair recedes, you gradually lose the hair at the front of your head, e.g. He was in his mid-forties, with a receding hairline. He’s receding a bit. His hair is receding at the temples.

EXERCISES

 

I. Transcribe and translate the words:

Hairstyle, medium length, shoulder-length, straight, wavy, curly, sleek, spiky, neat, tidy, untidy, loose, fringe, plait, ponytail, bun, dreadlocks, bald, receding,

II. Match the descriptions to the pictures:

short hair

curly hair

long hair

bald

wavy hair

shoulder-length hair

 

III. Match the hair styles to the pictures:

 

A ponytail a fringe a centre parting a side parting tied back dreadlocks spiky shaved

 

IV. Give English equivalents of the following Russian words:

лысый, лысеющий, с залысинами на висках, с хвостом, с пучком, с косами, с челкой, с пробором, волосы до плеч, распущенные (волосы), зачесанные назад, прямые, волнистые, кудрявые, лоснящиеся, густые, редкие, редеющие, чистые, грязные.

 

V. Decide whether these sentences are true or false:

1. If your hair is sleek, it looks good. 2. Spiky hair doesn’t look neat. 3. Young girls like to put their hair in a bun. 4. Elderly ladies prefer to wear their hair in dreadlocks. 5. Nowadays women are not allowed to wear their hair loose in public places. 6. If your hair is receding, you are losing the hair on the top of your head. 7. Men don’t usually wear their hair tied back.

8. A person’s hair thins with age.