Exercise 11
Speak about Sayako's shopping tour:
1. in the third person;
2. in the person of the manageress;
3. in the person of Sayako;
4. in the person of her bodyguard.
Exercise 12
Discussion points.
1. What kind of life do you think Sayako has?
2. What do Sayako's shopping items tell you about her?
3. Do you agree with Sayako's thoughts about English people?
4. How can purchases reveal a personality?
5. Do you believe that shop assistants remain indifferent when customers make purchases or not? Prove your point.
Exercise 13
Replace the gaps with one of the following verbs: to fit, to suit, to match, to become, to go with/together.
1. I'm sure you'll be able to find a suitable dress that... . You are a standard size.
2. 'I don't think this dress... me. I'd prefer something lighter.' 'Oh, no. I love you in that dress.'
3. The jacket ... her like a glove. It looked as if it had been made for her.
4. In the lounge everything ... the curtains: the sofa, the carpet and the cushions.
5. Do you think this sweater and this skirt ... ? No, not really, the colours don't quite ....
6. This dress doesn't ... her. It's tight in the waist.
7. For every outfit, Diana has a handbag and shoes ... .
8. Helen was trying on her pearls to see if they ... her yellow dress.
9. She looked curiously young in her scarlet jeans and white sweater, although the clothes didn't... the occasion.
10. It's funny but the yellow walls and the black floor actually ... quite well.
11. She has exquisite taste for clothing. Everything she wears ... without fail.
Exercise 14
Below find a Christmas shopping list. Imagine that you give it to your teenage daughter and ask her to buy presents. Give her instructions where to buy things. You may even draw a shopping route for your daughter.
Things to Bye:
Exercise 15
I. Name at least three items which you can buy in different kinds of shops or departments when you look for birthday presents.
women'swear | men'swear | children'swear | shoedepartment | haberdashery | stationer's | antiqueshop | artshop | bookshop | hi-fistore |
II. Have a look at the list of shops in task 3 to the Introductory Reading and Talk and exclude names of shops where
1) you usually do not buy birthday presents,
2) you do not buy second-hand goods.
Exercise 16
Discuss your shopping habits:
What do you look for when you shop? Why? What factors are important for you when you go shopping? List the factors below in order of importance.
friendly service low prices
the quality of goods the design of the shop interior
the size of the shop brand name goods on sale
shops that aren't crowded nearby entertainment/cafe
Exercise 17
Pair work. Pick out 5 items your groupmate has or is wearing that you admire. Make up dialogues in which you should compliment your groupmate. You can use the following phases to start with:
That's a beautiful/pretty/nice/fantastic/great/sumptuous/... dress/coat, etc.
Those are really nice/pretty/good-looking/ ...
I really like your ...
You can continue with the following:
Where did you get it/them?
I like the colour/style/material/ ...
You look good in ... (colour).
... is good on you.
... suits you.
... matches/goes well with ...
Exercise 18
In the sentences below only 3 variants are correct and the rest are wrong. Choose the correct words.
1. The ... was crowded with shoppers on the Saturday before Christmas.
A. shopping centre. B. shopping precinct. C. mall. D. kiosk. E. stall.
2. In department stores, customers are usually welcome to examine and try on ... .
A. goods. B. objects. C. articles D. merchandise. E. materials.
3. The meal was really ..., we got at least six courses — all for under £10.
A. a bargain. B. valuable. C. worthy. D. a good value. E. a value for money.
4. How much is your T-shirt? I got four for only £30. They were ... .
A. on sale. B. on offer. C. on display. D. going cheap. E. dear.
5. I can't imagine how she affords to send her kids to that school — it must....
A. cost the earth. B. be priceless. C. be costly. D. be expensive. E. be a money spinner.
6. Unless Jaguar can ... , they will soon be unable to compete on the American market.
A. cut the prices. B. give a discount. C. reduce prices. D. increase prices. E. raise prices.
7. We don't get many ... on Mondays — Saturday is our busiest day.
A. clients. B. merchants. C. vendors. D. shoppers. E. customers.
8. We ... a large selection of European wines.
A. stock. B. sell. C. retail. D. have on sale. E. wholesale.
9. It was difficult to choose from such ... of dishes on the menu.
A. a range. B. a selection. C. a choice. D. a mixture. E. a category.
10. Sales staff are trained to be ...
A. helpful. B. courteous. C. humble. D. knowledgeable. E. obtrusive.
Exercise 19
Complete the following dialogues using the sentences given below.
I. At the millinery department.
Customer: I'd like to buy the hat in the window.
Assistant: There are several hats in the window. ...
Customer: Can you show me the one over there? The leather one.
Assistant: Ah! The leather one. Now, this is another leather hat, madam. It's better than the one in
the window. ...
Customer: I'd rather have the one in the window. ...
Assistant: Certainly, madam. ...
Customer: I'm not sure.
Assistant: ... It is sixteen and a half.
Customer: Thank you very much. Assistant: ...
1. What size do you take?
2. Would you like me to measure your head?
3. It's smoother leather.
4. It goes with my clothes.
5. Thank you for the purchase.
6. What sort of hat do you require? Felt, leather, the one with feathers or with a brim?
II. At the shoe department.
Customer: Excuse me. ...
Assistant: Certainly, madam. What can I show you?
Customer: I'd like to buy a pair of fancy dress shoes.
Assistant: ... Leather, suede, glace or I can offer you glitter stiletto shoes.
Customer: I like them. Can I try them on?
Assistant: Certainly. ...
Customer: They're a bit tight. I have rather a broad foot and a high instep. ...
Assistant: I'm afraid not in that style. ...
Customer: Then, probably, leather shoes are better ...
Assistant: Yes, they'll stretch.
Customer: Very well then. Thank you for your help.
Assistant: You're welcome.
1. They will give a little after wearing.
2. Have you got them in a wider fitting?
3. Can you wait on me?
4. How do they fit, madam?
5. Would you like to see another similar style?
6. What kind of shoes do you want, madam?
III. At the women's clothes department.
Assistant: Can I help you?
Customer: No thank you. ...
Assistant: We have suits on sale. ...
Customer: Which suit do you think is better?
Assistant: ... It's warm and comfortable.
Customer: I'm afraid it's loose on me. ... Have you got a smaller size?
Assistant: I'm awfully sorry. ... The suits proved to be so popular that we sold out of them last week but we might have some more next week.
Customer: Well, thank you.
Assistant: ...
Customer: Maybe I'll come back later.
Assistant: You're welcome. Come again!
1. It's two sizes too large.
2. I'm just looking around.
3. May I hope that we can be of service to you again in the future, sir?
4. We've run out of the size.
5. You won't find a better bargain in town.
6. I think a wool single-breasted suit is a good bet for the season.
Exercise 20
Dramatize the situation "At a Shop".
A.
You want to buy some clothes but you can't decide what to buy. Ask the assistant for help, try on the clothes. Explain why you don't want them.
B.
You are the shop assistant. You serve the customer and suggest what to buy. Discuss prices, sizes and colours. Try to persuade the customer to buy something and make a sale.
► Use:
For student A:For student B:
Can you wait on me?Can I help you?
Can I get... here?Are you being served?
I'm looking for...What size ... do you take?
What colours have you got it in?This one is on sale.
Have you got it in red?It's only ...
Would you measure me, please?You won't find a better
Have you got this in size ...?bargain in town.
It doesn't fit.I'm afraid we are out
It's too tight/loose.of them at the moment.
Could I have the nextWe are expecting more in,
size up/down?maybe next week.
Can I try it on?Any particular colour?
I don't like it.Would you like to try it on?
Can I see something else?Does it fit?
No, thanks. I'll leave it.Would you like to try
I'll take/have it. a bigger/smaller size?
Thank you for your help.This one comes in grey,
brown and blue.
Exercise 21
Give a talk on the subject "How to Shop Sensibly". Include the following points:
which shop to check out;
what to wear;
what bag to take.
Make use of the following words and phrases:
to be a devoted shopper to afford
to be a spendthrift/a big spender to be extravagant
to spend/waste money on to cost the earth
Give your advice. Use the following structures:
I advise youto ...
(I think) you'd better/should ...
Why don't you ...
It might be a good idea to ...
Have you thought of ...ing
I wouldn't advise you to ...
You'd better not...
Exercise 22
I. Have you ever had problems like these? What did you do?
Your blouse has shrunk. The heel's come off.
The zip doesn't work.The strap has broken from
the side.
The sole's come unstuck. The stitching's come undone.
The colours ran.Your dress has come apart at
the seams.
Your pullover has stretched. Your boots pinch.
Your socks are different
colours.
II. In pairs take turns to imagine yourself in the following situations. Make use of the phrases below.
For complaining:
I'm sorry but ...
I'm afraid ...
I'm sorry to have to complain but...
For apologizing and offering to put things right:
I'm very/awfully sorry ... I do apologize. I'll... All right, I'll see what I can do. Sony about that, I'll...
For accepting or refusing offers:
Thank you very much. That's very kind of you. I suppose that'll be all right. Thank you. That's just not good enough ... No, that's quite unacceptable. I'll never ...
Exercise 23
Translate into English.
A.
По дороге в супермаркет Бренда заметила яркую вывеску в витрине бутика: «Сезонные скидки». Бренда решила посмотреть, нет ли чего-нибудь подходящего. Она не была завсегдатаем распродаж, хотя и знала, что на вешалках с табличкой «Скидка 50%» можно найти только маленькие размеры. Разглядывая вещи, она случайно натолкнулась на блузку 14 размера. Она примерила её и та оказалась ей как раз впору. Бренда подумала, что эта блузка подойдёт к её любимой чёрной юбке. К тому же блузка была почти даром. Бренда заглянула в свой кошелёк и решила, что может позволить себе купить её. Больше не раздумывая, Бренда подала деньги продавцу.
В.
Не успела Бренда выйти из магазина с новой отличной покупкой, как у неё отлетел каблук. А она купила туфли в этом месяце. Бренда направилась в обувной магазин, твердо решив обменять их. Продавец был готов обменять туфли, но в продаже не было обуви этой модели. Бренда провела полчаса в магазине, примеряя каждую пару своего размера. Но никакие туфли ей не подходили: одни были слишком широки, другие жали, у третьих был слишком высокий каблук. Единственные туфли, которые ей понравились, были слишком дорогие. Продавец посоветовал ей зайти на следующей неделе, когда они получат новый товар.
Exercise 24
Write down the names of three major items you have bought recently. For each one, say whether you paid a lot, a little, or an average price, how long it took you to find the item. Then say what kind of shop you bought it in, and give reasons why.
Exercise 25
Discussion points.
1. Shopping is an important human activity.
2. It is worth spending a lot of time to get something cheap.
3. You should never buy things that harm the environment, however cheap or useful they may be.
4. Advertising provides useful information.
5. People often buy things they don't want because they are bargains.
6. Young people do not always buy wisely.
Exercise 26
I. Match the meanings on the left with the idiomatic expressions containing the word "shop" on the right.
1. to talk about work A. to be all over the shop
2. stealing from shops B. (on) the shop floor
3. workers; the place where C. to talk shop
ordinary workers do their
job
4. in disorder, scattered D. to go window-shopping
around different parts
of a place
5. looking at the goods in 5. shop-lifting
the windows of shops, but
not buying them
II. Explain the meaning of the italicized expressions with the word "money". Give their Russian equivalents.
1. She's always going out to parties and fancy restaurants. She must have money to burn.
2. Alison was careful with her money but her sister threw her money about. She went to restaurants and took taxis though she couldn't really afford it.
3. He spends money like there's no tomorrow. His parents left him an immense fortune.
4. You seem to be in the money these days. You're treating your friends to the most expensive dishes and drinks.
5. When he was a child, his pocket money was one pound.
Exercise 27
Translate the following quotations and comment upon them.
'To found a great empire for the sole purpose of raising up a people of customers, may at first sight appear a project fit only for a nation of shopkeepers. It is, however, a project altogether unfit for a nation of shopkeepers; but extremely fit for a nation that is governed by shopkeepers.'
Adam Smith.
'Do not buy what you want, but what you need; what you do not need is dear at a farthing.'
Cato the Elder.
'The customer is always right.'
H. Gordon Selfridge
'Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it.'
Stephen Butler Leacock
Exercise 28
Role play: "Survey of People's Shopping Habits"
Setting: Lecture room in the University of Trade Management.
Situation: A group of psychologists are invited to a students' class with a talk. They ask questions about shopping habits to demonstrate the fact that people fall under different customer categories. Then they analyse answers and decide which description fits every student best. Finally they report their results to the class.
I. You are a Fun Shopper.