Packing for a holiday

Mr. Newman and Mrs. Newman are packing for a holiday at a fashionable seaside resort.

Mrs. Newman: This is really dreadful. Just look at my wardrobe!

Mr. Newman: I see it's crammed with clothes.

Mrs. Newman: Crammed? I have got absolutely nothing to put on. Now just consider we’ll be away for a fortnight, which, which means I must have at least five summer dresses, a couple of bathing suits and a two-piece for sunbathing.

Mr. Newman: What if the sun lets us down?

Mrs. Newman: Exactly. I need a suit for chilly days, a woolly or two. Maybe this cardigan would do. We'll have to change for dinner in that hotel and I haven't got a single fashionable evening dress.

Mr. Newman: Don’t be ridiculous. You’ve been storing up clothes for years.

Mrs. Newman: Yes, but most of them are out of fashion. I don't believe you even notice the difference between silk and cotton, a long or a short dress…

Mr. Newman: I do notice that!

Mrs. Newman: You don’t even notice the colour of my dress.

Mr. Newman: Then why worry if we men are so blind to your charms.

Mrs. Newman: I like to be dressed in good taste for my own sake. It boosts my morale. There's no use in discussing such problems with you. How about packing your things?

Mr. Newman: Well, all I need is a pair of jeans, a few T-shirts, sandals and bathing trunks. Of course I'll take some underwear and my shaving kit, no more.

Mrs. Newman: What about the evenings? You'll have to have a dark suit, a decent tie and shoes.

Mr. Newman: My dear! I'm going for a holiday, not a fashion parade!

Vocabulary

dreadful – ужасный, страшный, очень плохой, отвратительный

to be crammed with – быть битком набитым ч-л.

bathing suit – купальный костюм two-piece bathing suit – раздельный купальный костюм

woolly – шерстяной свитер to change for dinner – переодеваться к обеду

ridiculous – смешной to store up – запасать, откладывать

blind – слепой charms - чары

to be dressed in good taste – одеваться со вкусом

It boosts my morale. – Это помогает мне оставаться в форме.

T-shirt – футболка sandals - сандалии

bathing trunks – купальные плавки shaving kit – бритвенные принадлежности

decent – приличный

Exercise 12. Answer the questions:

1. Where are the Newmans going for their holiday? For how long? 2. Who is absolutely dissatisfied with the wardrobe? 3. What will Mrs. Newman need for warm days? for chilly days? 4. Can Mr. Newman notice the difference between silk and cotton? 5. What will Mr. Newman need? 6. Why doesn’t Mr. Newman want to take a dark suit, a decent tie and shoes?

Exercise 13. Decide whether the following statements are true or false:

1. Mr. and Mrs. Newman are going for a week’s holiday at the seaside. 2. Mrs. Newman says she has got almost nothing to put on. 3. Mr. Newman suggests that she should take just a few summer dresses. 4. Mrs. Newman doesn’t like storing up clothes and her wardrobe is half empty. 5. She hasn’t got a single evening dress. 6. They won’t have to change for dinner. 7. Mrs. Newman likes to be dressed in good taste because it boosts her moral. 8. Mr. Newman wants to take just a pair of jeans and two shirts.

Exercise 14. Enact a similar dialogue:

1. a young lady and an elderly lady are packing their luggage for a fortnight’s holiday;

2. two friends are going for a week’s holiday at the Baltic;

3. you are going on a hike, so your mother and you are making up a list of clothes you are going to take.

Exercise 15. Points to discuss:

1. What do you like to wear?

at home; at work; when going to the theatre; to a ball; your favorite color scheme, dress material, style

2. What is you attitude to clothes?

indifferent or particular about what to wear; spending a fortune on clothes; buying ready-made clothes or having theme made to measure; having excellent taste in dress; always dressed in perfect taste; slovenly in dress; cultivating a personal taste in dress or wearing conventional clothes; dressed according to the latest fashion at all costs (even it doesn’t suit you)

3. What to do with clothes you no longer need?

store them up; sell them at a jumble sale; discard them, pass them down to a younger person

4. What is the latest fashion in evening dress, men’s suits and shirts, skirts and trousers?

dress material, style and design

5. Why do most women like to be well-dressed?

to impress other women or the opposite sex; for their own sake; any other reason

6. What would you take with you if you were to go on a fortnight’s holiday in the mountains (at the seaside, in the country)?

the best way of packing one’s suitcase; make a list in advance; ask somebody to do it for you; take all the things you might need or just the bare necessities

7. What preconceived ideas exist regarding the way the following people dress: a) a typical London businessman; b) an elderly English lady; c) a Parisian?

8. What is “fashion” itself?

changes in clothes and other personal possessions (such as cars, etc.) or a kind of behavior

Read the dialogue

annie: I like wearing the kind of clothes that I know my mother doesn't wear. I like, I like to look young and I like wearing bright colors and things that stand out in a crowd like, I like leather trousers and skirts, I like bright, bright colors, in my hair as well - like slides and things but also I dye my hair quite often. I don't see why I should look like everyone else in the street. It's fun. Clothes should be fun not something really serious. I could never spend, I don't know, £100 on a skirt for example. It's just such a waste of money.

sara: I mean, I like dressing up sometimes, but most of the time I actually feel uncomfortable, especially for my job 'cause I, I teach and, you know, if I'm wearing a skirt or a blouse I go in and I feel as if I'm teaching really formally and stiffly just because of what I'm wearing, so I tend to like to wear, you know, I like wearing sort of stripey things and spotty things and, and bright bouncy things really, and I'm not really bothered about the fashion. So I just like to wear the sort of things, you know, that like I feel comfortable in.

liz: I like wearing quite smart clothes because I feel better that way. I like to feel that I'm presenting the right image because I come into work - I work in an office - and I feel that people need to have some respect for me. They're going to do that more if I'm dressed to look as if I have some control over my situation and everything else. I enjoy wearing these clothes and I therefore feel more comfortable in them, which is also an additional part of it At the present moment I, I'm wearing a suit and, and a shirt and high heels, but that is not because I have to. It's because I actually feel better that way and that the image that I'm presenting will give people more confidence.

mike: Yes, well it's because I work in a bank really. I'm expected to wear formal clothes, pinstripe suit, tie, dark shoes, usually. Other times I do wear other, other sorts of clothes but I, I quite like wearing things like that. We're a bit of an old-fashioned firm and they, they insist that we do...

Exercise 16. Answer the questions

Annie

a) Does she like changing the color of her hair?

b) Does she spend a lot of money on clothes?

Sara

a) Is it necessary for her to wear a skirt for her job?

b) Is she a business woman?

Liz

a) Does she feel comfortable in smart clothes?

b) Does she have to wear a suit to work?

Mike

a) Does he have to wear formal clothes?

b) Does he like wearing formal clothes?

Exercise 17. Write down words which describe the image each of the speakers is trying to create through his/her appearance.

Example: Annie – unconventional, fun, young...

Exercise 18. Group report