It is interesting to know

 Reading

A. You are going to read about the famous British shop and choose the best title.

1. The popularity of Marks & Spencer.

2. Where to buy a decent suit.

3. A British success story.

4. The selection of goods at Marks & Spencer.

MARKS & SPENCER

Marks & Spencer, the British food and clothes company, is the most famous British shop in the world. At the moment, there are 283 M&S shops in Britain, and other shops in France, Belgium, Holland, Spain, and Portugal. Currently, they are building a large new store in Paris on the rue de Rivoli. In North America, the company owns Brooks Brothers and there are about fifty stores in Canada. More and more people, from Hong Kong to Lisbon, are buying their clothes and food from M&S.

The company employs about 50,000 people worldwide. Sales have increased by 80% over the last ten years, mainly due to expansion overseas. Many of the shops abroad are franchises. Owners of franchises buy all their stock from Marks & Spencer and pay the company a percentage of their turnover.

The clothes vary from country to country. In Thailand, for example, M&S sell more short-sleeved shirts because of the climate. In Japan, they sell smaller sizes because of the average size of the population. In Austria, they stock 20 very large clothes. Food departments sell typically British food: tea, cake, biscuits, etc., and the shops in Paris are very popular at lunchtime for the sale of sandwiches.

Why is Marks & Spencer so successful? The standards of quality are very high. All suppliers have regular inspections. All customers can return any item which they think is unsatisfactory. Stocks are limited. Shelf lives are short. This means that items only stay in the shop for six to seven weeks. Eighty per cent of the suppliers are British: in fact, M&S buys twenty per cent of the total cloth produced in Britain. Prices are high, but so is the quality. In Britain, one man in five buys his suits at M&S, and one woman in three buys her underwear there.

What about the future? At the moment, the company is studying plans for the development in Eastern Europe, Japan, and even China. Next century, it is possible that one Chinese in five will wear Marks & Spencer suits. That's a lot of suits!

2. Decide whether the statements below are true or false, then tell the class about Marks & Spencer.

1. Many people worldwide buy their goods from M&S.

2. Sales have increased due to the great selection of goods.

3. Many of the shops abroad are franchises.

4. M&S sells the same kind of clothes in different countries.

5. M&S is very successful, because of the high standards of quality.

6. Items stay in the shop for a long time.

Listening

1. Listen and underline the correct item in bold.

1. Harrods is a shop in Kensington/Knightsbridge.

2. The Chairman of Harrods is Charles Henry Harrod/Mohamed Al Fayed.

3. In the beginning Harrods was a small bakery/grocer’s shop.

4. Harrods has survived 3 wars/a fire and two bombings.

5. Harrods employs over 4,000/6,000 staff.

6. The Toy Departments/the Food Halls are the heart and soul of Harrods.

7. The sales are in March and July/January and July.

2. Answer the following questions.

1. What is written on the store’s doormat?

2. When did the store move abroad and open a branch?

3. How many departments are there in the store?

4. How many customers visit the store on the first day of sales?

5. What is the store’s motto?

3. Listen one more time and take notes under the following headings, then tell the class about Harrods.

• Location & Management

• History of the Store

• Departments and Services

• The Sales

• Recommendation

 Speaking

Tell the class about a big department store in your country.

Listening

Read the proper names that you’ll hear in the dialogue.

Sablon District, Dewindt, Lebeaustraat, Inno Brussels, rue Neuve, Leonidas, Boterstraat, F. Rubbrecht, Grand-Place.

Listen and answer the questions.

1. Which city are the speakers in?

2. What shops can you find there?

3. What can you buy at these shops?

4. What are the opening hours?

5. When do the sales take place?

6. How does Lisa recommend the place to Alice?

 Writing

When we write an article about the shopping facilities in a big city, we can divide it into four paragraphs.

In the first paragragh, we state the name of the city and the types of shops we can find there.

In the second paragragh, we state the name of the best shops, where they are and what we can buy there.

In the third paragragh, we state the opening hours and the sales times.

In the last paragragh, we recommend the place to shoppers.

We normally use the present simple in such articles. We give the article an interesting title to attract the reader's attention.

• You have been asked to write an article for a travel magazine about the shopping facilities in Kyiv (100-150 words). Use the plan below.

Before you start writing match the statements with the proper paragragh in the plan.

Intoduction Para 1: Main Body Para 2: Para 3: Conclusion Para 4:

opening hours and sales time(s) name of a city, types of shops in general recommendation names of best shops, where they are, what you can buy there

Exercise 9

Translate into English.

Не кожне місто може пишатися такою розгалуженою мережею різних магазинів, що задовольняють потреби його жителів. В них можна придбати все – від товарів широкого вжитку до вишуканих найсучасніших вечірніх туалетів. Щоб придбати вигідну покупку за прийняту ціну, вам перш за все слід визначитися що саме ви хочете й скільки ви готові заплатити. Якщо ви бажаєте придбати декілька речей, то краще піти до універмагу. Це зручно, оскільки його відділи спеціалізуються на певному товарі. У відділі готового одягу ви можете придбати пальта, плащі, шуби, жіночі та чоловічі костюми, сорочки, брюки, блузи, сукні та ін. У відділі трикотажних виробів вам запропонують светри, вовняні джемпери, шарфи, кашне, в’язані шапки, рукавиці тощо. Якщо вам потрібні шкарпетки чи панчохи то вам будуть раді у відділі панчішно-шкарпеткових виробів. Відділ взуття пропонує широкий вибір зимових чобіт на хутряній підкладці та товстій підошві, парусинового взуття, босоніжок, шкіряних туфлів на високих і низьких підборах. Не можна не завітати до галантереї, де завжди в продажу є хустки, краватки, пояси, підтяжки, ґудзики, запонки, дамські сумочки, шкіряні гаманці та безліч інших речей, що доповнюють ваш туалет. Жоден універмаг не обходиться без відділу ювелірних виробів, де можна придбати золоті та срібні ланцюжки, браслети, сережки, обручки, брошки з діамантами, бірюзою, перлинами, бурштином та іншим коштовним камінням. Якщо гроші для вас не проблема і вас цікавить певна стильна річ, то її варто було б пошукати у невеличких магазинах, що спеціалізуються на дорогому ультрамодному вбранні.

 Speaking

Using the notes below and the useful expressoins compare and contrast the two types of

shops.

Corner shop	Department store
pros: convenient, close to your house, open long hours, Sunday opening, friendly atmosphere, etc	pros: cheap, wide choice of goods, competitive prices, centrally located, better service, more staff, pay by cheque or credit card, etc
cons: expensive, limited range of goods, limited choice of brands, etc	cons: impersonal, crowded, noisy, access to them sometimes difficult because of road congestion

Useful expressions: whereas, also, in addition, on the one hand, however, as well, etc

eg. Department stores can provide their customers with a great variety of products, whereas corner shops have a very limited range of goods.

 Speaking

Discuss the following questions in groups. Be ready to either report back to the class orally or to hand in your responses.

1. If you could have your own store what kind would it be? Why?

2. What is one thing that you would really like to buy right now and why? What kind of

store sells this item?

3. What stores have you shopped at?

4. What store did you like best and what store did you like least? Why?

5. What was the last thing you bought for yourself? Where and why did you buy it?

6. Where do you usually buy clothes?

7. What’s the most expensive piece of clothing you have ever bought?

 Reading

1. Have you ever bought something that you didn’t need and didn’t use? What was it? Why did you buy it? What do you think a ‘shopaholic’ is? Do you know that compulsive spending addicts are treated as seriously as alcoholics or drug abusers?

2. You are going to read an article about shopping. Choose the most suitable heading from the list (A-I) for each part (1-7) of the article. There is one extra heading which you do not need to use.

A Short-lived enjoyment. B Shopping – a problem for most of us. C The dangers of credit. D Not the same for everyone. E Shop your way to happiness? F It’s not so obvious. G The only answer. H The basic problem. I Blaming the banks.