Colours

There are an enormous number of words and expressions describing colours in English. A lot are mentioned in this unit. Try to remember and begin to use those of particular use to you.

Game

[1]You and your partner have been invited to attend a dinner in aid of charity. It is not an occasion for a suit and an evening dress, but you can't go in jeans and a T-shirt. Below, for each garment you are going to wear, you are given a choice offour colours. Choose an outfit for both ofyou which you think will look attractive.

You and your partner are going to decorate two ofthe rooms in a flat. From the alternatives below, choose a colour scheme for each room.

Practice

Colours love to be used idiomatically. Cover the column on the right and complete each sentence with the appropriate colour.

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Each of the concepts on the left can be expressed with a word or phrase that includes the colour given. Cover the right-hand column and see if you think of each idiom.

Write or discuss the answers to these questions.

1Which of the following do you prefer? Why? a sunrise or sunset?

b April or October?

с black and white photos or colour ones?

dpastel colours in rooms or strong, bright colours?

epaintings by six-, elevenor sixteen-year-olds?

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Colours

[4]What is your favourite colour - and be as precise as you can - for each of the items below?

[5]Write, in dialogue form, a conversation in a shop.A customer is trying to get the assistant to mix exactly the shade of paint that he or she wants to decorate the sitting room walls.

• Add here any other words or expressions about colours as you meet them.

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The condition things are in

Reading

Most of the things around us are not in perfect condition. They're in some way defective, flawed or damaged. Here is an undiscovered masterpiece by singer-songwriter Dod Billion to help you with the vocabulary on this subject:

Without-you-it's-just-impossibleBlues

Music and lyrics byDod Billion

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The condition things are in

The windscreen is shattered

And the bodywork is dented.

The seats are in tatters

And the steering-wheel's bent.

My favourite white shirt

Is marked and stained.

You can't see it for dirt

And the dirt's ingrained.

My socks have got holes in them,

And most of them are torn.

My shoes have got no soles on them,

The heels are badly worn.

My trousers are creased

And myjacket is faded.

It's covered in grease;

And I feel sojaded.

Practice

[1]Apart from the things that Dod sings about in the song, what other things could be described with the following adjectives? Try and think of four items for each.

leaking a pen, a bottle, a tap, a roof

[2]Many ofthe words in this unit do not only describe physical states and conditions. Decide what they mean in each of the sentences below. Then write a similar sentence ofyour own to illustrate the meaning of each word.

1This defeat has dented United's hopes of the championship.

2You've shattered all my illusions about him.

3There seem to be leaks of official information nearly every day.

4Hopes of finding any survivors have faded.

5Her reputation has been tarnished for ever.

6He's got a rather warped and twisted sense ofhumour.

7My German's a bit rusty, I must confess.

8I got a bit stuck on number 3 in this exercise.

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The condition things are in

[3] Write or talk about topics 1 and 2.

1 the state of three possessions of yours which are not in perfect condition

2 the untidiest person you know

[4]Write or act out a conversation in which you, as a guest at a hotel, complain to the manager about the appalling state of your room.

[5]Write a letter to your landlord. Complain that everything in the flat you rent from him is still in the same poor condition as it was the last time you asked for some improvements to be made.

•Add here any other words or expressions about conditions of things as you meet them.

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Parts and

components

This unit has two functions. It is both a quick revision of numerous items already mentioned in this book and an introduction to some more bits and pieces that go to make up a number of everyday objects.

Quiz

1 Below you see groups of four words. In each case, the words are all parts of an everyday object. Decide what each object is.

2 Guess what is being described in each of the paragraphs below.

1 It is composed of two thin metal arms welded at one end to a short rod. The rod allows the two metal strips to move together and away from each other. One arm is some twelve centimetres in length and ends in a pin with a sharp point. The other is shorter and is joined at the end to a thick metal ring which has a hole through it and a thread around the inside. A small disc or wheel can be screwed over it.

2Well, for one thing, there should be a plastic cover clipped on to the base here, and more important, this spring, the coil here, is broken. So when you press this plate here, the two bars go down into the holes, but they don't come back up again.

3Right, I've got all the poles, the pegs are in that bag plus the extra brackets and the clips for the flaps, you've got the ropes there, haven't you? I think we're about ready to go.

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Farts and components

Practice

Decribe three everyday objects so accurately that somebody listening to you or reading your paragraphs could guess what you are talking about. Use item 1 in the exercise above to get some ideas.

List all the things you can think of that are missing or need repairing around your house. Work out how much it would cost you to replace or repair them all.

Write a list of contents to put in a do-it-yourself plumber's kit.

Write instructions on how to put together a self-assembly piece of furniture.

Write, in dialogue form, a conversation between an angry customer who is taking back a three-month-old dress or suit. It is in a terrible state. The assistant has to try and make excuses for the state of the hem, the seams, the lining, the cuffs, the button-holes and so on.

Ifyou come across any more words about parts of everyday objects, make a note of them here:

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