Build
Reading
Where do you belong below?
he's a giant (ofa man) she's an Amazon extremely tall tallish
above average height
medium build
he's / she's got a good figure he's / she's well-built
stocky |
petite |
plump |
thin |
corpulent |
skinny* |
built like a barrel* |
like a pipe cleaner* |
he's as square / big round as he's tall |
there's nothing of her |
obese* |
like a lamp-post* |
overweight |
puny-looking* |
squat |
slight and slender |
muscular |
slim |
below average height on the short side short
tiny
a midget
knee-high to a grasshopper / an ant
Practice
Discuss or write the answers to these questions.
1Which of the above adjectives and phrases would suit a student in your class or a member ofyour family?
2Do you think your build sometimes determines your character? If so, how?
3 |
What sort of build should gymnasts, footballers and weight-lifters have? |
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4 |
Which word in each pair of words would you prefer people to use about you? Why? |
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|
1 |
skinny / slim |
5 |
plump / stocky |
|
2 |
wellbuilt / corpulent |
6 |
short / below average height |
|
3 |
overweight / obese |
7 |
a midget / knee-high to an ant |
4all skin and bones / there's more fat on a chip
•Add any other expressions about your or other people's build as you meet them.
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From the neck up
Reading
Think about hair first. Notice the different descriptions of hair in the two life stories below. Then read the advertisements.
|
Him |
at birth: |
thick (jet) black hair |
aged 3: |
curly brown hair |
at 13: |
a crew cut |
at 16: |
- an early skinhead |
long sideboards, spikey |
|
at 19: |
shoulder-length hair |
at 23: |
wavy, swept back, with |
|
a side parting |
at 28: |
neat style with a fringe |
at 35: |
a few grey hairs |
at 40: |
his hair's receding |
at 45: |
distinguished, but he's |
|
balding |
at 50: |
he's trying a toupee |
at 55: |
completelybald |
Her
a few mousy strands
hair in bunches fastened with slides, grips and ribbons hair in plaits, otherwise completelystraight
in a bun
back-combed, with a ponytail
January: she's a blonde March: she's a brunette
May: she's a redhead (she's got auburn hair)
July: she's ash-blonde October: she's dyed it pink frizzy, slightly streaked
combed forward, a few highlights she's greying
her hair's thinning, so she's experimenting with a wig her hair's going white fast the wig's matted, unmanageable, so
she has a blue rinse
CLOVER |
AHEAD OF TIME |
|
|
SHAMPOO |
Unisex Hair Salon |
|
|
for dry, normal and greasy hair |
Trim |
£6.50 |
|
gets rid of split ends |
Cut and Blow Dry |
£16.00 |
|
flyaway hair will be a thing of the past |
Perm(anent Waving) |
£87.50 |
|
fights dandruff |
Razor cutting |
£2.50 |
extra |
gives your hair body |
Highlights from |
£85.00 |
|
5 good reasons to start using CLOVER! |
|
|
|
Practice
Now look at facial features. On the left are some adjectives often used to describe a particular part of the face or head. Cover the right-hand column and see if you can tell which part in each case.
1 high, lined |
forehead |
|
2 |
rosy, hollow |
cheeks |
3 |
double, pointed |
chin |
4 |
false, long |
eyelashes |
5 |
bushy, pencil-thin |
eyebrows |
6 |
snub, hook (or Roman) |
nose |
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From the neck up
7 |
cauliflower, pierced |
ears |
8 |
piercing, hazel |
eyes |
9 |
square, upper |
jaw |
10 thick, cherry |
lips |
|
11 wide, mean |
mouth |
|
And here you can see most ofthese features in these two pictures.
Demonstrate the actions listed below and explain when you would use them.
1 smack your lips
2raise your eyebrows
3prick up your ears
4mouth something
5flutter your eyelashes
6purse your lips
7blow your nose
8puff out your cheeks
9turn your nose up
Keep the right-hand column covered. On the left are some definitions of facial features. Write or say what they are.Then find the appropriate word on the right.
1 |
openings in the nose |
the tongue |
2 |
the soft lower parts of the ears |
eyelids |
3 |
flat parts on the side of the face above the cheek-bones |
a moustache |
4 |
hair that grows on the chin and jaw |
the complexion |
5 |
the bony case that protects the brain |
nostrils |
6 the tissue our teeth are in |
thebrow |
|
7 |
the passage from the mouth towards the stomach |
a beard |
8 |
the semi-poetic name for the forehead |
gums |
9 |
the colour and state of the skin on the face |
lobes |
10 hair that grows above the upper lip |
temples |
|
11 |
the movable skin which opens and closes the eyes |
thethroat |
12 the organ used for tasting, swallowing and speech |
the skull |
|
Study the words and the picture. Then cover the words and test your memory while looking at the picture.
1 lines, wrinkles
2a wart
3bags under the eyes
4a beauty spot
5freckles
6a mole (a birthmark)
7a(cold) sore
8a stye
9spots, pimples
10dimples
11aboil
12a scar
27
From the neck up
When do you get problems with your head, neck and face? Match the accidents 1-13 below with their causes in the right-hand column.
You can still have all sorts of problems even when you are enjoying yourself.
1 a stiff neck |
from swimming underwater a lot |
|
2 |
a sore throat |
from diving headfirst into an empty pool |
3 |
bloodshot eyes |
from eating too many sweets |
4 |
eyestrain |
after that early morning swim |
5 |
a headache or migraine |
from watching the Wimbledon doubles final |
6 |
toothache, sore gums or |
|
7 an ulcer in the mouth |
after refusing to leave the night-club |
|
8 |
a runny nose or |
from trying to read in the dark |
9 |
a blocked-up nose |
|
10 a black eye, swollen lips and |
from staying too long in the disco |
|
11 a nosebleed |
||
12 feeling giddy or dizzy |
from shouting too much at the football match |
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13 concussion |
from dancing too many Viennese waltzes |
|
I had a pretty bad week myself last week. (These columns are in the right order.)
On Monday, I singed my eyebrows |
while trying to light the gas-cooker. |
On Tuesday, I grazed my chin and scratched |
|
my cheek
On Wednesday, I banged my head
On Thursday, I chipped one of my front teeth On Friday, I knocked the other front tooth out On Sunday, I scalded my face
split my lip open came out in a rash and had earache
on a revolving door,
when I walked into a door, when I fell on the ice. when I fell on the ice again, with my shaving water,
eating one ofmy wife's rock-cakes, because of something I'd eaten for some reason or other.
Find and cut out photos of people from newspapers and magazines. Label the facial features which stand out.
Describe the face that comes to mind when you imagine a typical:
1 headmaster / headmistress
2boxer
3second-hand car salesman
4air-force officer
5English king
6Chinese girl
7pop drummer.
Write a short police 'Wanted' notice regarding one of the 'criminals' in your class or family. Draw an accompanying picture if you can.
Add any other expressions about these parts of the body as you meet them.
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