From the Neck up

 Reading

Think about hair first. Read different descriptions of hair in the two life stories below.

	Him		Her
at birth	thick (jet) black hair		a few mousy strands
aged 3	curly brown hair		hair in bunches fastened with slides, grips and ribbons
at 13	a crew cut – an early skinhead		hair in plaits, otherwise completely straight
at 16	long sideboards, spiky		in a bun
at 19	shoulder-length hair		back-combed, with a ponytail
at 23	wavy, swept-back, with a side parting		January: she’s a blonde March: she’s a brunette May: she’s a redhead (she’s got auburn hair) July: she’s an ash-blonde October: she’s dyed in pink
at 28	neat style with a fringe		frizzy, slightly streaked
at 35	a few grey hairs		combed forward, a few highlights
at 40	his hair is receding		she’s greying
at 45	he’s balding		her hair is thinning, so she’s experimenting with a wig
at 50	he’s trying a toupee		her hair is going white fast
at 55	completely bald		the wig’s matted, unmanageable so she has a blue rinse

Exercise 3

Read the following dialogue, fill in articles where needed and do exercise after it:

Jill: You know, Lisa, I love your … hair. It’s so thick and dark and curly. Are those curls natural or did you get … your hair permed?

Lisa: Are you kidding? I can’t afford … perm. This is all natural. But I’ll tell you something funny. As … kid, I hated … curly hair. I always wanted to have … straight hair, or … wavy hair like yours. And I always wished I were … blond like you.

Jill: Really? You must be crazy. Your hair’s great. I wish my hair weren’t so light, and I wish it were curlier. And your hair is so thick and mine’s so thin. Oh dear, I just never know what to do with my hair. Should I have it cut … really short, or should I have it … medium length?

Lisa: How about … punk haircut? You could have it very short at … sides and long at … back and on … top, and then you could put some red, green and blue in it.

Jill: Very funny. But you’re right about one thing, Lisa, I really should dye my hair. Do you know I have … few grey hairs already and I’m only twenty-six.

Lisa: Well, at least we women don’t have to worry about going bald. There’s … baldness in my family, you know. My father hasn’t got … hair on his head. He went bald at thirty.

Jill: Hm, I don’t know. Maybe I’d look nice bald, what do you think?

Exercise 4

Decide whether these statements are true or false according to the dialogue:

1. Jill likes curly hair.

2. Lisa’s hair is curly.

3. Lisa has a perm.

4. Jill has wavy hair.

5. Jill has thick hair.

6. Jill has long hair.

7. Jill thinks she would look nice with a punk haircut.

8. Jill wants to change the colour of her hair.

9. Lisa’s father is bald.

 Reading

Read the advertisements and translate them.