The Clothes We Wear

Without realizing it, the clothes we choose to wear tell other people a lot about us. We often judge people by clothes they are wearing. For example, people dressed in expensive clothes are thought to be wealthy. Our shoes, accessories and jewelry, all tend to create an impression of our social class and personality. Similarly, our choice of clothes also depends on our age and who we are influenced by. On the other hand, we do not always get the chance to choose our clothes. If we work as a nurse, police officer or fire-fighter we have to wear a standard uniform. Lastly, our ideas of beauty are revealed by our style of dress. Dressing in a particular outfit might be a way of saying, “This is what I think is nice, and I believe it makes me look more attractive.” In conclusion, more than being just a way to keep warm, clothes reveal a lot about a person’s life, character and status.

Grammar notes

Articles / Артикли

Неопределённый артикль “а” может употребляться только с именами существительными в единственном числе, называя предмет, не выделяя его конкретно.

Is it a man? (любой мужчина)

Определённый артикль “the” употребляется с существительными в единственном и множественном числе, выделяя конкретный предмет, о котором идёт речь.

Is it the man with a moustache? (конкретный мужчина)

Exercise 15

Fill in “a”, “an” or “the”.

Tina: Are these Mother’s things?

Father: What are they?

Tina: ...... bag, ...... orange dress, ...... book, ...... pair of glasses.

Father: ...... bag and ……. book are mine. ...... orange dress and ...... pair of glasses are your mother’s.

Exercise 16

Fill in the article “a”, “an”, “the”, “-“ where necessary.

1. My husband is …….manager.

2. They are ……..friends.

3. My husband speaks ……… English language well.

4. They often have ……….business trips.

5. They meet ………people from foreign countries and speak about………various traditions and customs.

6. Paul drives ……car very well.

7. Fred is ……Managing Director of ……company.

8. Henry is ……account manager.

Grammar notes

Употребление определенного артикля “the” с именами собственными.

• Определенный артикль “the” употребляется перед названиями рек, каналов, морей, заливов, проливов, океанов, архипелагов, горных цепей, пустыннь

The Black Sea, the Pacific ocean, the Urals, the Neva

• Артикль употребляется с названиями тех стран, основным элементом которых является нарицательное имя существительное:

The USA, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union,the Republic of Ireland

Исключения:

The Netherlands, the Ukraine, the Crimea, the Congo

Артикль употребляется перед названиями судов, гостиниц, ресторанов, музеев, галерей, английских газет, кинотеатров и театров, памятников

The Moskva Hotel, the British Museum, the Bombay restaurant, the Odeon

• Артикль не употребляется перед названиями озер, гор, островов, континентов, городов, стран, улиц, площадей, парков

Africa, Moscow, Russia, High Street, Trafalgar square

Артикль не употребляется с именами, фамилиями, с названиями университетов, колледжей, станций, аэропортов,

Peter Smith, St. Petersburg University, Oxford University, London airport

Exercise 17

Fill in the article “a”, “the” or “-“ where necessary.

…….United States of America is …….large country. ………people who live there are ……… Americans. Many people of other nationalities live in …….. America. …….. Washington is ……..capital of ……..America. Three million people live there. ………..Americans speak ……..English.

Exercise 18

Fill in “the” or “-“.

1. ……Thames flows through ……. London.

2. I live in ……. Tverskaya Street.

3. …. United Kingdom includes ….. Great Britain and …… Northern Ireland.

4. My train leaves from …… Waterloo station at 7.30 pm.

5. …… USA is …. fourth largest country in …… world after ……. Russia, …… Canada and …… Republic of ….. China.

6. Would you like to go to …… Kremlin?

7. Where’s …. John’s raincoat?

8. Does …. Mark speak ….. Spanish?

9. …… Volga flows into….. Caspian Sea.

10. …. Urals are old and not very high.

11. Two of my friends entered ……. Moscow State University last year.

12. How much does it cost to stay at …… Grand Hotel?

13. Have you ever been to ….. Bolshoi Theatre?

14. …… Pacific is the largest ocean on our planet.

15. ….. Tom Spenser spent two years in …. Africa when he was a student.

Grammar notes

Определенный артикль “the “ употребляется:

1. если упоминаемый предмет является единственным в мире.

The sun is in the blue sky.

2. если этот предмет является определенным по ситуации:

Put the book on the table.

Exercise 19

Fill in “a”, “an” or “the” where necessary.

1. I wrote to her but ……letter never arrived.

2. What is …name of this company?

3. We live in …..old house near ….station. It’s two miles from ……centre.

4. Let’s go to …restaurant this evening. – That’s …good idea. Which restaurant shall we go to?

5. I want to buy ……jacket and ….. shirt. ……jacket is expensive, but ….shirt is cheap.

Exercise 20

Use the articles where necessary.

1. Teckle comes from …….very old country on …… Nile. It is called …..Ethiopia. ….. Ethiopia is …..beautiful mountainous country. Teckle is …young man. He wants to become ….engineer. He is very happy to be …student of …St. Petersburg University. He spends …lot of time at ….library reading and studying different subjects. Very often in ….evening his new friends and he walk about …city talking about their native countries.

2. Galina lives in …Ukraine. She lives in …small village near Odessa. She is ….librarian. In summer she has …lot of …work: she takes …newspapers and …magazines to …people who work in the fields. Galina wants to enter … Moscow University and now she is preparing for …entrance examinations.

3. What’s …..weather like today? - …weather is fine. ….sun is yellow. ….sky is grey today.

4. We had ... English lesson yesterday. …teacher asked me many …. questions. …..questions were difficult.

5. Where is your ….brother? – He is at …home. He is in his …room. He is sitting at …table. He is doing his ….homework. …..homework is easy.

6. It is very dark in …room. Turn on …light, please.

7. ….Nick went to …bathroom, turned on …water and washed his hands.

Grammar notes

Употребление слова “one”

Слово “one” употребляется для замены часто повторяющихся слов контекста.

He’s a very tall man. He’s the tall one over there.

Would you like a sandwich? Yes please. I’d love one.

Exercise 21

Put in “one” or “ones”.

1. – I want to buy a newspaper.

   • Which …….?

2. – Can you give me a cassette?

   • I’m sorry. I don’t have ……. .

3. These cameras are expensive and those …….. are cheap.

4. I don’t want to work in this old office, I want to work in that new …. .

5. – Would you like this watch?

- No, that ….. .

Exercise 22

Complete the sentences. Use a/an……one. Use these words in your answers: