Unit 1. Character and Behaviour

The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.

John Locke

Character is destiny.

Heraclitus

Vocabulary

1. Read these words and remember them.

1. to show one’s feelings –

2. to have a lot of common sense –

3. inherited –

4. native endowment –

5. to mould a character –

6. to be underpresented –

7. to combat prejudice –

8. to sick remedies –

9. to suffer trigger feelings -

2 a). Read and translate information on the adjectives that we use describing character and behavior.

Sympathetic doesn’t mean ‘nice’ in English. We use it to describe a person who understands other people’s feelings problems, e. g. She was very sympathetic when I explained the problem.

Look at the opposites in the table.

positive	negative
warm and friendly kind (= cares about others) nice, pleasant generous (= happy to give/share) optimistic (= thinks positively) easy-going (= relaxed, calm) sensitive (= thinks about people’s feelings) honest (= always tells the truth) good fun (= enjoyable to be with) broad-minded	cold and unfriendly unkind horrible, unpleasant mean (= never gives to others) pessimistic (= thinks negatively) tense (= nervous; worries a lot; not calm) insensitive dishonest boring narrow-minded (= unable to accept new ideas)

b). Translate the following sentences and try to make up your own examples.

My parents are great and don’t mind what I wear – they’re very broad-minded. When I tried on the dress, the shop assistant said it would look better on a younger person. I know she was trying to be honest, but it was a bit insensitive of her.

What’s he/she like?

He’s very self-confident. (= feels he can do things, and is relaxed in social situations)

When you first meet her she seems shy. (= finds it difficult to talk to people and make conversation)

She doesn’t show her feelings. (= you don’t know what she is thinking or feeling)

He’s got a great sense of humour. (= laughs a lot and sees the funny side of life)

3 A). Describing characters in work situations, we use the following adjectives.

positive	negative
hard-working punctual (= always on time) reliable clever flexible ambitious has lots of common sense (= thinks in a practical way; doesn’t do stupid things)	lazy (= never does any work) not very punctual; always late unreliable (= you cannot trust/depend on someone like this) stupid inflexible (= a fixed way of thinking and unable to change) not ambitious (= no desire to be successful/get a better job) has no common sense; an idiot (= a stupid person)

b). Translate the following sentences and try to make up your own examples.

We use impression to talk about the effect that a person has on another person.

She made a very good impression at her interview. (= had a positive effect on the interviewer)

My first impression of him was a negative.

She comes across as (= appears to be) quite serious.