Vocabulary Focus

1 The first thing that catches your eye when you meet a new person
(a stranger) is his/her appearance.

A How many words do you know for describing what people look like? Write down as many words as you can under the following headings. You may use the words given below.

long chubby smart scruffy moustache

straight blond well-dressed untidy handsome

thin ginger ugly pretty clean-shaven

thick wavy muscular slender dyed

fair red athletic grey charming

auburn fat elegant mole under 30

brown stout attractive dimple in her teens

plump slim plain beard well over 50

heavy obese bald freckle wrinkle

youthful adult swarthy elderly skinny

B Make up 6 sentences with hyphenated adjectives of the type ‘red hair – red-haired’ with the second part ~ skinned, ~ eyed, ~ nosed, ~ faced, ~ cheeked, ~ legged, etc.

e.g. Christine, tall, graceful, auburn-haired and a bit

snub-nosed looked pretty indeed.

C What adjectives on the right will match the nouns on the left.

chin high

nose poor

lips thick

eyes bulging

gait thin

sight bushy

forehead awkward

eyebrows double

cheeks hollow

shoulders aquiline

D Answer these remarks with the opposite description.

e.g. A: I thought you said he was the short, chubby one.

B: No, quite the opposite, he’s the tall, thin-faced one.

1. A: Was that his brother, the dark-skinned, wavy-haired one?

B: No, quite the opposite, his brother’s.......................................

2. A: She’s always quite well-dressed, so I’ve heard.

B: What! Who told you that? Every time I see her, she’s...........

3. A: So Charlene’s that rather plump fair-haired woman, is she?

B: No, you’re looking at the wrong one. Charlene’s..................

4. A: So, tell us about the new boss; good looking?

B: No, I’m afraid not; rather........................................................

5. A: I don’t know why, but I expected the tour-guide to be

middle-aged or elderly.

B: No, apparently she’s only.......................................................

E Choose the word which best completes each sentence.

1. She sometimes wears her hair.....................................................

A) tied B) loose C) free D) fringe

2. He has a................................................................... complexion.

A) white B) spotted C) clear D) brown

3. Last year’s cycling accident has left him with a large

.......................................................................... on his left cheek.

A) mark B) cut C) wound D) scar

4. Mark’s hair is already..................., which isn’t surprising as his

father lost all his hair at an early age.

A) bald B) parting C) retiring D) receding

5. People with red hair often come out in....... when they sunbathe.

A) stubble B) moles C) freckles D) blemishes

F Discuss with your partner the following proverbs:

· Appearances are deceptive/deceitful.

· Never judge from appearances.

· A fair face may hide a foul heart.

· Beauty lies in lover’s eyes.

· The face is the index of the mind.

G Bring some photos of people (relatives, friends, etc.) and describe in detail their physical characteristics.

H Suppose you write to the ‘personal’ column where people are seeking partners. Describe your own appearance and that of a person you would like to meet. Give as many details as possible.

2 People around us can be divided into two groups: relatives and non-relatives. Relatives can be blood relations and relations by law.

A Give as many words as you can to describe blood relations.

e.g. mother, father, etc.

B We also have relations by marriage. Explain the following.

· What do we call a husband’s or wife’s father, mother, sister, brother?

· Who are ‘a son-in-law’ and ‘a daughter-in-law’?

· Whom do we call a ‘step-mother’ (~ father, ~ sister, ~ brother)?

· What kind of relationship does a ‘half-sister’(~ brother) suggest?

· Who can be called a ‘foster-father’ (~ mother)?

C Non-relatives can be divided into those with whom we maintain close relations, more distant relations and no relations at all.

Sort out the following relationships to show closeness and

distance in friendship, work, love/romance and marriage.

close ß ------------------------------------------à more distant

friend / lover / workmate / good friend / steady boy /

girl friend / colleague / best friend / sweetheart / wife /

/ fellow student / ex-lover / partner / acquaintance / husband

N.B. ex - can be used with or without (informally) another word:

e.g. She’s my ex (-girlfriend, etc.).

Mate is a colloquial word for a good friend. It can also be used in compounds to describe a person you share something with.

e.g. classmate, shipmate, workmate, flatmate.

Workmate is usual in non-professional contexts; colleague is more common among professional people.

Fiancé /é e can still be used for someone you are engaged to, but a lot of people feel it is outdated nowadays. You will sometimes see husband- / wife-to-be in journalistic style. English has no universally accepted word for ‘ person I live with but am not married to ’, but partner is probably the commonest.

D Match each person from the list with a suitable description. Use each name once only.

cousin adult orphan nephew toddler best man fiancé