We Are Not Alike a. Intellectual ability

Ability: intelligent, bright, clever, smart, shrewd, able, gifted, talented, brainy

(colloquial)

Lacking ability: stupid, foolish, half-witted, simple, silly, brainless, daft, dumb, dim (the last four are predominantly colloquial words)

Clever, in a negative way, using brains to trick or deceive: cunning, crafty, sly

2. Attitudes towards life

Looking on either the bright or the black side of things: optimistic, pessimistic.

Outward-looking or inward-looking (i.e. to the world around one or to one's own

inner world): extroverted, introverted.

Calm or not calm with regard to attitude to life: relaxed, tense, calm, cool.

Practical, not dreamy in approach to life: sensible, down-to-earth.

Feeling things very intensely: sensitive, vulnerable.

2. Attitudes towards other people

Enjoying other's company: sociable, gregarious.

Disagreeing with others: quarrelsome, argumentative.

Taking pleasure in other's pain: cruel, sadistic, aggressive.

Relaxed in attitude to self and others: easy-going, even-tempered.

Not polite to others: impolite, rude, ill-mannered, discourteous,

Telling the truth to others: honest, trustworthy, reliable, sincere.

Unhappy if others have what one does not have oneself: jealous, envious.

2. One person's meat is another person's poison

Some characteristics can be either positive or negative depending on your point of view. The words in the right-hand column mean roughly the same as the words in the left-hand column, except that they have negative rather than positive connotations.

determined thrifty/economical self-assured assertive original

obstinate, stubborn, pig-headed

miserly, mean, tight-fisted

self-important, arrogant, full of oneself (colloq)

aggressive, bossy (colloq)

peculiar, weird, eccentric

frank/direct/open blunt, abrupt, brusque, cure

broad-minded unprincipled, permissive

inquiring inquisitive, nosy (colloq)

generous extravagant

innocent naive

ambitious pushy (colloq)

Ex. 8 Match these words with their opposites:

1. clever a. introverted

2. extraverted b. tight-fisted

3. rude c. courteous

4. cruel d. gregarious

5. generous e kind-hearted

6. unsociable f. half-witted

Ex. 9 Do you think that the speaker likes or dislikes the people s/he is talking about?

1. Di’s very thrifty.

2. Molly's usually frank.

3. Li's quite broad-minded.

4. Sam can be aggressive.

5. Dick's quite bossy.

6. I find Dave self-important.

7. Don't you think Jim's nosy?

8. Jill is very original.

Ex. 10 Reword the sentences above to give the opposite impression.

Example: Di's very stingy.

Ex. 11 Magazines often publish questionnaires which are supposed to analyse

your character for you. Look at the words below and then match them to the

questions which aims to decide whether a person is like that.

Example: If you arrange to meet at 7 p.m., do you arrive at 7 p.m.?

reliable pessimistic argumentative sensitive sociable

extravagant assertive inquisitive

1. Do you prefer to be in the company of other people?

2. Look at the picture. Do you think 'my glass is half empty'?

3. Do you find it easy to tell your boss if you feel he or she has treated you badly?

4. Do you always look out of the window if you hear a car draw up?

5. Do you often buy your friends presents for no particular reason?

6. Do you frequently disagree with what other people say?

7. Do you lie awake at night if someone has said something unkind to you?

Ex. 12 What questions like those in ex. 11 could you ask to try to find out whether a person is the following:

1. thrifty

2. blunt

3. sensible

4. intelligent

5. even-tempered

7. obstinate

6. original

Ex. 13 Can you complete each of these word forks?

l. self-

2. -tempered

3. -minded

Write a sentence to illustrate the meanings of each in your words.

Ex. 14 Choose five or six adjectives from the opposite page which you think best describe either your own or a friend's character. How do you or your friend demonstrate these characteristics?

Example: Sociable - I am sociable because I love being with other people.

Ex. 16 How do you see yourself? Think about your own character

and personality. Do you have any particular weaknesses or strengths? Write down three things about your character which you think are good and three things which you think are not so good. Then compare your list with a partner's. Do you have much in common?

Ex. 17 Read these brief character descriptions. Which of these four people sounds most like you? Which would you most like to meet?

Anita

'I'm an active and energetic person - I can't bear just sitting around doing nothing. It just makes me impatient and restless. But I know what I want, and I think I've got what it takes to achieve my goals. Does that make me sound horribly ambitious and selfish? I hope not!'

Kevin

'I'm the kind of person who knows how to have a good time. I suppose you would call me fun-loving, but it's more than that. I actually believe in a calm, cool, easy-going approach to life and I can't bear unnecessary anxiety and pressure. I believe in being sociable and taking life as it comes.

Larry

'My problem can be summarised in one word: self-consciousness. I just don't have enough. I'm shy with other people, who must think I'm boring and stupid sometimes. Lack of confidence also makes me indecisive: I spend days trying to make up my mind what to do about quite simple things. I'm told I sometimes look moody, but in fact I like being with other people.

Cathy

'How do I see myself? Well, I'm forgetful and disorganised - some would say absent-minded! But I've got quite a lot of willpower, really, and I've got ideas. I'm a hardworker too when I'm doing something I'm interested in. I'm not very articulate when it comes to public speaking but I quite enjoy being the centre of attention, and I don't get in the least bit nervous.'