American Money

The American unit is the dollar - $. In the dollar there are 100 cents (c), 1-cent coin is often called penny. А 5-cent coin is called a nickel, and a 10-cent coin - a dime, a 25-cent coin – a quarter.

Weights and Measures

For general use the smallest weight is 1 ounce (oz.), and there are 16 ounces in a pound (lb.). The English buy sweets, tobacco, and sometimes cigarettes by the ounce while most groceries or fruit, such as apples, pears, strawberries, by the pound, half-pound or quarter-pound (there are some kinds of fruit that are bought piecemeal, or loose).

14 pounds make up 1 stone. The English always give people’s weight in stones and pounds. For example, a man weighs 11 stone 9 lbs (not 163 lbs).

112 lbs make up 1 hundredweight (cwt), which equals 50 kg. So there are 20 cwt in a ton.

Liquids are measured in pints (app. 0.5 liter), quarts and gallons. There are 2 pints in a quart and 4 quarts in a gallon.

Finally, for length the principal measurements are the inch (2.54 cm), the foot (30.48 cm), the yard (91.44 cm) and the mile (1.6 km).

2.17. A) Do you know how to ask for things when you don’t know the exact word? Here are some useful words and expressions.

a thing, a machine, a tool;

stuff, liquid, powder, material, cloth;

material/ liquid/ powder/ stuff for …-ing;

square, round, oblong, oval, curved, flat, pointed, sharp, blunt;

big, medium-sized, small, tiny, narrow, wide, heavy, light, short;

metal, glass, plastic, rubber, stone, wood(en), wool(en), rough, smooth, soft,

shiny, transparent, unbreakable, inedible, warm, waterproof;

fragile, hard, flexible, rigid, fast, slow;

extremely, very, rather, quite, fairly;

neither … nor, not at all, about the size of a …, a bit bigger than a …, not quite

as heavy as a …, small enough to hold in your hand;

a point, an end, a hole, a handle;

a thing with a hole/ handle, etc.;

a thing/ tool/ machine for making …, cutting …, etc./ to make …, to cut …;

a thing that you .. with/in/on, etc.;

a thing that goes on top of/ under/ .. .;

you use it for … -ing;

it is something to write on.

What does it feel like? What’s it made of?

What shape is it?

What size is it?

ACQUIRING COMMUNICATION SKILLS

2.18. A) Read the text and answer the questions that follow.

b) Work with a partner and act out the conversation of Mr. and Mrs.

Baxter during their shopping round.

The Baxters Go Shopping

The other day my wife took me on a usual shopping round. In fact I hate going to the butcher's, grocer's and other shops of this sort, but of course I have to help my wife about the house.

First, we bought some pork and beef at the butcher's. Then we dropped in at the grocery and greengrocery. Jill wanted to buy salt, tomatoes and cucumbers. We also called at the baker's where we bought a loaf of brown bread, some buns and biscuits.

On our way home, we were passing Selfridge’s. “Let’s drop in here for a while. You need a suit for everyday wear”, my wife said. I agreed. Selfridge’s is still one of the biggest and most popular stores in London. They sell everything here. All the things for sale are on the counters. The customers walk round and choose what they want. The store has several departments: Women's clothes, Men's clothes, Shoes, Toys, Sports goods, Umbrellas, Leather goods, China and glass, Food, etc.

When we entered the shop, we went straight to the men’s depart­ment. A salesgirl showed us a number of suits, but we didn’t like any of them. One of them was a bit loose on me, another was too tight. As to the third one, our opinions were quite different. I liked the suit. My wife found it too expensive. She wanted a suit as good as that one but less expensive. The salesgirl showed us a cheaper suit. It was of good quality, but I didn't like the style. We were about to leave the counter when they delivered a new selection of goods. They were not only suits but different kinds of clothes: coats, raincoats, shirts, jackets and trousers. I tried on two or three suits. The last one was all right. It was just my size and fitted me perfectly. We both liked the suit and the price was not high. “We’ll take it, wrap it up, please!” I said to the salesgirl.

After we left the men's department, my wife spent the rest of the morning trying on hats. She wanted a pink straw hat to match one of her summer frocks. There was such a good selection of hats in the shop that in the end Jill bought two.

Questions:

1. Whats stores did the Baxters visit before going to Selfrige’s? What did they buy there?

2. Why did they go to Selfridge’s? Did they buy something they wanted right away? Why?

3. What did Jill buy for herself in the end? What is your attitude to hat-gear?

b) Describe your usual shopping round. Say what shops you usually

drop in, what goods you buy, how long it usually takes you, etc.