II. Express the height of these people in metres and centimetres:

1. He’s 5 ft 7 tall. 2. He’s 6 ft 3 tall. 3 He is 4 ft 7 tall.

III. Combine the words in a with the right words in b:

A. high, low, tall, short

B. building, fence, ceiling, temperature, giraffe, prices, man, glass, hill, shelf, dancer, chimney

IV. Choose the right word:

1. George Washington was a high/tall man. 2. Snowdon is the highest/tallest mountain in Wales. 3. That high/tall column over there is Nelson’s monumemt. 4. The tree was so high/tall that he was afraid to jump down. 5. Dick is higher/taller than the other boys in his class. 6. There is a high/tall wall around the palace. 7. He wanted to ring the bell, but it was too high/tall and he was not high/tall enough. 8. I don’t know who lives on the other side of that high/tall fence. 9. Beauvais is very proud of having the highest/tallest cathedral in Europe.

V. Answer the questions:

1. What is your height? ( in centimetres/ in feet) 2. How tall is your friend? Is he shorter or taller than you? How many centimetres/ inches shorter or taller is he ? 3. Do you know many people who are below or above average height? 4. Who is the shortest/tallest person you know? How tall are they exactly? 5. How do you feel about your height? Would you like to be shorter or taller? Why? 6.Do you think it is good to be below/above average height? Give reasons.

APPEARANCE

beautiful

handsome

pretty

lovely

good-looking

attractive

plain

ugly

funny(-looking)

weird(-looking)

noble(-looking)

Vocabulary notes

beautiful adj extremely attractive to look at; Syn. pretty, handsome, good-looking, attractive, lovely. Beautiful is a much stronger word to describe a person’s appearance than pretty, lovely, handsome, good-looking or attractive. Beautiful, pretty and lovely can be used of women, children, and things, but not usually of men, e.g. a beautiful woman/ house; a pretty child/ picture; a lovely girl/ view etc. Handsome is usually used of men, but a handsome woman is good-looking in a strong healthy way. Good-looking can be used of men amd women, but not usually of things. Attractive can be used of men, women, and things, e.g. an attractive young man/ an attractive pattern.

plainadj not beautiful or attractive, often used because you want to avoid saying this directly, e.g. Mrs Cookson was a rather plain woman.

ugly adj extremely unattractive and unpleasant to look at, e.g. a very ugly man/ the ugliest building in town; ugly is the most negative word to describe somebody; plain is more polite.

EXERCISES

I.Translate and transcribe the words:

Beautiful, handsome, pretty, lovely, good-looking, attractive, plain, ugly, funny-looking,

weird-looking, noble-looking.

II. Give English equivalents of the following Russian words and word-combinations:

Хорошенькая, красивая, милая, привлекательный, красивый, приятной наружности, некрасивый, безобразный, благородной / странной наружности.

III. Replace the underlined word in each sentence with a word which is either more suitable or more polite.

1. He told me he met a handsome girl in the disco last night. 2. She’s beautiful but her younger sister is really quite ugly. 3. I think Peter is getting a bit fat, don’t you? 4. Most people want to stay slim, but not as skinny as that girl over there. 5. I think she hopes she’ll meet a few beautiful men at the tennis club.

IV. Combine the adjectives in A with the nouns in B:

A. beautiful, good-looking, pretty, attractive, lovely, handsome;

B. child, man, woman, doll, girl, view.

V. Complete these sentences in a suitable way.( More than one answer may be possible.)

1. The man was tall and well- _____. 2. I would say he was medium _____ . 3.Most supermodels are above _____ . 4. Her former boyfriend was stocky and broad- _____ . 5. Both men were very good- _____ . 6. Judging by his face and build, I can say he is middle- _____ . 7. With her wrinkled face and grey hair, Mrs Dickson was certainly past _____ . 8. I don’t believe he is of ______ . He behaves like a child.

VI. Think of a famous person who is:

- attractive and well-built

- tall and handsome

- slim and pretty

- plump and funny-looking

- medium built and height

- lanky and plain

- plump and good-looking

- tall and noble-looking

- handsome and very athletic

- tall and skinny

- short and weird-looking

HAIR COLOUR

black

brown

red

fair

auburn

blond(e)

grey (gray)

white

dark

mousy (mousey)

dyed

highlighted

a blonde

a brunette

a redhead

VOCABULARY NOTES

Your hair can be fair (blond or light brown) or dark (dark brown or black) in colour. E.g. She had long fair hair. He was a slim, dark-haired boy. If your hair is mousy (=mousey), it is a dull light brown colour ( the word mousy shows disapproval) E.g. Her mousy hair was loose and untidy.

When a person gets old their original hair colour changes to grey (=gray) before it becomes white. E.g. She had dark hair that was just beginning to turn grey. My grandfather went white at the age of thirty.

If your hair is highlighted, you have changed some of its parts in colour. If all your hair is changed in colour, it is dyed. E.g. She’s got dyed blonde hair.

Note that you can say ‘She’s a redhead” but you can’t say “She’s a blackhead” or a “blondehead” etc. Instead, you should say “She’s a brunette” or a “blonde”.

EXERCISES