Shops and Shopping

When we want to buy something we go to a shop. There are many kinds of shops in every town or city, buy most of them have a food supermarket, a department store, men’s and women’s clothing stores, grocery, a bakery and a butchery.

I like to do my shopping at big department stores and supermarkets. They sell various goods under one roof and this is very convenient. A department store, for example, true to its name, is composed of many departments: ready-made clothes, fabrics, shoes, sports goods, toys, china and glass, electric appliances, cosmetics, linen, curtains, cameras, records, etc. You can buy everything you like there.

There are also escalators in big stores which take customers to different floors. The things for sale are on the counters so, that they can be easily seen. In the women’s clothing department you can find dresses, costumes, blouses, skirts, coats, beautiful underwear and many other things. In the men’s clothing department you can choose suits, trousers, overcoats, ties, etc. In the knitwear department one can buy sweaters, cardigans, short-sleeved and long-sleeved pullovers, woollen jackets. In the perfumery they sell face, body and hand cream, powder, lipstick, lotions and shampoos.

In a food supermarket we can also buy many different things at once: sausages, fish, sugar, macaroni, flour, cereals, tea. At the butcher’s there is a wide choice of meat and poultry. At the bakery you buy brown and white bread, rolls, biscuits. Another shop we frequently go to is the greengrocery which is stocked by cabbage, potatoes, onions, cucumbers, carrots, beetroots, green peas and what not. Everything is sold here ready-weighed and packed. If you call round at a dairy you can buy milk, cream, cheese, butter and many other products.

The methods of shopping may vary. It may be a self-service shop where the customer goes from counter to counter selecting and putting into a basket what he wishes to buy. Then he takes the basket to the check-out counter, where the prices of the purchases are added up. If it’s not a self-service shop, the shop-assistant helps the customer in finding what he wants. You pay money to the cashier and he gives you back the change.

But there is a very good service called Postal Market. It really helps you to save your time and get goods of high quality. You have just to look through a catalogue, choose the things you like, order them and wait a little to get them.

Food and Meals

It is not a secret that our meals influence our mood. Also it is very important for our health. Every single person should eat proper kinds of food – dairy products, meats, fruit and vegetables, fats and sugars, cereals and grains. Dairy products provide us with calcium, meat provide our bodies with protein, iron, zinc. Eating fruit and vegetables helps to keep us healthy too because they give us fibre, vitamins and minerals. We should eat fats and sugars in moderation, because too much fats and sugars can cause different heart-diseases. Cereals and grains are important for us because they provide us with the energy we need for physical activity.

In this fast-moving world it is necessary to watch what we eat – it should be healthy food, not junk one, which has become very popular. Eating too much junk food can cause overweight and a heart-disease. For example, it is much better to eat an apple or a banana than to eat a double hamburger with ketchup and mayonnaise. You will feel full in both cases, but a fruit or a vegetable is healthier.

Today there are a lot of different restaurants and cafés where you can eat delicious and not really expensive food. The service is usually excellent and friendly waiters help you to relax and enjoy your meal fully. You can eat any types of food in restaurants – you can try homemade cakes, beefsteaks, pasta and macaroni and others. For a main course you can order fish, meat or chicken with some rice or potatoes, also you can ask for pasta and salad. You can eat a bowl of ice-cream, a piece of apple pie, strawberries with cream or something like that for dessert. For drink you can order a glass of water or juice, a cup of coffee or tea or alcohol drink such as wine or beer.

Eating habits are different in different countries. For example, Brazilians never eat with their hands – they always use a knife and a fork, even when they eat hotdogs. Finns like to eat hot sausages and drink beer in the streets; many Filipinos prefer to eat with their hands. Also they think that it is polite to leave a little food on the plate at the end of a meal.

Well, as for me I do respect all nations’ eating habits and like to eat different countries’ food such as Italian Pasta, Japanese rice with sushi or Indian spicy meat. But most of all I like just ice-cream. It doesn’t matter what kind – with raspberry flavour, with marmalade, chocolate chips or pieces of fruit. I can eat it anytime and anywhere. But anyway, whatever you like you should remember words of wisdom which say that “We eat to live, but not live to eat”.

Health

People nowadays are more health-conscious than they used to be. They understand that good health is above wealth.

To be healthy we should avoid different bad habits that can affect our health. Smoking and drinking too much alcohol, are the worst ones. It’s common knowledge that they can shorten our lives dramatically. Smoking, for example, causes a number of heart and lung diseases, such as pneumonia, emphysema and cancer. Besides, it makes your teeth yellow and skin unhealthy. Fortunately, in recent years smoking has received a lot of bad publicity, and fewer people smoke nowadays. Some companies don’t employ people who are smokers. Smoking has been banned in most public places because everyone agrees it does harm to our health.

Smoking and drinking are joined by less dangerous habits, such as skipping meals, eating unhealthy food, or even overeating. If we eat too much, we’ll become obese, and obesity leads to serious health problems. A lot of people like drinking coca-cola and coffee, enjoy pizzas and hamburgers. But what is tasty is not always healthy. In recent years eating habits have undergone a change. People are encouraged to eat less fat and more fiber. Fat is believed to be one of the major causes of obesity and heart disease. High fiber and low fat foods can now be found in all shops and supermarkets. Salads, beans, and fruit have taken the place of steak and ice cream. The fashion for health food is growing all the time.

Many people feel they are too fat, even if their doctors disagree. And a lot of people try to improve their fitness. There are a lot of ways to lose weight and avoid gaining it. Perhaps the most popular of them is following a diet. If you want to lose weight, you should cut out snacks and desserts, and cut down on fat. People have also become more aware of calories, the energy value of food.

But excessive dieting may be dangerous, too. Some people refuse to eat meat as they consider it harmful. They say a vegetarian diet reduces the risk of cancer and vegetarians live longer than others. I can’t agree with them, because meat is an excellent source of good nutrition. In my opinion, it’s wrong to put down a food simply because excessive amounts can cause health problems. Consumed in moderate amounts, meat is perfectly good for our health.

The only way to stay healthy and to keep fit is by going in for sports. Among the benefits of regular exercise are healthier heart, stronger bones, quicker reaction and more resistance to various illnesses. Besides, you can eat and drink as much as you want because you are burning it all off.

To be healthy, it is also very important to spend a lot of time in the open air. It is useful to go for a walk before going to bed, or at least to air the room.