Lesson 5. Lifestyle: SHOPPING

Whoever said money can't buy happiness

Simply didn't know where to go shopping.

Bo Derek

Lead-in

1. Some people like shopping, others don’t but they all have to go shopping at least once a week because they need food and other things for their life. However, there are people who are addicted to shopping. They are crazy about looking around and choosing things. For them shopping is a hobby. What about you?

1. Do you enjoy shopping? Why or why not?
2. What do you like to shop for?
3. What kind of shops do you like most of all? Why?
4. Is it better to go shopping on your own or with friends/family? Why?
5. How much do you spend each month?
6. Do you usually shop around before buying clothes?
7. When you go to a shop or supermarket, do you ever buy items that you hadn’t planned to buy before you entered the shop?
8. What sort of things do you buy like this and why do you buy them?
9. Have you ever been treated unfairly or impolitely while shopping?
10. Have you, or anyone you know, ever bought a food product which had glass or stones in it? What did you do about it?
11. Did you complain to the shop or the manufacturer?

CONVERSATION

2. Study the following dialogues. The first one is between Mrs. Smith and her younger son John. The second is between Mrs. Smith and a shop assistant.

A. It’s Saturday morning and Mrs. Smith is going shopping.

Mrs. S:	John, I’m going to the shops. Is there anything you want?
John:	Yes, please! Can you pick up my magazine from the newsagent’s?
Mrs. S:	Of course. Do you want to come with me?
John:	No way, I’m going round to Mike’s house, sorry.
Mrs. S:	No problem. I’ll be about an hour, be home by 5 o’clock at the latest.
John:	O.K. I’ll see you later.
A bit later......
Mrs. S:	John, are you home?
John:	Yes, mum, I’m upstairs.
Mrs. S:	Come down here, I bought you a new Nike T-shirt, I want you to try it on.
John:	Nike? Great I’m coming!
A few minutes later.....
Mrs. S:	Well, does it fit?
John:	I think it’s a bit too small.
Mrs. S:	Let’s have a look. Hmmm, I think you’ve grown again!
John:	I can’t wear it though.
Mrs. S:	Do you like it?
John:	Yeah, it’s a nice colour.
Mrs. S:	I’ll take it back to the supermarket and see if I can change it.

 

B. Mrs. Smith had bought a nice new T-shirt for John, but when he tried it on it didn’t fit. It’s Saturday evening and Mrs. Smith has to return the T-shirt.

Mrs. S:	Excuse me, can you help me?
Shop assistant:	Yes, of course, what can I do for you?
Mrs. S:	I bought this T-shirt for my son this afternoon, but it doesn’t fit him, it’s too small.
Shop assistant:	Do you want to change it or get a refund?
Mrs. S:	I’d like to change it for a larger size. Do you have these in large?
Shop assistant:	I’ll just check. Let’s see, yes, we have large or extra large, which would you prefer?
Mrs. S:	I think large will be fine, it’s for my son.
Shop assistant:	That’s fine, if it doesn’t fit just bring it back again. If you take it to the customer service desk, they’ll sort it all out for you.
Mrs. S:	Thank you. Just as a matter of interest, do you give refunds?
Shop assistant:	Yes, of course. You can bring any clothing items back up to three weeks after purchase, but you must keep the receipt.
Mrs. S:	I see, thanks again.
Shop assistant:	You’re welcome.

VOCABULARY PRACTICE

3. Explain the meaning of the following words and collocations.

to do the shopping	to go to shops in order to but the things that you need regularly such as food
to go shopping	to go to shops to look at and buy things, often for enjoyment
to shop around	to go to several different shops comparing goods and their prices before deciding which ones to buy
to get	to get something by buying it, especially ordinary things such as food, clothes, or things for your house
shopping centre / mall	a specially-built large covered area where there are a lot of shops
department store	a large shop which is divided into several parts, each of which sells one type of thing, for example men’s clothes, children’s toys, or kitchen equipment
supermarket; grocery store	a large shop that sells food and other things that people regularly need
goods	movable articles (e.g. clothes, food, etc.) which can be owned, bought, or sold
customer	someone who buys goods or services
purchase	1) buying; 2) an act of buying; 3) an article that has just been bought
bargain	something bought or offered cheaply
refund	repayment

4. Express the following in one word.

stall, shop/store, chemist’s/drugstore, market, kiosk, greengrocer’s, baker’s, butcher’s

 

1 a building where goods are sold to the public

2 a place outside where you can go to buy things

3 a table, especially outdoors, where goods are sold

4 a small hut on a street that sells things such as newspapers, cigarettes, and drinks

5 a shop selling vegetables and fruit

6 a shop where medical goods are sold

7 a shop where meat is sold

8 a shop where bread is sold

5. Fill in the correct word from the list below. Some words may be used more than once.

stall, buying, shopping, goods, shopping mall, shelves, markets

 

1. On Saturdays we usually do the... and clean the car.
2. Renaissance Centre is a huge steel and glass... in downtown Detroit.
3. This shop sells a variety of....
4. I really like that tie – I was thinking of... it for my husband for his birthday.
5. The... tend to be cheaper, especially for fruit and vegetables.
6. Janet has a fruit and veg... on the market.
7. There’s an ever greater variety of goods to be found on supermarket....
8. I’m just going.... Do you want anything?
9. I did all my... yesterday.
10. You’ve been... a lot of clothes recently. Have you decided to change your image?

 

6. Act out the following dialogues.

A. Gifts

Jonathan:	Dorothy, what are your plans for Christmas?
Dorothy:	Oh yes, it’s almost Christmas, isn’t it. I’m not sure what I’ll be doing then.
Jonathan:	Well, if you don’t have any plans, you family could have dinner at my house.
Dorothy:	That’s very nice of you, thanks. Have you finished your shopping yet?
Jonathan:	No, I still have to do that. I think I’ll go to the mall this weekend.
Dorothy:	It’s going to be really crowded at the mall. You should shop online.
Jonathan:	You’re right. My family loves to read, so I can probably get them all presents from Amazon.com.
Dorothy:	What do you think you’ll get for your wife?
Jonathan:	Probably, a romance novel. It seems like she’s always reading one of those.
Dorothy:	Don’t you think you should get her something a little more expensive, like jewelry or maybe a new computer?
Jonathan:	Maybe you’re right. It’s hard buying gifts. I think my wife has everything she wants. Maybe I should just ask her.

 

B. Buying a shirt

Dan:	Excuse me.
Maria:	Hello sir, may I help you?
Dan:	Yes. Can I see that shirt on the top shelf, please?
Maria:	Sure. Here it is.
Dan:	How much does it cost?
Maria:	50 dollars.
Dan:	50 dollars. That’s too much.
Maria:	Howabout this one? It’s on sale for only 35 dollars.
Dan:	I don’t like that one.
Maria:	How about the one next to the black gloves? It’s very similar to the one you like.
Dan:	That’s nice. How much is it?
Maria:	30 dollars.
Dan:	That’ll be fine.
Maria:	Is this color OK, or would you like a different color?
Dan:	That blue one’s fine.
Maria:	Do you need any more of these shirts?
Dan:	Yes.
Maria:	How many do you want?
Dan:	I’ll take two more, a red one and a white one.

7. Study the following quotes about shopping and discuss which ones you most, or least, agree with.

1. The odds of going to the store for a loaf of bread and coming out with only a loaf of bread are three billion to one. (Erma Bombeck)
2. When women are depressed, they eat or go shopping. Men invade another country. It’s a whole different way of thinking. (Elayne Boosler)
3. Shopping is a woman thing. It’s a contact sport like football. Women enjoy the scrimmage, the noisy crowds, the danger of being trampled to death, and the ecstasy of the purchase. (Erma Bombeck)
4. The quickest way to know a woman is to go shopping with her. (Marcelene Cox)
5. A bargain is something you can’t use at a price you can’t resist. (Franklin P. Jones)
6. The only reason a great many American families don’t own an elephant is that they have never been offered an elephant for a dollar down and easy weekly payments. (Mad Magazine)
7. Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination. (Oscar Wilde)
8. We used to build civilizations. Now we build shopping malls. (Bill Bryson)

SPEAKING

Useful Shopping Phrases

Finding a Shop
Questions	Answers/Comments
Can you recommend a good toy / clothes shop? Is there a chemist’s / supermarket in the area? Where can I get...? Where’s the nearest shopping centre?	The best toy shop is in the shopping centre. There’s a really good bookshop just around the corner. You can buy that here in the hotel. The nearest one is a few miles away.
Opening Hours
What time do you open, please? What time do you close, please? What are your opening hours? Are you open all day? Are you open on Sundays?	We’re open from 9am till 6pm, Monday to Friday. We’re closed at lunchtime, between 12 and 2pm. We’re open from 9am till 6pm, Monday to Friday.
Shopping for Clothes
Questions	Answers/Comments
Could you help me, please? Could you tell me where the... department is? Excuse me, I’m looking for a... Is there somewhere I can try this on, please? Does it suit me? Do you have this in a (larger / smaller size) (different colour), please? Do you have a refund policy?	The ladies / gents changing rooms are over there. It’s too long / short. It’s too tight / loose. You can bring it back and exchange it or get a refund within 2 weeks if you keep the receipt.
Asking about prices
Questions	Answers/Comments
How much is this, please? How much are these? Is this in the sale?	It’s only 99 dollars. It’s in the sale. There’s 25% off. Those are 75 dollars each, with the reduction.
Paying
Questions	Answers/Comments
Do you take credit cards? Do you give credit?	We take all the major credit cards. We only accept cheques with a cheque card.
Do you have a loyalty card? Does it have a warranty? Can I pay by cheque? Do you offer a cash discount?	We are offering 6 months free credit with no deposit. Sorry, no. Yes, certainly.

8. Discuss the following in small groups.

• Why do you think shopping is more popular with women than with men?
• How has the way we shop changed over the last fifty years? What has allowed these changes to happen?
• We’ve already seen an explosion of shopping on the Internet. Do you think this trend is going to continue? Do you agree that this kind of shopping is convenient? Why?

9. Work in pairs. Ask a partner:

• how often they go shopping
• who is responsible for food and household shopping
• where they spend most of their money
• what their favourite shop is.

10. Discuss with a partner which of these shopping methods you regularly use:

· visiting shops

• ordering by telephone
• online shopping
• mail-order catalogues
• digital TV shopping channels

11. Give a talk on shopping. Remember to discuss:

· why people can’t do without shopping

· whether shopping is more popular with men or women, why

· who does most of the shopping in your family and where

· whether shopping over the Internet will become the main way of buying things in the future, why/why not

Lesson 6. Lifestyle: SPORT & HEALTH

He who has health has hope and