B Discuss these questions with your partner.

1. Do you like shopping?

2. How often do you buy these things?

3. What other things do you regularly buy?

clothes DVDs food furniture make-up music CDs books

 

2 Reading

A Read the magazine article and match each person with a type of shopper.

	· the window shopper	· the speed shopper
	· the frequent shopper	· the careful shopper
There are many different types of shoppers. These four people are shopping on Oxford Street, London — one of the busiest shopping areas in the world.
David The _________ shopper Shopping habits: ‘I really don’t like shopping. I don’t spend a lot of time in the shops and I choose things very fast.’ Today: ‘At the moment, I’m looking for a new suit. There’s a good dark brown suit in this shop. It’s expensive but I can pay for it’.	Alex The _______ shopper Shopping habits: ‘I come to Oxford Street about once a month but I don’t usually spend a lot. I just like to look at the different things in the shops.’ Today: ‘I’m not looking for anything special. Right now, I’m waiting for my friend. She’s trying on a pair of jeans.’
Claudia The _____________ shopper Shopping habits: ‘I go shopping every weekend. I usually buy clothes or things for my house. I love big department stores.’ Today: ‘Right now, I’m carrying five new things — a coat, a shirt, a cookery book, a pair of shoes and a belt. Time to go home!’	Ann The ___________ shopper Shopping habits: ‘I always check the prices in different shops. I always look for the lowest price.’ Today: Today, I’m looking for a digital camera. I’m thinking about buying this one, but I`m not sure — it’s a little expensive.’

 

B Read the article again. Are these sentences true or false?

1. David cannot buy the suit because it is expensive.

2. In her bags, Claudia has got three things to wear.

3. Ann is interested in the digital camera in the shop.

4. Alex wants to buy a pair of trousers.

 

2c Match the verbs with the correct objects:

to buy to check to pay for to spend (2 times) to try on

1. a new shirt by credit card

2. the prices in different shops

3. time in a shop

4. 50 pounds on DVDs

5. new computer on the Internet

6. a pair of jeans before you buy them

2d Complete the questions with a verb from exercise 2c. Then ask a partner the questions:

1. How much time do you _____in clothes shops?

2. Do you ________ prices in different shops before you buy something?

3. Do you always ______ clothes before you buy them?

4. Do you often _____ things by credit card?

5. Do you ________ things on the Internet?

6. Do you _________ a lot of money on clothes and music?

 

 

3 Listening

 

3a Match the words with their definitions:

to tighten your belts	someone who enjoys buying things and sometimes cannot doing this
to be restrained in	to spend money using credit cards and borrowing money from the bank
shopaholic	try to spend less money
debt culture	be very calm and unemotional

 

B Listen to the conversation (audio file 7) and answer the following questions.

1. What are they talking about?

a. about travelling

b. about different kinds of shopping

c. about different ways of spending money

2. Is it difficult for many people to spend less money?

a. Yes.

b. No.

c. It does not mention.

3. Why does Rebecca buy things?

a. because she is happy

b. because she is a bit down or depressed

c. she does not speak about the cause

4. What does “to develop a debt culture” mean?

a. to develop your own business

b. to make ends meet

c. to live off credit

5. Who are shopaholics?

a. people who are slow shoppers

b. people who are compulsive shoppers

c. people who are speed shoppers

 

4 Speaking

A Make a list of things we do when we prepare a talk. Match 1-6 with a-f. What is the best order to do the six stages?