Listen for the second time, correct the mistakes (12 mistakes)

People wear pants to cover the upper part of their bodies. We sometimes say that people who are restless or nervous have flies in their pants. They might also fly by the seat of their pants. They use their natural sense to do something instead of their learned knowledge. Sometimes, people may get caught with their sleeves down. They are found doing something they should not be doing. And, in every family, one person takes control. Sometimes a wife tells her children what to do. Then we say she wears the pants in the family.

Pants usually have pockets to hold things. Money that is likely to be spent quickly can burn a hole in your pocket. Sometimes you need a belt to hold up your pants. If you have less money than usual, you may have to tighten your scarf. You may have to live on less money and spend your money carefully. But once you have succeeded in budgeting your money, you will have that skill under your belt.

I always praise people who can save their money and not spend too much. I really take my hat off to them. Yet, when it comes to my own money, I spend it at the drop of a hat – immediately, without waiting. And sadly, you can pull money out of a hat. You cannot get money by inventing or imagining it.

Boots are a heavy or strong kind of shoes. People who are too big for their boots think they are less important than they really are. I dislike such people. I really do. You can bet your hats on that. Yet, truly important people are hard to replace. Rarely can you fill their shoes or replace them with someone equally effective.

My father is an important person. He runs a small company. He wears a suit and tie, and a shirt with sleeves that cover his arms. Some people who do not know him well think he is too gentle and kind. They think he is a real stuffed shirt. But I know that my father wears his heart on his belt. He shows his feelings openly. And, he knows how to keep his shirt on. He stays calm and never gets angry or too excited.

Also, my father has never won his shirt in a business deal. He is too smart to lose all or most of his money. This is because my father rolls up his sleeves and prepares to work hard. He often has a special plan or answer to a problem that he can use if he needs it. He is like a person who does magic tricks. We say he has a card up his sleeve.

After listening

Make up 5 sentences with expressions from the text in Russian for the group to translate (use grammar topic you study at the moment)

LISTENING COMPREHESION 4

Pre-listening tasks

1. People who gain pleasure and escape negative feelings through shopping sometimes call it ‘retail therapy’. What do you think this phrase implies?

2. While the term ‘retail therapy’ is often used in a tongue-in-cheek manner, some people, including shopaholics, actively make time to shop as a way to cope with negative feelings. Are you one of those?

3. Many of us indulge in a bit of retail therapy now and then, but when shopping becomes a compulsion, the consequences can be painful and heartbreaking. Do you agree with this?

4. Look at the shopping addiction quiz ( www.healthyplace.com ) that includes six statements. If you answered "yes" to most of these questions, it's likely you have a compulsive shopping problem.

My closet has unopened shopping bags in it.

Others might consider me a "shopaholic."

Much of my life centers around buying things.

I buy things I don’t need.

I buy things I did not plan to buy.

I consider myself an impulse purchaser.

•     Listening tasks

1. Listen to Jenna Bush Hager for Today Show on how compulsive shopping becomes a painful obsession. Define the statements as true or false according to the piece.

a. Debbie Ruth is a recovered shopaholic whose impulse to buy had taken over her life.

b. Compulsive shopping helps Debbie to get rid of her problems.

c. Compulsive shoppers should have a break between impulse and making a purchase and ask themselves some questions.

d. Debbie’s life got happier when she realized she had a problem and took action.

e. Debbie is still very engrossed in the shopping.

2. Match the phrases used in the episode with their explanations.

a. compulsive shopping	1. done with too much acting, emotion or effort
b. no laughing matter	2. shopping that is difficult to stop or control
c. shopping spree	3. something serious that you should not joke about
d. stop cold-turkey	4. be very careful to notice any signs of danger or trouble
e. over the top	5. stop taking a drug in a sudden way that produces an unpleasant state
f. be vigilant	6. give a feeling of satisfaction that you get from doing or achieving sth
g. give fulfillment	7. a way of solving a problem that is easy but temporary or inadequate
h. quick fix	8. shopping excessively, buying a lot of things in an extravagant way

3. Listen again and answer the questions.

1. What image does usually come to mind when we hear the word ‘shopaholic’ according to Jenna?

2. When did Debbie’s problem of compulsive buying begin?

3. What was the breaking point for Debbie?

4. What six questions should compulsive shoppers ask themselves before making a purchase?

5. What helped Debbie see her problem and confront her behavior?

6. Why did she start her blog and what kind of information does she share on it?

•      Post-listening tasks

1. Have you ever indulged in a little binge-spending made possible by ‘buy now pay later’ schemes?

2. What questions, if any at all, do you usually ask yourself before buying clothes?

3. Females are nine times more likely to be affected by compulsive shopping disorder. Why?

4. Shopping may be a beloved American pastime, but compulsive shopping is a real problem for millions of people who really do shop till they drop. Is this a big problem in your country?

5. It is common knowledge that you should not shop for food when you are hungry, and you should not shop for anything else when you have an emotional void that needs to be filled. Do you know any other tips that can help shop wisely?

Watching section

a)

Prewatching tasks

 1. Identify these statements as true or false. See if you were right after watching the video:

1. Throughout her lifetime an average woman spends half of a year deciding what to wear.

2. A simple T-shirt from crop to shop takes 2700 liters of water or 34 bath tubs.

3. Fashion industry is the first largest in terms of its economic intensity of trade, it is worth 3 trillion dollars, it employs 57 million workers from around the world and in developing countries 70 % of them are women.

4. Clothes may diagnose diseases like cancer.

5. Clothes may purify air.

6. Clothes may teach people how to fly.

2. Watch and listen to the lecture “Don’t Tell me Fashion is Frivolous” by professor Frances Corner, the Head of London College of Fashion. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjLBbWbBTPc]. As you listen, find equivalents to the following words and expressions:

1. наряд

2. быть (не) слишком нарядно одетым

3. производить ткань

4. выращивать лен, коноплю

5. работник швейной промышленности

6. выгодная покупка/сделка

7. последствия, результат

8. быть по фигуре

9. волокна

 

2.1 Frances Corner pays special attention to alternative usage of clothes other than just hide people’s nakedness. Recollect all the examples she provides. Make your own research and find interesting information about modern technologies employed to meet the needs of modern consumers.

2.1.1 Provide consecutive interpretation of the article “Clothes with electronics” from the book by Harriet Worsley “100 Ideas that Changed Fashion”.

b)

Prewatching tasks

 1.1 Look at these pictures. What do you see? What kind of messages do they render? Brainstorm the issue and provide all possible interpretations working in the groups of two:

1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

7. 8.

1.2 Describe the phenomenon of consumerism by filling the following chart providing associations that you have with this notion:

 

 

2. Watch the video “The High Price of Materialism” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=D9gcGjCF60o&feature=emb_logo). As you listen, find equivalents to the following words and expressions and answer the questions:

1. постоянный повтор

2. коммерческий призыв, маркетинговый ход

3. желание обладать материальными ценностями

4. общество потребителей

5. ценности, приносящие благо обществу

6. быть под воздействием идей материализма

7. ставить деньги, имидж и статус в приоритет

8. экологически устойчивый мир

9. повысить самооценку

10. рекламный ролик

11. продвижение истинных ценностей

12. оценивать благополучие граждан

13. чувство принадлежности своему сообществу

2.1 Comprehension questions:

1. How do people receive materialistic messages? What are the reasons of this mass attack?

2. What kind of connection did scientists find between materialistic values and pro-social values? Are there any other alike tendencies related to consumerism?

3. Is it possible to stand against commercialism? What can you do to diminish consumer messages?

2.2 Write your own definition of consumerism using the information from the video and your background knowledge. Share your ideas with the class.