EXERCISES
1. Complete these sentences in a suitable way. (More than one answer may be possible.)
1. She's got blonde ……………………………………………………
2. He's got very pale …………………………………………………..
3. They've both got curly ……………………………………………..
4. I would say he was medium ………………………………………..
5. Her brother has got very broad …………………………………….
6. She doesn't like men with hairy ……………………………………
7. Last time I saw him he had grown a ………………………………
8. He's got very muscular ……………………………………………
9. Both men were very good …………………………………………
10. All of them have got dark …………………………………………
2. 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's hoping she'll meet a few beautiful men at the tennis club.
3. You want to know about the following:
- someone's general appearance
- their height
- their weight
What questions do you need to ask? Complete these questions.
What …………………………………………………..?
How ……………………………………………………?
How much ……………………………………………..?
4. Now answer these questions.
1. How tall are you?
2. How would you describe your build?
3. How much do you weigh?
4. What kind of hair have you got?
5. What colour is it?
6. Would you like it to be different? If so, what would you like?
7. Do you think you have any special features?
8. Are there any special features you would like to have?
9. Do you like beards?
10. Can you think of a famous woman you would describe as beautiful, and a famous man you would describe as good-looking?
If possible, ask another person these questions.
5. Answer these remarks with the opposite description.
Example: A: I thought you said he was the short, chubby one.
B: No, quite the opposite, he's the tall, thin-faced one.
1 A: Was that his brother, the dark-skinned, wavy-haired one?
B: No, quite the opposite, his brother's …
2 A: She's always quite well-dressed, so I've heard.
B: What! Who told you that? Every time I see her, she's …
3 A: So Charlene's that rather plump fair-haired woman, is she?
B: No, you're looking at the wrong one. Charlene's…
4 A: So, tell us about the new boss; good looking?
B: No, I'm afraid not; rather…
5 A: I don't know why, but I expected the tour-guide to be middle-aged or elderly.
B: No, apparently she's only …
6. Write one sentence to describe each of these people, giving information about their hair and face, their height and build and general appearance.
| 1 you yourself 2 your best friend | 3 a neighbour 4 your ideal of a handsome man/a beautiful woman |
Now, in the same way, describe somebody very famous, give some extra clues about them, e.g. pop star/politician, and see if someone else can guess who you are describing.
7. From these jumbled words, find combinations for describing people, as in the example. Some of the combinations are hyphenated. Use a dictionary if necessary. Example: good-looking
8. WANTED! MISSING! Complete the gaps in these police posters.
9. Make a collection of descriptions of people from newspapers and magazines. Court/crime reports, celebrity and gossip pages of magazines, and the 'personal' columns where people are seeking partners are good places to start.
10. Answer the following questions:
1) What colour of eyes do you like most?
2) What is the difference between a near-sighted person and a far-sighted one?
3) How do you wear your hair?
4) What can happen to a person's voice if he shouts too loudly of too long?
5) What complexion do blond people usually have?
6) With which fingers do we hold a pen or a pencil?
7) What happens to a child's milk teeth?
8) How does hard manual work affect people's hands?
9) What do we call people who lost their hair?
10) To what part of the ear are earrings attached?
11) What does a person deserving to be called well-preserved look like?
12) When do men's cheeks become stubby?
13) What is the difference between a sunburnt and a swarthy face?
14) What kind of gait do old people often have?