Episode 103

EPISODE 103
LEVEL A1.2/ A2.1

 

READING COMPREHENSION 

FASHION AND CLOTHES

Every year in one African country they organize a beauty contest to show off their most beautiful young men. During this festival men have to parade and dance in front of women.

Before the main dance the men dress up for hours. They make up their faces with special yellow powder and they put turbans on their heads. They want to look really smart (= elegant).

Although the costume has to be traditional, the contestants are happy to try on new accessories (= put them on to check how they look) that will make them look different, or trendy (= modern, fashionable). They wear jewellery (= objects that you wear as decoration), such as necklaces (= a piece of jewellery worn around the neck) or bracelets (= a piece of jewellery worn around you wrist) to make them look more up-to-date (= modern).

When the winner is chosen, his people celebrate for a long time. He will become famous and can expect many wives. 

 

More contexts for the new words: 

• Jack enjoys wearing casual clothes, such as jeans and T-shirts. (= comfortable, informal clothes)
• I can’t afford designer clothes. (= clothes made by famous designers)

 

EXERCISE 1 

Give words for the definitions:

1. elegant clothes = s…………………. clothes
2. fashionable = t………………..
3. informal clothes = c……………… clothes
4. an ornament worn around the neck = a n…………………
5. jewellery worn around the wrist = a b……………………
6. to put on clothes to check if they fit = to t…………. o……..

 

EXERCISE 2 

Match the question halves. Then answer the questions.

1. Do you enjoy 
2. How often do you
3. Do you always want

a) to look up-to-date?
b) wearing designer clothes?
c) wear jewellery? 

 

ENGLISH IN USE  

We use have to to say that something is necessary and don’t have to to say that something is not necessary.

I can’t talk to you now. I have to go to work.
I can go to bed late. I don’t have to go to work tomorrow.

 

In 3rd person singular (she/he/ it) we use has to and doesn’t have to:

She has to go to work.
He doesn’t have to go to work.

To make questions with have to and has to we use do and does:

Do you have to go to work?
Does she have to go to work.

IDIOM CLOSE-UP

Those pants might be in style, but they don’t look good on you, Louise. Don’t be a fashion victim!

If you are a fashion victim, you wear fashionable clothes even if they don’t look good on you.

 

PHRASAL VERBS CLOSE-UP

1. If you DRESS DOWN, you wear clothes that are more informal than the clothes you usually wear.
   She always made a point of dressing down on her first date with a man.

2. When you ZIP UP, you close a zip on a piece of clothing.
   Zip up your jacket, it’s cold out there.

 

EXERCISE 3 

Complete the sentences with correct words:

1. You’d better z………………. up your jacket.
2. We’ve got a d………………. down day at work on Fridays so I put on jeans and a T-shirt.
3. You don’t have to be a f…………….. victim to look good.

 

NEWS

MODELS UNDER 16 BANNED IN LONDON

Models under the age of 16 will be banned from London’s Fashion Week. In addition, all models may soon have to show a health certificate before they can walk down the catwalk. These are the decisions which have been taken to ensure models eat healthily. The reason for that is the fact that models are becoming really skinny these days. Super-thin is trendy and experts fear that models are risking their health because of different eating disorders. An unwanted side effect is that teenagers and young women in their twenties and thirties copy the looks and shape of size-zero models and risk their health. Last year two Uruguayan models died because of poor diets.

 

GLOSSARY 

• banned – not allowed
• catwalk – the area at a fashion show that the models walk along
• ensure – make sure that sth happens
• fear – be afraid of
• eating disorder – an illness in which people eat too little or too much and are unhappy with their bodies
• side effect – additional result that you did not expect or want
• poor diet – bad diet

 

download lesson (pdf)