Use the following model to speak about your ideas of traits of character.

Ø I think that if a person is ………., ……….., because ………..

Example:I think that if a person is selfish, people wouldn’t like him, because he thinks only of himself. I think if a person is kind, people would like him, because he thinks a lot about others and is always ready to help them.

Discussion.

1. Describe yourself using positive and negative qualities from the table. Is there a quality you do not have but would like to have? What, in your opinion, is the worst quality?

2. How would you describe persons in the situation represented in the picture below?

Compare and discuss your opinion with a partner.

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R e a d i n g

Pre-text exercises

31. Check if you remember the following verbs from the text:

to introduce, to finish, to try, to think, to say, to know, to find, to give, to swim, to walk, to take, to enjoy, to meet, to watch, to play, to agree, to change.

32. State to what part of speech the following words belong:

weigh, student, seventeen, am, always, should, passionate, skin, myself, boring, at, you, music, have, completely, years, take after, TV, a, dark-haired, my, watching.

33. Form the derivatives from the following words:

technology, interest, optimism, plays, overweight, person, conserve, outgoing, every, rely.

34. Read the following ideas of teenagers about their features of character and choose a person you would like to make friends with.

Alex

Let me introduce myself. I am Alex Sidorov. Alex is my first name and Sidorov is my surname. I am seventeen years old. In spring I finished school and now I am a student at Kazan National Research Technological University. This is my first year, I enjoy studying here and I do my best to get only “fives”.

I think I take after my father. I'm tall and medium build, in fact I am 1 metre 80 and I weigh about 75 kilos. I have got short red hair, brown eyes and freckles.

People say I am warm and friendly. I hope I am. I also think I am polite, cheerful and optimistic. I always try to be in a good mood.

Jane

I’m about one metre seventy, or something like that. So I am medium height. I’m overweight I think though my friends say I am not. I don’t know how much I weigh, ‘cause I always find it too depressing to weigh myself. I don’t think I take as much exercise as I should. I used to go to a gym, but I found it really boring. My main exercise is walking – I walk everywhere – and swimming, which is fine for giving you good stamina and it’s good for your heart, spine and lungs.

I have got dark skin and long straight black hair which I wearloose. I am calm. My hobbies are music and literature.

Oscar

I have quite an outgoing personality, really. I make friends very easily. I can mix quite well with people that I’ve never met before and with people from different walks of life. I like to be friendly to the people around me. My friends and I often spend time together watching movies and playing outdoor games.

I have a passionate interest in sports, especially football. I play football with my friends every weekend, and I watch all matches of my favourite football team Barcelona on TV.

I am a dark-haired guy with black eyes. I am honest and reliable and I value these qualities highly. I am a second-year student at Medical University.

Kate

Well, actually it is very difficult to speak about yourself, but I will try. I think that I am home-loving, kind and patient. I can get on well with people, because I always try to help them and they trust me. I am very active, although my parents say that I am lazy, because I don’t like to do the things they want me to do. Also I am very conservative, they say, and I completely agree with it. I never change anything in my life: ideas, principles, friends. And the proverb “Old friends are best friends” is my motto.

V o c a b u l a r y S t u d y

do one’s best	сделать всё возможное
take after	быть похожим на (своего близкого родственника)
freckles	веснушки
used to	имел обыкновение
stamina['stæmɪnə]	the ability to sustain prolonged physical or mental effort
loose	зд. распущенные (волосы)
mix with	общаться
walk of life	общественное положение
value ['væljuː]	Ø ценность, важность Ø дорожить, ценить
actually ['ækʧuəlɪ]	фактически, на самом деле, в действительности
get on well with	хорошо ладить
conservative [kən'sɜːvətɪv]	консервативный, противящийся новому
motto	девиз, лозунг