тексты Shopping
учебно-методический материал по английскому языку

British Shopping Habits

 The British are not very adventurous shoppers. They like reliability and buy brand-name goods wherever possible, preferably with the price clearly marked. They are not very keen on haggling over prices. It is therefore not surprising that a very high proportion of the country's shops are branches of chain stores. Visitors from northern European countries are sometimes surprised by the shabbiness of shop-window displays, even in prosperous areas. But the British do not demand art in their shop windows. In general, they have been rather slow to take on the idea that shopping might actually be fun.

 On the other hand, visitors are also sometimes struck by the variety of types of shops. Most shops are chain stores, but among those that are not, there is a lot of individuality. Independent shopowners feci no need to follow conventional ideas about what a particular shop does and doesn't sell.

 The British have their own systems of measurement. Although on tins and packets of food in British shops the weight of an item is written in the kilos and grams familiar to people from the continent, most British people have little idea of what these terms mean. Everybody in Britain still shops in pounds and ounces. Therefore, many of their packets and tins also record their weight in pounds (written as "lbs") and ounces (written as "oz"). Moreover, nobody ever asks for a kilo of apples or 200 grams of cheese. If those are amounts you want, you should ask for "two pounds or so" of apples and "half a pound or less" of cheese.

 Shoe and clothing sizes are also measured on different scales in Britain. The people who work in shops which sell these things usually know about continental and American sizes too, but most British people don't.

 Authorities are now trying to attract more people to shops. In fact, in recent years shop opening hours have become more varied. It is now much easier than it used to be to find shops open after six. In some areas the local authorities are encouraging high-street shops to stay open very late on some evenings as a way of putting new life into their "dead" town centres.

 But the most significant change in recent years has been with regard to Sundays. Large shops and supermarkets can now stay open on Sundays for six hours, and small shops are allowed to open on Sundays for as long as they like. So shopping is now something that the whole family can do together.

Vocabulary

 adventurous — безрассудный, рискованный

 reliability — надежность

 preferably — желательно

 brand-name goods — фирменные товары, имеющие хорошую репутацию

 to haggle — торговаться

 price — цена

 therefore — поэтому

 shabbiness — потрепанность, ветхость

 prosperous — богатый, зажиточный

 to demand — требовать, нуждаться

 to be struck — поражаться

 variety — разнообразие

 conventional — традиционный

 particular — индивидуальный, частный, отдельный

 measurement — измерение, система мер

 tin — консервная банка

 weight — вес

 familiar — привычный, удобный

 pound — фунт

 ounce — унция

 size -размер

 scale — шкала, система мер

 authorities — власти

 to encourage — поощрять, рекомендовать

 significant — значительный

 with regard to — в отношении, относительно

 to allow — разрешать

Questions

 1. What sort of shoppers are the British? Why?

 2. What kind of things do they usually buy?

 3. What sort of shoppers are Russian people?

 4. Do Russian people like to haggle over prices? And what about you?

 5. Why do people usually haggle over prices?

 6. Why do the British still shop in pounds and ounces?

 7. What are the recent changes in shop opening hours?

 8. What are shop opening hours in Russia?

 9. Is it convenient to do the shopping in Russia?

American Shopping Habits

 Shopping is the favorite pastime of many Americans. They usually go to big shopping centers called malls that have a variety of boutiques, department stores and restaurants. Chain stores like J.C. Penney or The Gap are also found in malls.

 Everything is indoors, so you can walk from store to store without worrying about traffic or bad weather. Malls are air-conditioned in the summer and heated in the w inter, and they have large parking lots where you can park easily.

 Some malls provide free entertainment. There might be a band playing rock music or a puppet show for children. Child-care facilities are sometimes available, so children can play safely while their parents shop.

 People who live or work in large cities still shop at local stores in downtown where most department stores are located. Many cities have pedestrianized shopping areas with specialty stores and restaurants that are like outdoor malls.

 Many Americans are bargain hunters who shop at outlets that sell merchandize at a discount, so it is usually cheaper than at regular stores. Merchandize is also discounted in regular stores. An item on sale can cost as Htile as half the normal price. Sales arc advertised in newspapers, on the radio, on TV or by mail.

 Stores compete with each other by reducing their prices and staying open in the evening. Many are open seven days a week and sometimes until 9.00 at night.

 Shoppers can use their credit cards to charge almost everything they buy. Buying something with a credit card can be more convenient than paying for it right away with cash. There are many different kinds of credit cards. Many people end up in debt to credit-card companies because they have trouble paying off their credit-card bills.

 Mail-order shopping has become very popular because it saves time. Shoppers use credit cards to pay for something over the phone after they've seen it advertized in a mail-order catalog, on TV or in a newspaper or magazine. A number of mail-order companies accept phone orders twenty-four hours a day and most have toll-free numbers.

Vocabulary

 boutique — небольшой магазин женской одежды, модная лавка

 chain stores — однотипные розничные магазины одной фирмы, сетевые магазины

 indoors — в помещении

 to worry — беспокоиться

 to provide — предоставлять, обеспечивать

 entertainment — развлечения

 puppet show — кукольное представление

 child-care facilities — детские игровые комнаты

 available — имеющийся в наличии, доступный

 downtown — деловая часть города, центр

 pedestrianized — пешеходный

 specialty shop — фирменный магазин

 outdoor — на улице, на открытом воздухе

 bargain hunter — завсегдатай распродаж, ищущий дешевых покупок

 outlet — торговая точка, специализированный магазин

 merchandize — товары

 discount — скидка

 regular — обычный

 item — изделие, отдельное наименование товара sale — распродажа по сниженным ценам

 to advertize — рекламировать

 to compete — соревноваться, конкурировать

 to reduce — снижать, уменьшать

 to charge — записывать на счет, оплачивать

 convenient — удобный

 cash — наличные деньги

 debt — долг

 bill — счет

 to accept — принимать

 toll-free — бесплатный

Questions

 1. Do Americans enjoy shopping?

 2. What is a mall? Can you describe it?

 3. What sort of shoppers are Americans?

 4. Do they like to buy brand-name goods?

 5. How can Americans learn about sales?

 6. How can Americans pay for the goods?

 7. Which way is more convenient for them?

 8. What kind of shopping has recently become very popular?