Appearance
Face is the index of the mind
CONVERSATION
Robert: Hello, Dan.
Dan: Hello, Robert. Glad to see you.
Robert: So am I. Well, Dan, will you do me a favour?
Dan: Most willingly. What can I do for you?
Robert: You see, my cousin comes today on a visit from Moscow. I promised to meet her at the station, but unfortunately, I have an exam today.
Dan: Don’t worry I’ll help you out. How old is your cousin?
Robert: She is sixteen; she is still a schoolgirl.
Dan: Is she tall?
Robert: She is neither very tall not short. I think she is of medium height.
Dan: Is she dark or fair?
Robert: Her hair is fair but she has dark eyes and eyebrows.
Dan: So she took after you mother, her aunt, didn’t she?
Robert: Not quite. She resembles our grandmother with her straight nose and fair complexion.
Dan: I see. That means, your cousin is very good-looking, isn’t she?
Robert: I believe she is, though she is not a regular beauty.
Dan: Now, I suppose, I can recognize her in the crowd, especially if you give me the number of the train and her carriage.
Robert: Thanks a lot.
Read this extract and make literary translation:
When she was younger and slender she had liked it well enough. She liked it less now that her delicate features had grown muzzy with fat, that her arms and shoulders were so substantial and her hips so massive. It was increasingly difficult to find dresses to make her look as she liked to look. She still wore blue to bring out the colour of her eyes and, with the help of art, her fair hair had kept its luster. What she liked about Beatrice Richman and Frances Hickson was that they were both so much fatter than she, it made her look quite slim.
(from “The Three fat Women of Antibes” by S. Maugham )
Set Expressions
As tall as a maypole- высокий как каланча
As thin as a lath- худой как щепка
As like as two peas- похожи как две капли воды
As sound as a roach – здоров как бык
Proverbs
Appearances are deceptive- внешность обманчива
The face is the index of the mind- лицо зеркало души
A fair face may hide a foul heart- за красивым лицом может скрываться злое сердце
IDIOMS WITH THE WORD “FACE”
1) come face with:
a) to meet someone suddenly, especially when you are frightened of him.
I turned the corner and came face to face with a large, fierce-looking cop.
b) to have a meeting with someone. When I finally came face to face with the magistrate I was unable to make him understand how serious I felt the situation was.
c) to be in a situation where you are forced to admit and deal with something unpleasant.
When people come face to face with the unpleasant aspects of society in which they grew up, they are often distressed.
2) couldn’t show your face.
colloquial: to feel too ashamed or embarrassed to go somewhere. All my friends had come out to watch me and I knew I couldn’t show my face after the match if I hadn’t scored a goal.
3) sb’s face doesn’t fit – Br.E
used in order to say that someone is not considered suitable to work with or belong to a group or organization because he is different from other people in it.
Carl always felt that his face didn’t fit Oxford. If your face doesn’t fit they won’t hire you.
4) get out of my face.
colloquial : rude expression used in order to tell someone who is annoying you to stop talking to you and go away.
I wish Mrs. Piper would get out of my face. It’s like I am the only one in the class who ever does anything wrong.
5) sth is written all over sb’s face.
used to say that someone’s expression shows very clearly what one is thinking or feeling.
Harlan spoke of his hopes for the future, but disappointment was written all over his face. My cheeks burned and I knew I had guilt written all over my face.
6) keep a straight face.
to be able to continue looking serious even though you want to laugh.
Jan struggled to keep a straight face as our mother gave us a long talk on how to behave towards young men.
7) stuff your face.
colloquial: to eat a lot in a short time. We stuffed our faces with tons of hot dogs and cotton candy. Robbie sat there stuffing his face as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks.
8) vanish (disappear) / drop off the face of the earth (исчезнуть с лица земли) suddenly disappear so that none can find or see you. As far as I can tell, he’s just vanished off the face of the earth.
9) you can do something till /until you are blue in the face.
colloquial: although one spends a lot of time and efforts doing something, he will not achieve anything.
You can argue till you are blue in the face I am not going to change my mind.
WORDS AND WORD COMBINATIONS.
Figure Build- телосложение Bearing- осанка To be solidly (heavily) built Slender SlimThinLean / bony- худой, костлявый |
Tall |
Read these extracts, translate and mind the description of appearance:
He was bigger than I expected: I don’t know why I had imagined him slender and of insignificant appearance; in point of fact he was broad and heavy, with large hands and feet, and he wore his evening clothes clumsily. He gave you somewhat the idea of a coachman dressed up for the occasion. He was a man of forty, not good-looking, and yet not ugly, for his features were rather good; but they were all a little larger than life-size and the effect was ungainly. He was clean-shaven, and his large face looked uncomfortably naked. His hair was reddish, cut very short, and his eyes were small, blue or grey. He looked commonplace. I no longer wondered that Mrs. Strickland felt a certain embarrassment about him; he was scarcely a credit to a woman who wanted to make herself a position in the world of art and letters. It was obvious that he had no social gifts, but these a man can do without; he had no eccentricity even, to take him out of the common run; he was just a good, dull, honest, plain man. One would admire his excellent qualities, but avoid his company. He was null. He was probably a worthy member of society, a good husband and father, an honest broker; but there was no reason to waste one’s time over him.
She was not the ravishing creature that his lovesick fancy saw, but she had a grave comeliness. She was rather tall, and her grey dress, simple and quite well-cut, did not hide the fact that her figure was beautiful. It was a figure that might have appealed more to the sculptor than to the costumier. Her hair, brown and abundant, was plainly done, her face was very pale, and her features were good without being distinguished. She had quite grey eyes. She just missed being beautiful, and in missing it was not even pretty. But when Stroeve spoke of Chardin it was not without reason, and she reminded me curiously of that pleasant house-wife in her mobcap and apron whom the great painter has immortalized. I could imagine her sedately busy among her pots and pans, making a ritual of her household duties, so that they acquired a moral significance; I did not suppose that she was clever or could ever be amusing, but there was something in her grave intentness which excited my interest. Her reserve was not without mystery. I wonder why she had married Dirk Stroeve. Though she was English, I could not exactly place her, and it was not obvious from what rank in society she sprang, what had been her upbringing, or how she lived before her marriage. She was very silent, but when she spoke it was with a pleasant voice, and her manners were natural.
(from “The Moon and Sixpence” by Somerset Maugham)
Words and Expressions.
She is a real beauty – она просто красавица
Common appearance – заурядная внешность
Plain / homely / ugly - уродливый
как он / она выглядит ?
What does he / she look like? What is he / she like?
To lose (reduce) weight - худеть
To put on (gain) weight – полнеть, поправляться
To resemble smb. = to take after smb. – быть похожим на кого-либо
Ann greatly resembles her mother.
Tom is the very image of his father – Том – вылитый отец.
To look the picture of health – дышать здоровьем
Exercises
Exercise 1. Answer the following questions.
1.How old are you? Do you resemble your father or mother? Is your father dark-haired or fair-haired? What colour of eyes has your father? Are your parents tall or of medium height? Who does your sister (brother) resemble? Are sisters and brothers always alike? 2. Is your girl-friend good-looking? Is she slender of plump? tall or short? Dark-eyed of blue-eyed? Is her hair long or short? Is it straight or wavy? What is her haircut? Does she wear her hair loose or does she have a hairdo? What is her complexion? 3. Your father is a tall, broad-shouldered man, isn’t he? Does he wear a beard or moustache? 4. What is the most beautiful thing about your friend’ s face? (a dimple in the chin, dimples in the cheeks, a mole on the right cheek, fair complexion, beautiful eyes). 5. What is your ideal of woman’s beauty? of man’s beauty?
Exercise 2. Answer the following questions according to the pattern.
Pattern: Is your sister blue-eyed or dark-eyed? (green). Neither. She has green eyes.
- Did you take after your father or mother? (grandmother). 2. Is your brother tall or short? (medium height). 3. Is her hair dark or fair? (of chestnut colour). 4. Is your hair straight or curly? (wavy). 5. Does your brother resemble you or your parents? (his grandfather). 6. Is your friend 22 or 25? (twenty). 7. Are your eyes brown or green? (grey) 8. Is your grandmother stout? (thin).
Exercise 3. Complete the following sentences.
- Your sister is a regular beauty … . 2. He was a handsome young man … . 3. The woman who opened the door was … . 4. My niece is such a nice little thing … . 5. The most remarkable thing about her face is … . 6. She looks the very picture of her mother: she has the same … . 7. The girl charmed everybody; she … . 8. Can you describe that man? – Sure, he … . 9. Is your friend as beautiful as she used to be? – It ‘s a pity, but she is not. She … . 10. She is twenty five, she looks … .
Exercise 4. Combine two sentences choosing the most suitable one from those given in the right-hand column.
- She is not so slender as she used to be. 1. She looks young for her age.
- His hair is not so thick as it was in his youth. 2. Her hair is getting gray.
- My mother doesn’t look her age. 3. She is running to fat.
- She is not so beautiful as she was 4. His hair is thinning.
when a young girl. 5. She has put on weight.
- There is little hair left on his head. 6. He is getting bald.
- She looks the very picture of health. 7. She looks older than her 40
- I could hardly recognize Jane when 8. Her cheeks are rosy and fair in the colour.
8. I ran into her in the street. 9. She looks pale and thin.
9. She doesn’t wear her hair loose any more. 10. She has become very fat.
BEAUTY.
For the Greeks beauty was a virtue: a kind of excellence. Persons then were assumed to be what we now have to call – whole persons. If it did occur to the Greeks to distinguish between a person’s “inside” and “outside”, they still expected that inner beauty would be matched beauty of the other kind. The well – born young Athenians who gathered around Socrates found it quite paradoxical that their hero was so intelligent, so brave, so honorable, so seductive – and so ugly. One of Socrates’ main pedagogical acts was to be ugly – and teach those innocent, splendid looking disciples of how full of paradoxes life really was.
They may have resisted Socrates’ lesson. We do not. Several thousand years later, we are more wary of the enchantments of beauty. We not only split off – with the greatest facility – the “inside” (character, intellect) from the “outside” (appearance); but we are actually surprised when someone who is beautiful is also intelligent, talented, good.
A beautiful woman, we say in English. But a handsome man. “Handsome” is the masculine equivalent of a compliment which has accumulated certain demeaning overtones, by being reserved for women only.
(from “Women’s Beauty: put down or power source?” by Susan Sontag).
Tasks.
- Translate the extract above.
- Comment upon underlined words.
- Give synonyms to the adjective “beautiful”.
- Give synonyms to the adjective “ugly”.
- Are adjective “beautiful” and “handsome” absolute synonyms? What is the difference between them?
- What is more significant for you, inside or outside beauty? Why?
- Describe appearance that you consider ideal.
- Give Russian equivalents to the following:
набирать вес, чрезмерная полнота, похожи как две капли воды, двойной подбородок, упитанный ребенок, красивый мужчина, привлекательная внешность, заурядная внешность, курносый мальчишка, лоб, неровные зубы.
Make up sentences with these words.
Idiom
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Used in order to say that different people have different opinions about what is beautiful.
e.g. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and a poet often finds beauty in the strangest places.
Comment upon the meaning of this idiom.
Make up sentences using it.
Exercise 5. Ask your fellow students.
… who she / he looks after
… what her / his sister looks like
… if his girl-friend is a regular beauty
… what colour hair has her / his mother (father)
… if her / his brother is tall or of medium height
… if her / his little sister has a tuned up or straight nose
… who of the children took after their mother
… if she and her sister (brother) are alike
… what colour eyes she likes better: dark or blue
… if her / his mother looks her age (old, young for her age)
… if she uses make up
… if her parents approve of young girls using make up
Exercise 6. Give English equivalents for the Russian words in brackets.
1.He was handsome with thin, even features and (чёрными густыми вьющимися волосами). 2.The most unusual thing about him however was his (тёмно-голубые глаза). 3. She was a year younger than he; still (стройная) and good-looking. 4. When she smiled two pretty (ямочки) appeared in her cheeks. 5. Johnny was an easy person to like. He was tall, (широкоплечий) with (густыми светлыми волосами) and blue eyes. 6. You can recognize her by a large (родинка) on her left cheek. 7. I have never seen such beautiful (цвет лица). 8. She was a little girl. Her (золотистые) hair was (вьющиеся), and her blue eyes were soft and warm. 9. She wears her hair (распущенными). 10. He was a man of (среднего роста) with large hands and feet.
Exercise 7. Arrange the following words in antonymic pairs. Use them in sentences of you own.
- Dark eyes, snub nose, fair hair, thick hair, wavy hair, long eyelashes, rosy cheeks, even teeth, slender figure, dark complexion, full lips, long legs, plump.
- Short legs, stout figure, blue eyes, fair complexion, thin lips, slim, straight nose, short eyelashes, uneven teeth, straight hair, pale cheeks, thin hair, thin lips.
Exercise 8. Use the following questions and sentences in natural context of you own.
1. How does she look now? 2. I could hardly recognize her. 3. Has she changed much since you saw her last? 4. Your husband is as handsome as he used to be. 5. Can you describe the man for the police? 6. I took him for an Italian. 7. She is on a slimming diet now. 8. You don’t look a year older than you looked five years ago. 9. He is madly in love with her. – Is she a beauty? – No, quite plain. – Well, beauty lies in lover’s eyes. 10. She is too beautiful to be clever. – You know, appearances are deceptive.
Exercise 9. Combine the following nouns and adjectives in pairs.
- Mouth, teeth, chin, forehead, fingers, cheeks, waist, shoulders, hair, eyebrows, nose, eyes, features.
- Deep-set, slender, high, even, round, square, regular, narrow, curly, broad, shapely, thin, full, uneven, firm, penciled, aquiline, hazel, bushy, wide-set, low, rosy, irregular.
Cheeks Chin
ruddy double chin
sunken (впалые) round chin
rosy square chin
freckled protruding
(выдающийся вперед)
hollow (ввалишиеся)
droop (свисающие)
Eyes Nose
wide / narrow snub (курносый)
almond aquiline (орлиный)
bulging (на выкате) thick / thin
sunken Greek nose
goggle – eyed hook (с горбинкой)
Hair
short / long / medium length shingled(коротко оcтриженные)
straight plaited (заплетенные в косу)
curly knot (узел, завязывать узлом)
wavy fringe (челка)
crisp (вьющиеся) styled (уложенные лаком)
dyed (окрашенные) haircut (стрижка)
curling (завивка) loose hair (распущенные волосы)
permanent (химическая завивка) dryer (фен)
curlers (бигуди) bald (лысый)
hairdo (прическа) bobbed (коротко стриженные)
Mind!
The word “hair” is singular in English.
Her hair is wavy.
I want to have my hair cut (OPC). – Я хочу постричь волосы (не сам)
I want to have my hair styled – Мне нужно уложить волосы
Данная конструкция применяется в тех случаях, когда человек не производит действия. Действие производится над ним.
Compare:
I have cut my hair – Я постриг волосы (сам произвел действие)
I had my hair cut – Мне постригли волосы
I had my beard trimmed. (OPC) – Мне подровняли бороду.
I have trimmed my beard. – Я подстриг себе бороду.
Exercise 10. Make up your own dialogues on the topic.
Exercise 11. Describe your favorite film star.
Exercise 12. Choose some portrait and describe it.
Exercise 13. Translate into English.
1. Её мать невысокого роста, полная, с тёмными волосами и серыми глазами. Дочь совсем на неё не похожа. Она высокая блондинка, очень стройная, с большими голубыми глазами, тёмными бровями и ресницами. У неё большой, но красивый рот, прямой нос и прекрасный цвет лица. 2. Мой сосед был высокий худой мужчина лет пятидесяти. Его лицо было не очень привлекательным. У него был крупный нос, небольшие тёмные глаза и тонкие губы. Однако, когда он говорил и улыбался, лицо сразу же становилось очень приятным. 3. Это была пожилая (elderly) женщина лет 60, с седыми волосами, довольно полная, но всё ещё красивая. 4. Девочка была прелестна с её круглым личиком, большими тёмно-голубыми глазами и вздёрнутым носиком.
List of the Words and Expressions
to take after to resemble to be alike to look like to be the picture of to look one’s age to take smb. for smb. regular beauty good-looking handsome plain eyes nose mouth lips cheek chin beard moustache dimples bald features aquiline wide-set hazel |
eyebrows |
INFORMATION FOR COMPREHENSION
Understanding the nature and meaning of beauty is one of the key themes in the philosophical discipline known as aesthetics.*
*aesthetics – branch of philosophy concentrated with the beautiful in nature and art.
WHO IS DANDY
A dandy is a man who devotes particular attention to his physical appearance. The practice of dandyism was a cultural habit that began in France in the eighteenth century, and spread to England in the nineteenth century, during which England returned it to France.
Physiological differences in human physical appearance from individual to individual:
- Height is a measurement of the distance from the bottom to the top of something, which is upright. The measurement must be taken vertically otherwise it is termed the length (or sometimes, the width). Like length and width, it is measured in units of length.
Physical Weight
In physics, the weight of an object is the force exerted upon it due to gravity, given by multiplication of the mass of the object by the gravity.
Human skin color can range from almost black to pinkish white in different people. In general, people with ancestors from sunny regions have darker skin than people with ancestors from regions with less sunlight. (However, this is complicated by the fact that there are people whose ancestors come from both sunny and less-sunny regions; and these people may have skin colors across the spectrum.) On average, women have slightly lighter skin than men.
A mole is a small spot of darkened pigment on the skin, which forms where there is a high concentration of melanin.
Hair is an outgrowth of the epidermis in mammals. Hair is a characteristic of all mammals, though in some species hair is absent at certain stages of life. Hair serves a number of different functions. It provides insulation from cold weather and, in some species, from particularly hot weather. Because hair is often pigmented, it provides coloration. This might serve to camouflage an individual; in some mammals, the pigmentation changes with the seasons, becoming white during the snowy winter, for example. Human beings have many variations in hair color and texture. Some names for human hair colors include:
- Blonde
- Brunette
- Redhead
Most people of African, Indian and Asian descent have very dark hair by European standards. However, hair color differences also exist between individuals in these groups, as well as distinct hair texture differences. People also change their hair color to colors that aren't their natural ones.
Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma or surgery. Some types of amputation are foot amputations, ankle disarticulation, below-knee amputation (transtibial), knee-bearing amputation (Symes), above knee amputation (transfemoral), hip disarticulation, amputation of digits, metacarpal amputation, wrist disarticulation, forearm amputation, elbow disarticulation, above-elbow amputation (transradial), and shoulder disarticulation and forequarter amputation.
A scar results from the biologic process of wound repair in the skin and other tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a natural part of the healing process. With the exception of very minor lesions, every wound (e.g. after accident, disease, or surgery) results in some degree of scarring. Scar tissue is not identical to the tissue which it replaces and is usually of inferior functional.
IT IS VERY INTERESTING AND COGNITIVE!
Short-term physiological changes in an individual
- Blushing: to blush is to display a marked redness of one's face; the term is seldom applied except when the redness is construed as a result of embarrassment, shame, or modesty.
- Erythrophobia (literally "fear of redness") refers to any pathological fear of blushing.
Lachrymation refers to the body's process of producing tears, which are a liquid produced by the body to clean and lubricate the eyes. The word lachrymation may also be used in a medical or literary sense to refer to crying. Crying or weeping is increased lachrymation due to strong emotion, pain, or irritation around the eye. In humans, emotional or pain-induced tearing can be accompanied by sobbing - cough-like, convulsive breathing, sometimes involving spasms of the whole upper body.
Fainting is a sudden (and generally momentary) loss of consciousness due to a lack of sufficient blood and oxygen reaching the brain. The first symptoms a person will feel before fainting are dizziness and feeling hot. Moments later, the person's vision turns black and he or she will drop to the floor (or slump if seated in a chair). The medical term for fainting is syncope. Factors that influence fainting are taking in too little food and fluids, low blood pressure, physical exercise in excess of the energy reserve of the body, and lack of sleep. Even standing up too quickly or being in too hot a room can cause fainting.
fainting – обморок, потеря сознания
dizziness – головокружение
Clothing and personal effects
- Clothing: humans wear articles of clothing (also known as dress, garments or attire) on the body for one or more of the following purposes:
- protection against the elements
- protection in work conditions
- modesty
- adornment
- as a statement of socioeconomic class or religious affiliation
- as a means of maintaining a power hierarchy.
Headgear, headwear or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on one's head. Common forms of headgear include hats, caps, bonnets, hoods, headscarves and helmets. Headgear can have great symbolic significance: in a monarchy, for example, royalty often have special crowns. Hair accessories and replacements, such as wigs, may also be included in the category of headgear. Footwear consists of garments worn on the feet. Footwear is worn for a variety of reasons, including protection against the environment, hygiene and adornment. Often, socks and other hosiery are worn under footwear.
Style and colour of haircut (dreadlocks (see the picture), braids, ponytail, wig (парик), hairpin, facial hair,beard and moustache).
cosmetics, stage makeup, body paintings
body modifications, such as body piercing* and tattoos*
- decorative objects (jewellery) such as necklaces, bracelets, rings.
- medical or body shape altering devices (e.g. tooth braces, bandages, hearing aid, calipers, cervical collar, glasses, gold teeth).
Translate into English:
- Его внешность производила странное впечатление. Он был очень высок и тощ, с длинными руками и ногами, впалыми щеками и торчащими скулами; при такой худобе его полные чувственные губы казались особенно неожиданными. Он носил длинные волосы. Его темные, глубоко посаженные глаза были большими и печальными, а красивые руки с длинными пальцами как будто свидетельствовали о большой физической силе. Но особенно поражало вызываемое им ощущение скрытого и сдерживаемого огня. В нем было что-то грозное и смутно тревожащее. Это был человек, с которым дружеская близость невозможна.
2. Это была женщина лет 27, полная, с красивым, но грубым лицом, в белом платье и большой белой шляпе. Ее толстые икры, обтянутые белыми чулками, нависали над верхом белых лакированных сапожек.
3. Мадам Кутра вплыла как корабль; весьма представительная дама, высокая, дородная, с пышным бюстом. У нее был крупный нос крючком и тройной подбородок.