Shopping

Shopping has common elements wherever it takes place. A buyer looks for a seller who is offering something the buyer wants or needs at a price the buyer can afford to pay. Sellers often advertise their wares in newspapers, on the radio or TV, on posters etc. Sellers use a variety of tactics to induce buyers to purchase from them at a price which leaves some profit.

Shopping is a part of our daily life. And we have to deal with it whether we like it or not. There are people who hate going shopping. So they make a list of what they need and run through stores buying the needed things. Sometimes they even don't care about the price. And there are people who go from store to store looking for goods of better quality and lower price. Those don't worry about the time they spend shopping.

But there is a very good service called Postal Market. It really helps you to save your time and get goods of high quali­ty. You just have to look through a catalogue, choose the things you like, order them and wait a little to get them.

Tradesmen or shopkeepers generally deal only in certain goods. The grocer sells a variety of foodstuffs such as flour, butter, eggs, biscuits, jam and jellies, cheese, sugar, spice tinned and frozen foods. The greengrocer deals in fruit and vegetables. The florist sells flowers and plants, wreaths and bouquets. We go to a fishmonger for fish and if he is a poulterer as well we can buy poultry there - chickens, ducks, geese or turkeys. A milkshop is called a dairy. There we buy dairy produce - milk, butter, cheese, cream, sore cream and eggs. Then we run out of bread. We go to the baker's and ask for a loaf of white or brown bread. A cake shop sells pastries and cakes of all kinds. The confectioner always does a good trade selling sweets - chocolates, toffees and other tempting things. That makes every child's mouth water.

A draper sells clothes. A tailor sells men's clothes, either ready-to-ware or made to measure. If a woman wants to buy ready-made clothes to a dress shop or a department store. A dressmaker makes ladies' clothes in her own home.

The hatter sells men's hats, but the milliner sells hats for ladies. The hosier sells hosiery or knitted goods like stockings, socks or underclothes, a man's outfitter sells everything a man needs in the way of clothes.

Those who need paper, pens, rubbers, ink, rulers, notebooks, exercise books and bloating-paper can get them at the stationer's. The bookseller sells books and magazines. The watchmaker repairs and sells clocks and watches.

The jeweler sells jewelry and also things of gold and silver, ornaments.

The china-shop has a large stock of china porcelain and earthenware. The ironmonger supplies everything made of iron (hard-ware) from nails to gardening - tools. The furniture-shop sells furniture either for cash, or on hire purchase. A chemist although a qualified pharmacist, sells many things besides medicines - perfume, toilet articles such a soap, toothpaste, spongers, tooth brushes and even cameras and films.

The methods of shopping may vary. It may be a self-ser­vice shop where the customer goes from counter to counter selecting and putting into a basket what he wishes to buy. Then he takes the basket to the check-out counter, where the prices of the purchases are added up. If it is not a self-service shop, and most small shops are not, the shop-assistant helps the cus­tomer in finding what he wants. You pay money to the cashier and he gives you back the change.

Questions:

1. Who does the shopping in your family?

2. How often do you go shopping?

3. Do you prefer to go shopping on weekdays or at the weekend?

4. Do you like to go to small shops or to big department stores and supermarkets?

5. Which do you think is the most convenient time for shopping?

6. Some people are fond of window-shopping. Can you say that you belong to such people?

7. What are advantages and disadvantages of big supermarkets?

8. What kinds of shops are there in the city?

9. What departments are there in department stores?

10. Can you see a different between state-owned shops and private shops? Which ones do you prefer?

Vocabulary:

to buy (to purchase, to shop for) покупать

to sell продавать

to supply снабжать, поставлять

to deliver доставлять (товары)

to display выставлять (товары)

cheap дешевый

expensive (dear) дорогой

to cost стоить

price, at a price цена, по цене

discount, at a discount скидка, со скидкой

sale распродажа

cash-desk касса

salesman (shop assistant) продавец

saleswoman продавщица

customer (shopper) покупатель

consumer потребитель

shopping queue, line очередь

to do one's shopping делать покупки

to go shopping идти по магазинам

baker's / bakery булочная

flour мука

butter масло

egg яйцо

biscuit (сухое) печенье

cheese сыр

sugar сахар

spice специя, пряность

salt соль

tinned foods консервированные продукты

frozen foods замороженные продукты

plant растение

vegetable овощ

fruit фрукты

wreath венок

bouquet букет

poultry домашняя птица

game дичь

chicken цыпленок

duck утка

goose гусь

turkey индейка

butcher's мясной (магазин)

confectioner's кондитерский

dairy молочный

greengrocer's овощной

fishmonger's рыбный

sweet-shop сласти

shop-window (window display) витрина

department store универсальный магазин

counter прилавок

shop (store) магазин

booth ларек

stall (kiosk) киоск

to change разменять

change сдача

to pay платить

How much is it? What does it cost? Сколько стоит

to wrap заворачивать (покупку)

fitting room примерочная

to try on примерять

to fit сидеть (о платье)

to suit, to become подходить, быть к лицу

to match, to go with сочетаться, гармонировать

style, design фасон

fashion, vogue мода

all the vogue крик моды

up-to date современный

stylish модный

bunch of flowers букет цветов

loaf of (bread) батон (хлеба)

draper's ткани (магазин)

tailor портной

hosiery трикотаж

stockings чулки

socks носки

underclothes нижнее белье

rubber ластик

ink чернила

rule линейка

notebook записная книжка

blotting-paper промокательная бумага

stationer's канцелярские товары

magazine журнал

clock часы (настенные)

watch часы (наручные)

jewellery ювелирные украшения

gold золото

silver серебро

ornament украшение

china-shop магазин посуды

porcelain фарфор

earthenware глиняная посуда

ironmonger торговец железными изделиями

nail гвоздь

gardening tools садовые принадлежности

furniture мебель

cash наличные деньги

on hire purchase в кредит, в рассрочку

perfume духи

toilet articles туалетные принадлежности

soap мыло

tooth paste зубная паста

sponge губка

tooth brush зубная щетка

camera фотоаппарат

film пленка (фото-, видео-)

that will do это годится, устраивает

to be out of stock кончиться, распродать

Dialogues:

1.

- Can I help you?

- Yes, I'm looking for a sweater.

- We've got some sweaters over here. What color are you looking for?

- This blue one is nice.

- Yes, it is. Is it for yourself?

- Yes, it is. Can I try it on?

- Yes, go ahead.

- No, it's too small. It doesn't fit me. Have you got one in a bigger size?

- No, I'm afraid not. What about the red one?

- No, I don't like the color. Red doesn't suit me. OK, I'll leave it. Thank you.

- Goodbye.

2.

- Can I help you, sir?

- Yes, I'm looking for something for my wife. Have you got any perfume?

- Yes, sir. Try this. It's our new perfume for this season. It's called Reward.

- Can I try it? Mm. It's very good. How much is it?

- This bottle costs $37.

- Hm. Have you got it in a smaller bottle?

3.

- Excuse me.

- Yes, madam, can I help you?

- I'd like a box of chocolates for my friend.

- Yes, madam, 500 grams?

- How much is that?

- Ten dollars. These are particularly good chocolates.

- OK, I'll have them.

Translate into English:

1. Мне нужно сделать сегодня кое-какие покупки.

2. Завтра мы идем покупать мне пальто.

3. Больше всего я люблю в этом универмаге отдел ювелирных изделий.

4. Когда открываются (закрываются) магазины в вашем городе?

5. Такие костюмы сейчас в моде.

6. По дороге домой зайди в гастроном и купи: немного сахара, банку вишневого варенья, бутылку томатного соуса и два батона хлеба.

7. Выбор продуктов в этом супермаркете очень широкий.

8. У меня мало времени на приготовление пищи, поэтому я часто покупаю замороженные продукты.

9. В нашем гастрономе всегда в продаже свежее мясо.

10. На рынке некоторые продукты можно купить по более низкой цене.