FCE grammar about present perfect

Why I hate shopping

Football does it to some people. For others it's home improvements. But in my case, when the conversation turns to clothes shopping, my eyes glaze over and I start staring into space, thinking of a hundred and one other topics I'd rather be discussing. Like football, or home improvements.

I've always detested shopping for clothes, ever since the days when I used to get dragged around the town by my mother to hunt down a new pair of school trousers, summer sandals or a winter coat. (1) Believe me, I've tried many times to enjoy the whole shopping experience, but there are just too many reasons to hate it.

The first obstacles to overcome are the sales assistants. I can never seem to get rid of them. They are impatient for a sale, hungry for commission, and I feel pressured into trying things on I know I'm not going to like. It's almost a relief to get to the changing room - perhaps they'll find someone else to bother now. (2) It's hot, it's cramped and there's nowhere to sit and nowhere to hang anything up, so the floor becomes a mess of clothing. Loud background music adds to the confusion and I break into a sweat.

Feeling claustrophobic now, I work quickly to put an end to my suffering. But it's never straightforward. (3) Trousers are the worst.

Right waist, wrong length. Right length, wrong cut. So I hurriedly put my own clothes back on and head off in search of my size, careful to avoid any assistants as I do so.

When I do find something I'm more or less satisfied with, I often have to leave it in the shop for a week to have it shortened, lengthened, taken in or let out. And when I go to pick it up, I wonder what on earth led me to buy it in the first place. (4) It makes it difficult to appreciate the true colour of the garment, and you can never really know for certain what you've bought until you get it outside in the street.

Part of my problem in all this, I suppose, is that I just can't get excited about clothes. (5) I can wear the same baggy old T-shirt for days on end, or at least until I have to change it for reasons of hygiene. So why would I put myself through the torture of shopping unless it were absolutely unavoidable?

But there is an alternative. I have just taken delivery of a pair of trousers for work, which I ordered on line. It's the first time I've bought clothes on the Internet - and it probably won't be the last. (6) Importantly, I don't have to suffer all the hassle of crowded stores, pushy shop assistants, tiny changing rooms and deafening music to do this. A simple trip to the post office is all that's needed. Now that's a shopping experience I'm happy to go through.

A They don't fit, it's true, but I can easily return them and ask for a larger size.

B I'm not bothered if I look scruffy, as long as I feel comfortable.

C Things don't get any better there, though.

D At last they move away and leave me to look around in peace.

E The shop's fluorescent lighting is sometimes to blame for this.

F Why is it that nothing ever fits on the first attempt?

G Now I shop alone, but my heart still sinks when I have to buy new shoes or replace a favourite pair of jeans that have finally fallen apart.

a Your parents have just arrived. I can hear their car.

b I've known Keith since we started school together.

c Sue has worked in a number of different countries.

d That must be the tenth time you've told me that joke!

e Ben's already sent me fifteen text messages this week.

f Mrs Avery has lived in that house for over sixty years.

g This film's very familiar - I think I've seen it before.

h I've lost my glasses. Can you help me look for them?