FCE grammar about present perfect

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Reading and Use of English

Part 6

Gapped text

Look at the title of the article and read the first paragraph. What reasons do you think the writer will give for hating clothes shopping?

2 Read the base text (the text without the missing sentences). Does the article mention any of the ideas you spoke about in exercise 1?

3 Six sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-G on page 91 the one which fits each gap (1-6). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

90

Question No. /

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.

Reacting to the text

Do you share the writer's opinions? Why/Why not?

If you had to write a different article entitled 'Why I hate ... .', what topic would you write about and what reasons would you give for hating it?

Language focus 1: Present perfect simple

1 The present perfect links past events and situations with the present. The present perfect is used:

1 to describe something that started in the past and continues until the present.

I've always detested shopping for clothes, ever since the days when I used to get dragged around the town by my mother ...

2  to describe events which occurred at some time between the past and the present (exactly when they happened is not important).

I've tried many times to enjoy the whole shopping experience, but there are just too many reasons to hate it.

to talk about something which occurred in the past but ir an unfinished time period which includes the present.

So far this morning I've bought a pair of jeans, a casual shirt and a jumper. (It is still the morning and I may buy more things.)

to talk about recent past events with some relevance to the present.

I have just taken delivery of a pair of trousers for work, which I ordered online. (I now have the trousers.)

5  to talk about the first, second, third etc time something has occurred between the past and the present.

It's the first time I've bought clothes on the Internet.

91

Which of the five descriptions above can be used to explain the use of the present perfect simple in these sentences?

Question No. /

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?

3  a Decide which time expressions in the box you would use with the present perfect and which with the past simple. Make two groups of expressions in your notebook.

yet       last summer      in September

so far today       in the last few days       since I got up

two weeks ago        before I came here      for the last two years

over the last week        on my 10th birthday

when I was younger        already      this month

b Choose four expressions from each group in exercise 3a and write true sentences about yourself, using the appropriate tense.

Example:

So far today I've eaten three bars of chocolate.

I went to see a basketball match on my 10th birthday.

c  Compare your sentences with your partner's. Ask each other questions about what you have written.

Example:

Have you eaten anything else?

Which teams did you see play?

 Read more about the present perfect on page 215 of the Grammar reference.

home improvements
بهسازی خانه
conversation turns to
وقتی مکالمه می رسد به
eyes glaze over
به افق خیره شدن
dragged around
کشیدن کسی به اطراف
hunt down
شکار کردن
obstacles to overcome
غلبه به موانع
get ride of
از شر چیزی خلاص شدن
cramped
جای کوچک و تنگ
adds to the confusion
اضافه کردن به گیجی
break into a sweat
عرق ریختن
claustrophobic
ترس از فضای تنگ و بسته
put an end to
به اتمام رساندن
straightforward
آسان
head off
ترک کردن جایی
lengthened
بلند کردن لباس
garment
لباس و جامع
never really know for certain
هرگز مطمعن نبودن
for days on end
چند روز پشت سر هم
hygiene
بهداشت
put myself through the torture of
خود را در معرض شکنجه قرار دادن
unavoidable
غیر قابل اجتناب
hassle of crowded
شلوغی
deafening music
موسقی کر کننده و با صدای بلند

آغاز دوره های آنلاین آموزش زبان توسط استاد خصوصی

اینجا کلیک کنید

ماژیک فسفری

با استفاده از ماژیک فسفری می توانید کلمات و بخش های مهم را برای خود علامت گذاری نمایید و هنگام پاسخ به آزمون از آنها استفاده کنید. برای از بین بردن بخش های رنگی دوباره روی آن کلیک نمایید.

دفترچه یادداشت

هر تعدادی که دوست دارید دفترچه یادداشت ایجاد کنید و نکات مهم را در آن بنویسید.
برای استفاده از دفترچه یادداشت بر روی قسمتی از درس یا آزمون که می خواهید در آنجا نکته ی مهمی را قرار دهید کلیک نمایید.سپس در آن قسمت یک دفترچه یادداشت جدید ایجاد میشود و با کلیک بر روی آن می توانید بازش کنید و نکته های مهم را بنویسید.