A Few Errands

Felix: I'm just going down to the shops to buy some cigarettes, Gertie. Do you

want anything while I’m there?

Gertie: Yes, what a good idea! There are a lot of things I need, as a matter of fact. Let me see... We haven’t got many eggs left, so bring a dozen large ones. And there isn’t much cooking-fat in the jar, so bring a pound of lard. And...

Felix: Hold on! If you want me to get a lot of things, write them down on a piece of paper, or I’ll forget something.

Gertie: All right. But wait a minute, while I look in the other cupboard to see what we need.

Felix: Hurry up, then! I want to call in for a chat with Gerry on the way back.

Gertie: We’ve got plenty of cocoa, but there isn’t much tea or coffee left. Bring a large tin of instant coffee and a quarter pound of tea. Oh! And I want some ham.

Felix: How much?

Gertie: Half a pound will do. We’re short of vegetables, too; bring some beans, and a tin of carrots...

Felix: I only wanted to go out for a stroll and a chat. I’ll need a lorry to bring all that home.

Gertie: Here’s the list. Oh, and you can pick up my coat at the dry-cleaner’s while you are passing? And do me a favour while you are at Gerry’s: ask Pam if she’s free on Thursday morning. We’re having a meeting at ten o’clock about the tennis-club dance in August. Bye, dear.

2.27. Work with a partner and act out the following situations.

1. You buy a sweater and leave it in a store by mistake. When you discover it is missing, you return to the store and ask the clerk if he has seen it.

2. You have bought a pullover. You get home, try it on and it doesn’t fit. You haven’t washed it and you tried it onin the shop. Maybe, they gave you the wrong pullover by mistake. You go back to the shop to sort things out.

3. You are at a men’s ready-made clothes depart­ment. You want a suit for everyday wear, some shirts and a tie to match the suit. The shop-assistant is ready to help you. (You are going to buy those things for you or for your husband/son).

4. You are at a shoe department. You want a pair of good summer walking shoes. The shop-assistant is very helpful.

5. You are at a computer shop. You need a new computer. You want it to be both

cheap and reliable.

6. Tomorrow is your mother’s birthday. You need to buy a lot of food. The

sales assistant is eager to help you.

7. You are at a women’s outfit department. You need a summer/ evening dress.

You ask the shop-assistant about the fabrics, the price and other details.

2.28. Work in a small group and discuss these questions. Then discuss them in class.

1) Do you often go shopping? Is there a greengrocery near your house? What is it

like? When did you last go shopping there? What did you buy there?

2) Wheredo you usually buy your food? What is the shop like? Do you like to do

your shopping there? Why? When did you last go there? What did you buy?

How long did it take you to do your shopping there?

3) Which is the biggest department store in your town? Where is it? What is it

like? How often do you do your shopping there? When did you last buy

anything there? What was it?

4) What shop do you usually go to if you want to buy a present? What present did

you buy for any of your relatives (mother, father, sister, etc.) or friends last?

What was the occasion? Where did you buy the present? Did it take you long to

choose it? Are you sure the person you’d bought the present for really liked it?

2.29. Comment on the following proverbs and sayings about money, buying and bargains. Which one do you like best? Why? Which one do you disagree with?

Citations about the about money, buyin and bargains:

1. Everyone is model size when it comes to handbags. (Karl Lagerfeld)

2. [A bargain] is anything a customer thinks a store is losing money on. (Kin Hubbard)

3. [A bargain] is a transaction in which each participant thinks he has cheated the other. (Anonymous)

4. [A bargain is] something you have to find use for, once you’ve bought it. (Franklin Jones)

5. [Money is] sweet balm. (Arabian proverb)

6. [Money is] a good servant, but a bad master. (Henry G. Bohn)

7. [Money is] a new form of slavery. (Leo Tolstoy)

8. [Money is] a eel in the hand. (Welsh proverb)

9. [Money is] the best messenger. (Yiddish proverb)

10. [Money is] like an arm or leg – use it or lose it. (Henry Ford)

11. [Money is] the sixth sense which enables you to enjoy the other five. (William Somerset Maugham)

12. [Money is] a kind of disease which those who have it don’t like to spread. (Mendel Maranz)

13. [Money is] read medicine. (Latin proverb)

14. For some people, shopping is all about the thrill of the hunt; for some, it's the high of the purchase; and for some, it's the socialization with the salesperson -- the acknowledgement and reinforcement they get. (April Lane Benson, a New York City psychologist specializing in "overshopping"and the author of I Shop, Therefore I Am: Compulsive Buying and the Search for Self)

2.30. Read the text and answer the questions below, then discuss it in class.

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