Unit 10 The Jeaning of America

 

Section One Pre-reading Activities

I. Audiovisual supplement

Watch the video and answer the following questions.

1. What was the girl talking about?

2. Do you often wear jeans? How much do you know about jeans?

（插入视频）

 

Answers to the Questions:

1. She was talking about the sisterhood and a pair of jeans.

2. Open.

 

Script:

Voiceover: For as long as I could remember, the four of us shared everything. Stories, secrets, laughter, broken hearts. So when we found a pair of pants that, by some miracle, fit each of us perfectly, we took it on faith they’d come into our lives for a reason. That summer and the two that followed, the pants had the magic of keeping us together. No matter where they found us. They saw us through times of love, times of loss, and times of change. And those moments where you feel your life just lift up and take off.

 

Text I

The Jeaning of America

Carin Quinn

 

1   This is the story of a sturdy坚定的 American symbol which has now spread throughout most of the world. The symbol is not the dollar. It is not even Coca-Cola. It is a simple pair of pants called blue jeans, and what the pants symbolize is what Alexis de Tocqueville called “a manly男子气的合情合理的 and legitimate passion 追求平等的热情for equality …” Blue jeans are favored equally by bureaucrats官僚 and cowboys牛仔, bankers银行家 and deadbeats欠账人, fashion designers and beer啤酒酒鬼 drinkers. They draw不划分界限 no distinctions and recognize不区别阶级 no classes: they are merely American.1 Yet they（牛仔裤） are sought after almost everywhere in the world — including Russia, where authorities recently broke 粉碎了up a teenaged gang that was selling them on the black market for two hundred dollars a pair.2 They have been around for a long time. And it seems likely that they will outlive更久地存在下去 even the necktie.

2   This ubiquitous American symbol was the invention of a Bavarian-born出生于巴伐利亚的 Jew. His name was Levi莱维 Strauss施特劳斯.

3     He was born in Bad Ocheim, Germany, in 1829, and during the European political turmoil of 1848 decided to take碰碰他的运气 his chances in New York, to which his two brothers already had emigrated移民. Upon arrival, Levis soon found that his two brothers had exaggerated夸大了 their tales of an easy舒适生活 life in the land of the main赚钱的机会 chance. They were landowners地主, they had told him; instead, he found them pushing推销 needles, thread, pots壶, pans锅, ribbons缎带, yarn纱线, scissors剪刀, and buttons纽扣 to housewives. For two years he was a lowly低贱的小贩 peddler, hauling拖着 some 180 pounds of sundries杂货 door-to-door to eke竭力维持 out a marginal最低限度的 living. When a married sister in San Francisco offered to pay his way West in 1850, he jumped欣然接受 at the opportunity, taking with him bolts of一卷卷帆布 canvas he hoped to sell for卖给人做帐篷 tenting.3

4           It was the wrong kind of canvas for that purpose, but while talking with a miner矿工, he learned that pants — sturdy耐用耐磨的 pants that would stand up to抵得住 the rigors of挖矿的磨损力度 the digging — were almost impossible to find. Opportunity机遇在招手了 beckoned. On the spot, Strauss measured the man’s girth腰围和裤腿内缝 and inseam with a piece of string and, for six dollars值六美元的矿金 in gold dust, had the canvas tailored into a pair of stiff硬实但粗糙的 but rugged pants. The miner was delighted with the result. Word消息传了开来 got around about “those pants of Levi’s,” and Strauss was in做买卖 business.4 The company has been in经营 business ever since从那时到现在.

5    When Strauss ran out of canvas, he wrote his two brothers to send more.5 He received instead a tough坚韧的, brown cotton cloth made in Nimes尼姆, France — called serge de Nimes and swiftly shortened to “denim粗斜纹棉布、牛仔裤布料”(the word “jeans” derives from Genes热那亚, the French word for Genoa热那亚, where a similar cloth was produced). Almost from the first, Strauss had his cloth dyed the distinctive indigo靛蓝 that gave blue jeans their name. But it was not until the 1870s that he added the copper 铜扣rivets which have long since往昔、长久以来 become a company trademark商标、标志. The rivets were the idea of a Virginia City, Nevada内华达州维吉尼亚市, tailor, Jacob雅各布 W. Davis戴维斯, who added them to pacify 安抚a mean-tempered小气脾气的 miner called Alkali Ike. Alkali, the story goes, complained that the pockets of his jeans always tore when he stuffed them with ore 矿石样品samples and demanded that Davis do something about it. As a kind of joke, Davis took the pants to a blacksmith铁匠 and had the pockets 打上铆钉riveted; once again, the idea worked so well that word got around. In 1873 Strauss appropriated and占用并获得这个小发明的专利权 patented the gimmick — and hired Davis as a regional manager.

6            By this time, Strauss had taken both his brothers and two brothers-in-law into the company and was ready for准备好了 his third San Francisco store. Over the ensuing随后的 years the company prospered locally, and by the time of his death in 1902, Strauss had become a man of prominence显著 in California. For three decades thereafter the business remained profitable though small. With sales largely confined局限于 to the working people of the West — cowboys, lumberjacks伐木工人, railroad workers, and the like. Levi’s jeans were first introduced to the East, apparently, during the dude ranch 东部人牧场度假热craze of the 1930s, when vacationing Easterners returned and spread the word about the wonderful pants with rivets. Another boost推动、推广 came in World War II, when blue jeans were declared an essential必需品 commodity and were sold only to people engaged in从事国防工作 defense work. From a company with fifteen salespeople, two plants, and almost no business在密西西比以东几乎没有业务 east of the Mississippi in 1946, the organization grew in thirty years在三十年里 to include a sales force of more than twenty-two thousand, with fifty plants and offices in thirty-five countries. Each year, more than 250,000,000 items of Levi’s clothing are sold — including more than 83,000,000 pairs of riveted blue jeans. They have become, through marketing, word of 口头禅mouth, and demonstrable可以论证的可靠性 reliability, the common普及的裤子 pants of America. They can be purchased pre-washed预先漂洗, pre-faded预先褪色, and pre-shrunk预先缩水 for the suitably proletarian合适的工人外表 look. They adapt 自我调整以适应themselves to any sort of idiosyncratic特殊的用途 use; women slit剪开 them at the inseams and convert 改做成them into long skirts, men chop them裁掉 off above the knees and turn them into something to be worn while challenging挑战冲浪 the surf. Decorations and ornamentations abound.

7    The pants have become a tradition, and along the way have acquired获得了、造就了它们自己的历史 a history of their own — so much 到这样的程度以致so that the company has opened a museum in San Francisco. There was, for example, the turn-of-the-century那位世纪之交的列车员 trainman who replaced a faulty 有故障的车钩coupling with a pair of jeans: the Wyoming man who used his jeans as a rope to haul his car out of a ditch沟渠; the Californian who found several pairs in an abandoned废弃了的矿井 mine, wore them, then discovered they were sixty-three years old and still as good as new and turned them over to the Smithsonian史密斯研究会 as a tribute to their 它们强度的明证roughness. And then there is the particularly terrifying惊悚故事 story of the careless construction worker who dangled悬挂晃荡 fifty-two stories above the street until rescued, his sole唯一的依托 support the Levi’s belt袢带圈、皮带耳子 loop through which his rope was hooked勾上.

 

 

Paragraph 1

Question

How does the author prove that blue jeans stand for “a passion for equality”?

The author mentions that

1) The pants draw no distinction and recognize no classes;

2) They are favored by people from all walks of life, whether they are cowboys or bureaucrats.

 

Words and Expressions

1. symbol n. something that represents an idea

e.g. It was a mysterious place, a symbol of the unreachable and the remote.

   The lion is the symbol of courage.

Derivation:

  symbolic a.

  symbolism n.

  symbolize v.

Synonym:

representation

Collocation:

  symbol of----- an idea or quality

e.g. In the picture the tree is the symbol of life and the snake the symbol of evil.

  symbol for------ a letter, sign, or figure.

e.g. On maps, a cross is the symbol for a church.

 

2. manly a. having the qualities or appearance expected of a man

e.g. It wasn’t manly to wish for such indulgences.

Derivation:

manliness n.

 

3. legitimate a. able to be defended with logic or justification; legally valid

e.g. I’m not sure that his business is strictly legitimate.

Derivation:

  legitimately ad.

 legitimacy n.

Antonym:

  illegitimate

 

4. favor n. 1) an act of gracious kindness; an advantage to the benefit of someone or something  

e.g. He did all he could do to win her favor.

   2) v. promote over another; consider as the favorite

e.g. Among his three daughters, he favors his second one.

Derivation:

favorable a.

Collocation:

  be in / out of one’s favor

  in favor of sb. / sth.

 

Sentences

1. They draw no distinctions and recognize no classes: they are merely American. (Paragraph 1)

Translation: 穿着它们的人不分阶级，不讲究差别：它们只不过都是美国制造的。

 

2. Yet they are sought after almost everywhere in the world — including Russia, where authorities recently broke up a teenaged gang that was selling them on the black market for two hundred dollars a pair. (Paragraph 1)

Translation: 但它们却几乎在全世界都受到了人们的追捧——包括在俄罗斯，那里的政府当局最近刚刚解散了一个在黑市上以200美元一条的价格卖出它们的少年团伙。

 

Paragraphs 2-3

Questions

1. What kind of life did Levis Strauss expect in New York? (Paragraph 3)

      Levis came to New York and expected an easy life that would enable him to make a fortune.

2. Why did Strauss decide to leave New York for the West? (Paragraph 3)

       Because Strauss was disillusioned by the ill-paid, dull routine work, so he decided to leave New York for the West to try his luck.

 

Words and Expressions

5. emigrate v. permanently leave one’s own country

e.g. He and his mother received permission to emigrate to Canada.

    Her family emigrated to America in the 1850s.

Derivation:

emigration n.

emigrant n.

Collocation:

  emigrate from

emigrate to

Comparison: emigrate; immigrate

emigrate to leave one’s own country in order to go and live in another

immigrate to come into a country to make one’s life and home there

People who emigrate are emigrants from the country that they leave, and their action is called emigration. But from the point of view of the country they enter, the same people are immigrants, and their action is called immigration.

 

6. exaggerate v. say more than the truth about sth. or sb.

e.g. The seriousness of the situation has been much exaggerated in the press.

    You are exaggerating the difficulties.

Derivation:

exaggeration n.

exaggerated a.

 

7. haul vi. / vt. pull or drag from one place to another with a lot of effort

e.g. They hauled down the enemy’s flag when they captured the city.

    They hauled the boat up the beach.

Derivation:

haul n

Collocation:

  haul sb. up (before sb.) (infml) bring sb. to be tried or reprimanded

e.g. He was hauled up before the local magistrates for disorderly conduct.

      他因妨害治安被送交地方法官究办。

Synonym:

  pull; drag

 

Sentences

3. When a married sister in San Francisco offered to pay his way West in 1850, he jumped at the opportunity, taking with him bolts of canvas he hoped to sell for tenting. (Paragraph 3)

Translation: 1850年，一个婚后居住在旧金山的姐姐给他提供去西部的路费，他立刻抓住了这个机会，随身带了数卷帆布准备卖给那些需要搭建帐篷的居民。

 

Paragraph 4

Questions

1. Was there any use of the canvas that Strauss brought to the West? (Paragraph 4)

   The canvas was of no use for its intended purpose (tenting), but it could be used for making good sturdy pants.

2. What do you think led to Strauss’ successful invention of the jeans? (Paragraph 4)

   Strauss’ chance discovery of the miner’s need and his swift response to such a need led to the invention of the blue jeans.

 

Words and Expressions

8. stand up to last well under certain hard conditions

e.g. The material can stand up to high temperature.

    Will this car stand up to winter conditions here?

Collocation:

  stand up to sb. resist sb.

  stand up to sth. withstand (a test, etc)

  stand up for sb. / sth. speak, work, etc. in favour of sb. / sth.

stand sb. up fail to keep an appointment with sb.

 

Exercise: Choose a proper phrase in its appropriate form to fill in each blank.

stand up to sb.     stand up to sth.     stand up for sb. / sth.    stand sb. up

     

1. This cloth is designed to _________ a lot of wear and tear.   (stand up to)

2. First she agreed to come out with me, then she____ me____.   (stood … up)

3. It was brave of her to___________ those bullies.    (stand up to)

4. Always____________ your friends.   (stand up for)

 

9. beckon v. call

e.g. Vast countries beckon to young men in search of adventure.

    She beckoned me to follow.

Collocation:

  beckon sb. in

e.g. A girl standing at the mouth of the cave beckoned him in.

 

Sentences

4. Word got around about “those pants of Levi’s”, and Strauss was in business. (Paragraph 4)

Translation: 有关“李维斯的裤子”的消息一传十，十传百，史特劳斯就这样开始了经商。

 

Paragraph 5

Questions

1. Did the miner, Alkali, demand copper rivets to be added to his pants? (Paragraph 5)

      Alkali did not demand his pants to be riveted. He only demanded that something be done to make his pockets more sturdy and durable.

2. What was the intended purpose of the tailor who added copper rivets to the pants? (Paragraph 5)

      The tailor merely intended to pacify a mean-tempered miner and had the pockets riveted as a joke.

 

Words and Expressions

10. pacify v. bring or restore to a state of peace or calmness

e.g. The government sent a representative to try and pacify the angry miners.

    He tried to pacify his creditors by repaying part of the money.

     他为安抚债权人偿还了部分借款。

Derivation:

pacification n.

Synonym:

  soothe

 

11. stuff v. fill with a substance

e.g. Don’t stuff the pillow too tight.

    His pocket was stuffed with dirty handkerchiefs.

Derivation:

  stuffing n.

Collocation:

  stuff sb. / oneself with sth.

e.g. She sat stuffing herself with biscuits.

 

12. appropriate v. take sth., esp. money, to use for a particular purpose

e.g. The government was forced to appropriate extra funds for the new airport.

    He was accused of appropriating club funds.

Derivation:

  appropriation n.

Collocation:

  appropriate sth. for sth. put (esp. money) on one side for a special purpose

e.g. The government has appropriated a large sum of money for building hospitals.

 

Sentences

5. When Strauss ran out of canvas, he wrote his two brothers to send more. (Paragraph 5)

Translation: 当史特劳斯用光了所有的帆布时，他写信给他的两个哥哥，让他们再寄一些。

 

Paragraph 6

Words and Expressions

13. prosper v. become successful

e.g. In India the handloom industry prospers because it is subsidized by the government.

We appointed a new financial advisor and the business prospered under his guidance.

Derivation:

  prosperity n.

  prosperous a.

 

14. confine v. keep within limits; limit or restrict

e.g. Is it cruel to confine a bird in a cage?

After her operation, she was confined to bed for a week.

Derivation:

  confinement n.

  confined a.

 

15. reliability n. dependability

e.g. There is some uncertainty about the reliability of the data used in the research.

The advantage of this system is its reliability and speed.

Derivation:

  reliable a.

  reliably ad.

Synonym:

  dependability

Antonym:

  unreliability

 

16. adapt v. become used to sth.

e.g. It’s not easy, but we are slowly adapting to the new style of management.

   When we move to France, the children adapted to the change very well.

Derivation:

  adaptable a.

  adaptation n.

Collocation:

  adapt to

Comparison: adapt; adjust

  adapt to make or become suitable for new needs, different conditions, etc.

  adjust to change slightly, esp. in order to make right or make suitable for a particular purpose or situation; regulate

 

17. convert v. change into

e.g. This sofa converts into a bed.

The children converted the backyard into a peanut lot.

Derivation:

conversion n.

convertible a.

Collocation:

convert to / into convert from sth. to sth.

Synonym:

  change; transform

 

Paragraph 7

Question

1. What does the author intend to prove with the anecdotes? (Paragraph 7)

      With the striking anecdotes, the author intends to prove the unique roughness and reliability of the blue jeans.

 

Words and Expressions

18. tribute n.

1) a gift, payment, speech, or other acknowledgment of gratitude, respect, or admiration

e.g. I’d like to pay tribute to the office staff for all the hard work they’ve put in on this project.

   They gave the retiring president a tribute.

2) evidence attesting to some praiseworthy quality or characteristic

e.g. Her home is a tribute to her good taste.

   It was a tribute to her teaching methods that most of the children passed the tests.

Collocation:

  a tribute to sth.: indication of the effectiveness of sth.

Idiom:

  pay tribute to sb./sth.: express one’s admiration or respect for sb./sth.

 

19. dangle v. hang loosely

e.g. Dangling from her ears were large gold earrings.

He dangled his watch in front of the baby.

Synonym:

  hang; swing

Collocation:

  dangle sth. before sb. offer sth. temptingly to sb.

e.g. The prospect of promotion was dangled before him.

 

20. sole a. only

e.g. The sole survivor of the crash was a little baby.

They went with the sole purpose of making a nuisance of themselves.

We have the sole right to sell this range of goods.

我们有独家经销这类货物的权利。

Derivation:

solely ad.

Synonym:

  only; single

 

21. hook v. fasten or hang sth. onto sth. else

e.g. These two pieces of chain hook together.

My shirt got hooked on a thorn.

Derivation:

  hooked a.

Collocation:

  hook sth. on / onto / over / round sth.

  be hooked on sb.

 

Activity: Word-guessing Competition

The class is divided into several groups, and two students from each group take part in this activity. One student paraphrases or explains the words showed on the screen, and the other will guess the words. Each pair can use various methods to help paraphrasing and guessing, including gestures, sentence examples, etc. The group which can guess the most words wins.

Rules:

1. Each group must finish the guessing within 1 minute.

2. The guesser cannot look at the screen.

3. The one who explains can only speak English and is not allowed to mention the words showed on the screen.

Words for guessing:

symbol   legitimate   favor   emigrate   exaggerate  haul     beckon  adapt pacify    appropriate  stuff    confine    reliability  purchase  convert

 

Text comprehension

I. B.  II. 1. F;  2. T;  3. T;  4. T;  5. T.

III.

1. Because they symbolize “a manly and legitimate passion for equality …”; They draw no distinctions and recognize no classes and they are favored by all the American people.

 

* Source of the answer in par.1:

what the pants symbolize is what Alexis de Tocqueville called “a manly男子气的合情合理的 and legitimate passion 追求平等的热情for equality …” Blue jeans are favored equally by bureaucrats官僚 and cowboys牛仔, bankers银行家 and deadbeats欠账人, fashion designers and beer啤酒酒鬼 drinkers. They draw不划分界限 no distinctions and recognize不区别阶级 no classes: they are merely American.

 

2.

Levi Strauss went West, taking with him canvas to sell for tenting. Since the canvas wasn’t suitable for tenting, he had them tailored into stiff but rugged pants which were badly demanded by miners. So Strauss was in business.

 

Source of the answer in par. 3 & 4:

When a married sister in San Francisco offered to pay his way West in 1850, he jumped at the opportunity, taking with him bolts of一卷卷帆布 canvas he hoped to sell for卖给人做帐篷 tenting.

It was the wrong kind of canvas for that purpose, but while talking with a miner矿工, he learned that pants — sturdy耐用耐磨的 pants that would stand up to抵得住 the rigors of挖矿的磨损力度 the digging — were almost impossible to find. Opportunity机遇在招手了 beckoned. On the spot, Strauss measured the man’s girth腰围和裤腿内缝 and inseam with a piece of string and, for six dollars值六美元的矿金 in gold dust, had the canvas tailored into a pair of stiff硬实但粗糙的 but rugged pants. The miner was delighted with the result. Word消息传了开来 got around about “those pants of Levi’s,” and Strauss was in做买卖 business.

 

3.

The word “jeans” derives from Genes, the French word for Genoa, where a similar cloth as that used by Strauss was produced; and “blue” refers to indigo, the color Strauss had his cloth dyed, hence the pants got their name “blue jeans”.

 

*Source of the answer in par. 5:

(the word “jeans” derives from Genes热那亚, the French word for Genoa热那亚, where a similar cloth was produced). Almost from the first, Strauss had his cloth dyed the distinctive indigo靛蓝 that gave blue jeans their name.

 

4.

At first blue jeans were largely confined to the working people of the West. During the dude ranch craze of the 1930s, they were first introduced to the East. Another boost for them came in World War II, when blue jeans were declared an essential commodity and were sold only to people engaged in defense work.

 

*Source of the answer in par.6:

With sales largely confined局限于 to the working people of the West — cowboys, lumberjacks伐木工人, railroad workers, and the like. Levi’s jeans were first introduced to the East, apparently, during the dude ranch 东部人牧场度假热craze of the 1930s, when vacationing Easterners returned and spread the word about the wonderful pants with rivets. Another boost推动、推广 came in World War II, when blue jeans were declared an essential必需品 commodity and were sold only to people engaged in从事国防工作 defense work.

 

5.

Blue jeans can be purchased for the suitably proletarian look, and they adapt themselves to any sort of idiosyncratic use, and are suitable for various decorations and ornamentations.

 

*Source of the answer in par. 6:

They can be purchased pre-washed预先漂洗, pre-faded预先褪色, and pre-shrunk预先缩水 for the suitably proletarian合适的工人外表 look. They adapt 自我调整以适应themselves to any sort of idiosyncratic特殊的用途 use; women slit剪开 them at the inseams and convert 改做成them into long skirts, men chop them裁掉 off above the knees and turn them into something to be worn while challenging挑战冲浪 the surf. Decorations and ornamentations abound.

 

6.

The structure of the title is “the + v.ing + of + noun”, which indicates passive voice, like “the making of history”, while the noun “jean” is used as a verb. So the title means that America is “jeaned” or America became jeaned, i.e. America is made a country under the fashion of jeans or jeans became an overwhelming fashion in America.

In fact, the title “The Jeaning of America” was coined as a punning reference to “The Greening of America”, the title of a book on American culture, which was well known at the time.

 

IV.

1. They do not show differences in the wearer’s professions and social status; they only show that the wearer is as American as most Americans in favor of jeans.

 

2. For two years, he worked as a peddler of low social status, dragging heavy bags of various articles from door to door and trying to sell them, but he could barely manage to support himself.

 

Structural analysis of the text

 

1. The incidents that led to the birth of blue jeans:

   1) Levi’s accidental discovery of the need of the miners in the West for sturdy pants that would stand up to the rigors of the digging.

   2) Levi’s brothers sent him brown cotton cloth made in Nimes, instead of the previous canvas.

   3) Davis fixed copper rivets on blue jeans as a kind of joke.

 

2. The incidents that made them popular throughout the country:

   1) Blue jeans were first introduced to the East, apparently, during the dude ranch craze of the 1930s, when vacationing Easterners returned and spread the word about the wonderful pants with rivets.

   2) Another boost came in World War II, when blue jeans were declared an essential commodity and were sold only to people engaged in defense work.

 

 

IV Exercises for integrated skills

1. Dictation

        As the eldest son of my parents / who were themselves poor, / I had to, fortunately, /    begin to do some work / while still very young / in order to earn a living, / and therefore  came to understand / in early boyhood / that my duty was to assist my parents / and become,        as soon as possible, / a breadwinner in the family./ Sentence structure?

        It was a terrible task for a lad of twelve / to rise every morning, except Sunday, / to go to     the factory / while it was still dark, / and not to be released / until after darkness came again    in the evening, / with only a forty-minute break at noon./

        But I was young and had my dreams, / and something within always told me / that this         would not, could not, should not last / — I should some day get into a better position. / Also, I     felt myself no longer a mere boy, / but quite a little man, / and this made me happy. /

 

2. Cloze

When I was born, my father was a well-to-do master weaver in Scotland. This was the time before the steam engines. He owned no fewer (1) than four handlooms and employed apprentices. He wove cloth (2) for a merchant who supplied the material.

When the steam engines came, handloom weaving naturally declined. My father felt greatly distressed (3)     because there was no more work for him to do. The question (4) of starting for the United States was discussed from day to day in the family council. It was finally resolved (5) that we would join relatives already in Pittsburgh.

On arriving, my father entered a cotton factory. I        soon followed, and served (6) as a “bobbin-boy,” and that was how I began my preparation (7) for subsequent apprenticeship as a businessman. I cannot tell you (8) how proud I was when I received my first week’s earnings — one dollar and twenty cents. It was given to me because I had been (9) of some use in the world! And I became a contributing member of my family! I think this makes a (10) man out of a boy sooner than almost anything else. It is everything to feel that you are useful.

 

        Hints:

        5. Here you need a conjunction to indicate a clause.

        8. Here you need a word to emphasize the quality you are mentioning.

        9. Here you need a phrase meaning “to be useful”.

 

VII Listening Exercises

Listen to the commentary on a Youth Fashion Show.

A.   Listen carefully. Pay special attention to the following words, and study their definitions carefully.

fashion-conscious very concerned with fashion

outfit                     (matching) combination of clothing

trilby                     a soft hat with brim

baggy                    loose-fitting; not tight

afloat                    on the sea / on a boat

to cap it all             play on words: 1) as the final touch; 2) as headgear (cap)

zip-up jacket      jacket fastened with a zip

sling                       drape loosely (past participle: slung)

trainers                   shoes for sports

turn a few heads      catch (i.e., young men’s) attention

tartan                     woolen cloth woven with bands of different colours and widths crossing

each other at right angles, of a kind worn originally by Scottish Highlanders

cloak                      a loose outer garment, usu. without sleeves, which is fastened under the

throat and covers most of the body

tunic                            a loose-fitting garment, usu. without sleeves, which reaches to the knees

and is usu. worn with a belt around the waist

step out                 1) go out (to enjoy oneself); 2) walk outside

jumper                  a woolen garment for the top half of the body

pleated                  with pressed folds (see drawing)

tights                     a very close fitting garment made of thin material covering the legs and

lower part of the body, as worn by girls and women

strap                     a narrow band of strong material used as a fastening or support

beret                     a round usu. woolen cap with a tight headband and a soft full flat top

 

Listen again. Name each model correctly according to the description you hear and write down how much the clothes cost.

1.                 2.                3.                   4.

Name: Joanne          Name: Angela           Name: Anne-Marie              Name: Sophie

Cost: just over £13   Cost: £11.30        Cost: just under £16    Cost: a little over £15

 

B.      Listen once more. Give brief descriptions of what each model is wearing.

1.       Joanne: a long, knitted skirt; a check blouse; denim waistcoat; a silk scarf; black ankle-length boots; and a trilby.

2.       Angela: a white T-shirt; a pair of baggy blue jeans; a real sailor’s hat; a black, zip-up jacket; white socks and trainers.

3.       Anne-Marie: a tartan cloak; a belted tunic; and a pair of riding-boots.

4.       Sophie : a jumper; a short pleated skirt; knee-length socks; pointed shoes with straps; and a brown beret.

 

Script

Good evening to all our fashion-conscious listeners and welcome to our show this evening. I shall be describing all the latest designs from the young winners of Art School Fashion Competitions around the country. Four area winners are girls, two are men. All the clothes exhibited tonight — eighteen outfits in all — are made from inexpensive materials at prices young people can afford.

Our first model, Joanne, is wearing a long, knitted skirt, check blouse and denim waistcoat, with a silk scarf and black, ankle-length boots. The whole outfit looks just perfect for outdoor wear. Joanne made the skirt and blouse herself, borrowed the waistcoat from her boyfriend and got the boots very cheaply at a Wal-Mart. She estimates her total expenditure at just over ￡13. Her grandfather gave her the trilby!

Angela, our youngest model, is a sailing enthusiast and she’s wearing a dazzling white T-shirt tucked into a pair of baggy blue jeans which looks just about ideal for a weekend afloat! To cap it all she’s borrowed a real sailor’s hat and, just in case a chill wind blows, she’s got her black, zip-up jacket slung casually over her shoulders. For footwear she has white socks and trainers. A perfect outfit, I’d say, for turning a few heads in the Yachting Club! Cost: ￡11.30.

Anne-Marie is wearing a very unusual tartan cloak and a belted tunic made, she says, from two hairdressers’ coats. She’s stepping out in a pair of very attractive riding-boots. Altogether, a very effective and striking creation. Just listen to that applause! And all for just under ￡16!

Now our next outfit is modeled by Sophie — she’s hoping to become a professional model one day — and she looks eye-catching in her pretty jumper with a short pleated skirt (an old school skirt which she’s redesigned herself). Instead of her usual tights she’s wearing knee-length socks inside her pointed shoes with very delicate straps. Her brown beret nicely completes the general effect. Everything she’s got on added up to a little over ￡15.

That’s the end of the first part of our show, ladies and gentlemen; if you’ve …