Picture of the word character

Definition of Character

All stories need certain necessary elements. Without these elements, literary works often fail to make sense. For instance, one of the essential elements of every story is a plot with a series of events. Another important element is a character. A character can be any person, a figure, an inanimate object, or animal. There are different types of characters, and each serves its unique function in a story or a piece of literature.

Types of Character

There are many types of the characters which include:

Confidante

A confidante is someone in whom the main character confides. He reveals the central character’s thoughts, intentions, and personality traits. However, a confidante need not necessarily be a person. An animal can also be a confidante.

Dynamic Character

A dynamic character changes during the course of a novel or a story. This change in character or his/her outlook is permanent. That is why sometimes a dynamic character is also called a “developing character.”

Static Character

A static character remains the same throughout the whole story. Even the events in a story or novel do not change character’s outlook, perceptions, habits, personality, or motivations.

Antagonist

An antagonist is a bad guy, or an opponent of the protagonist or the main character. The action in the story arises from a conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist. The antagonist can be a person, an inanimate object, an animal, or nature itself.

Protagonist

Every story has a protagonist, the main character, who creates the action of the plot and engages readers, arousing their empathy and interest. The protagonist is often a hero or heroine of the story, as the whole plot moves around him or her.

Round Character

The round characters are well-developed and complex figures in a story. They are more realistic, and demonstrate more depth in their personalities. They can make surprising or puzzling decisions, and attract readers’ attention. There are many factors that may affect them, and round characters react to such factors realistically.

Flat Character

A flat character does not change during a story. Also, he or she usually only reveals one or two personality traits.

Stock Character

A stock character is a flat character that is instantly recognizable by readers. Like a flat character, the stock character does not undergo any development throughout the story.

Examples of Character in Literature

Example #1: The Lord of the Rings trilogy (By J. R. R.)

In The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Frodo and his friend Sam discover their unexpected personal commitment, emotional and physical strength, and dedication to the cause. Gandalf discovers that his trust was broken by his fellow wizards, thus he transforms into a magician with a stronger character. Aragorn, an heir to line of kings, gives up his title; however, over the period of time he discovers his leadership skills, and decides to regain his crown. All of these characters provide us with good examples of round characters, each having depth of personality, and abilities to surprise the readers.

Example #2: A Christmas Carol (by Charles Dickens)

In Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge is a tightfisted person. He forces his workers to work hard, but gives them peanuts in return. However, after undergoing some very strange and disturbing experiences with the ghosts, he changes his ways – paying his employees more than their fair wages, giving them days off work, and even gives gifts. This transformation makes him fit into the role of a dynamic character.

Example #3: Hedda Gabler (by Henrik Ibsen)

Hedda Gabler is manipulative, cold, and “demonic,” even though she is the title character – the focus of the play. She is the most complex and psychologically compelling character, the reason that she is a dynamic character.

Example #4: Othello (by William Shakespeare)

At some points, it seems that Iago is the protagonist, since he dominates the entire play and delivers soliloquies. However, he does not change at all, and most of the protagonists undergo some sort of change during a play. Also, in the opening lines, Iago describes himself as someone who wishes to destroy Othello. Thus, his actions transform him into a tragic antagonistic type of character, though he is the central character of the play.

Function of Character

The main function of a character in a story is to extend or prolong the plot, make it readable and interesting. Many stories use multiple characters, and every story has a main character that affects the plot a great deal. The main character could be a protagonist, an antagonist, a dynamic, a static, a flat, or a round character. Readers feel that the characters given in the literary pieces exist, and they enjoy reading their real and lifelike figures and actions.

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary EnglishArts, Computerscharacterchar‧ac‧ter /ˈkærəktə $ -ər/ ●●● S1 W1 noun
 
 1 all somebody’s qualities [countable usually singular]CHARACTER/PERSONALITY the particular combination of qualities that makes someone a particular type of person
 He has a cheerful but quiet character.
 Children grow up with a mixture of character traits (=character qualities) from both sides of their family.
 his temper and other character flaws (=bad qualities)in character/out of character (=typical or untypical of someone’s character)
 He swore, which was out of character for him.the English/French etc character
 Openness is at the heart of the American character.character sketch (=a description of someone’s character) 2 person [countable] a) Aa person in a book, play, film etc
 Candida is the most interesting character in the play.
 In the story, the main character has left his girlfriend and baby.
 Everyone recognizes Disney’s cartoon characters. b) PERSON/PEOPLEa person of a particular type, especially a strange or dishonest one
 a couple of shady characters standing on the corner
 I’m considered a reformed character these days (=someone who has stopped doing bad things). c) INTERESTINGan interesting and unusual person
 Linda was something of a character.

3 qualities of something [singular, uncountable]CHARACTER OF something the particular combination of features and qualities that makes a thing or place different from all others SYN naturecharacter of
 The whole character of the school has changed.
 the unspoilt character of the coastin character
 The southern state became more nationalist in character. 4 moral strength [uncountable]GOOD/MORAL a combination of qualities such as courage, loyalty, and honesty that are admired and regarded as valuable
 a woman of great character
 Schools were created to teach reading and mathematics, not moral character.
 It takes strength of character to admit you are wrong.
 Sport can be character building (=develop good moral qualities).5 interesting quality [uncountable]CHARACTER/PERSONALITY a quality that makes someone or something special and interesting
 a red wine with a meaty character
 suburban houses that lack character6 reputation [uncountable] formalREPUTATION the opinion that people have about whether you are a good person and can be trusted
 a man of previous good character
 The campaign was accused of character assassination (=an unfair attack on someone’s character) because of its negative ads.
 His defence called several people as character witnesses (=people who think that someone has a good character).
 Mr Wetherby wrote him a character reference (=a statement about his good qualities).

7 letter/sign [countable]SL a letter, mark, or sign used in writing, printing, or on a computer
 the Chinese character for ‘horse’COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 2a: ADJECTIVES/NOUN + characterthe main/central/leading characterAlec is the central character in the play.the lead character (=in a play, film, or television series)DiCaprio played the lead character in Titanic.a minor characterTwo of the minor characters get killed.a television/movie/cartoon characterWho’s your favourite television character?a comic/tragic character (=a funny or sad one)Homer Simpson is a great comic character.fictional/fictitious (=not existing in real life)People sometimes forget that television characters are fictional.convincing (=seeming like a real person)The characters were totally convincing.a sympathetic character (=one you like)In the book, Jeff isn’t a sympathetic character.verbsplay a characterI wanted to play the character of Danny.portray a character (=show one in a play, book, film etc)The main characters are brilliantly portrayed.develop a character (=make a character become more interesting)The movie didn’t develop his character as well as the book did.nounscharacter development (=the process of developing characters)I thought the plot was boring and there wasn’t much character development.a character actor (=an actor who plays interesting or unusual characters)He’s a well-known character actor.

Examples from the Corpuscharacter• Carmen Maura plays the passionate, beautiful Pepa, the central character of director Pedro Almodovar’s movie.• Ellis is a man of exceptional character.• Thus, when you insert it into text, existing characters move to the right and down to make room.• Her female characters often have strong, important relationships with other women.• Each group is named after a fictional character like Mickey Mouse.• Ancient literature uses fictional characters to illustrate moral dilemmas.• Her husband was a man of good character, well-liked and respected by his colleagues.• Her behavior last night revealed a lot about her character.• Rex may be the ideal idol to many men but you will have to settle with playing his character in the game.• His actions during the war showed his character.• Liquids are different in character from both solids and gases.• Jed is one of most likeable characters in the play.• Beneath his brash, noisy exterior was a much shrewder and lonelier character than he admitted.• A couple of suspicious-looking characters were standing outside the house.• It’s a red wine with an almost meaty character.• She did forget the name of the other most memorable character, bearded and effusive.• She is the only character with a named chapter in each of the four sections.• He was a repulsive character.• A candidate’s character and qualifications are more important than past experience.• A person’s character is very important to me when I decide who I want to work with.• She gave up trying to analyse Guy Sterne’s character on the basis of his bookshelves.• The pronunciations given for these components, and for the characters of which they form part, are those of present-day Mandarin.• It was a wonderful story — the characters were so convincing.• King Henry is the name given to a donkey, the title character in the children’s book, ‘King Henry Saves Christmas’.• Each neighborhood has its own unique character.• Now they’re arguably the easiest of all classics to look after, and come brimming with character as standard.

character traits• The inviolable Gedge formed character traits as a child that give a fascinating insight into his later life.reformed character• Moz had become a reformed character.• But he was not a reformed character.• Nutty began to think Nails was a reformed character.• Peter O’Toole is another reformed character.character of• Residents want to preserve the character of their neighborhoods.strength of character• But it is proof of his astonishing strength of character.• She had enormous strength of character.• No man deserves to be praised for his goodness unless he has strength of character to be wicked.• Siefert described McCrea’s strength of character in a difficult situation.• Self-discipline was all that was needed, he said: concentration, Sitzfleisch, strength of character.• People differ in their knowledge, skills, strength of character and understanding.• It takes a special strength of character to spend decades doggedly pursuing a theory that attracts harsh opposition.• Inevitably, the interlude material should not have the strength of character of the main section material.• She still clung to life by some unknown strength of character and Fon loved her for it.• It takes unusual strength of character to fight against so much opposition.of … good character• The goodness of her own good characters was a thing she always insisted on, and felt to be imperfectly appreciated.• Mr Gore has shown himself through the years to be a man of good character.• Mr. David Josse, mitigating, said Youngman was a man of previous good character who behaved inexplicably that evening.• Criminals must be punished, but people of good character must be rewarded.• But what was most interesting was her praise of the good characters.• Ceylon A slightly fragrant tea of good character for all-round drinking.• Only people over 70 were eligible, and initially there was an income test and also a test of good character.From Longman Business Dictionarycharacterchar‧ac‧ter /ˈkærəktə-ər/ noun [countable] COMPUTING a number, letter, or other sign used on a computerOrigin character (1300-1400) Old French caractere, from Latin character “mark, particular quality”, from Greek, from charassein “to make a mark in a surface”

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game).^[1][2][3] The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, in which case the distinction of a «fictional» versus «real» character may be made.^[2] Derived from the Ancient Greek word χαρακτήρ, the English word dates from the Restoration,^[4] although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones by Henry Fielding in 1749.^[5][6] From this, the sense of «a part played by an actor» developed.^[6] (Before this development, the term dramatis personae, naturalized in English from Latin and meaning «masks of the drama,» encapsulated the notion of characters from the literal aspect of masks.) Character, particularly when enacted by an actor in the theatre or cinema, involves «the illusion of being a human person».^[7] In literature, characters guide readers through their stories, helping them to understand plots and ponder themes.^[8] Since the end of the 18th century, the phrase «in character» has been used to describe an effective impersonation by an actor.^[6] Since the 19th century, the art of creating characters, as practiced by actors or writers, has been called characterisation.^[6]

A character who stands as a representative of a particular class or group of people is known as a type.^[9] Types include both stock characters and those that are more fully individualised.^[9] The characters in Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler (1891) and August Strindberg’s Miss Julie (1888), for example, are representative of specific positions in the social relations of class and gender, such that the conflicts between the characters reveal ideological conflicts.^[10]

The study of a character requires an analysis of its relations with all of the other characters in the work.^[11] The individual status of a character is defined through the network of oppositions (proairetic, pragmatic, linguistic, proxemic) that it forms with the other characters.^[12] The relation between characters and the action of the story shifts historically, often miming shifts in society and its ideas about human individuality, self-determination, and the social order.^[13]

Creation[edit]

In fiction writing, authors create dynamic characters using various methods. Sometimes characters are conjured up from imagination; in other instances, they are created by amplifying the character trait of a real person into a new fictional creation.^[1][2]

Real people, in part or in full[edit]

An author or creator basing a character on a real person can use a person they know, a historical figure, a current figure whom they have not met, or themselves, with the latter being either an author-surrogate or an example of self-insertion. The use of a famous person easily identifiable with certain character traits as the base for a principal character is a feature of allegorical works, such as Animal Farm by George Orwell, which portrays Soviet revolutionaries as pigs. Other authors, especially for historical fiction, make use of real people and create fictional stories revolving around their lives, as with The Paris Wife which revolves around Ernest Hemingway.

Archetypes and stock characters[edit]

An author can create a character using the basic character archetypes which are common to many cultural traditions: the father figure, mother figure, hero, and so on. Some writers make use of archetypes as presented by Carl Jung as the basis for character traits.^[15] Generally, when an archetype from some system (such as Jung’s) is used, elements of the story also follow the system’s expectations in terms of storyline.

An author can also create a fictional character using generic stock characters, which are generally flat. They tend to be used for supporting or minor characters. However, some authors have used stock characters as the starting point for building richly detailed characters, such as William Shakespeare’s use of the boastful soldier character as the basis for John Falstaff.

Some authors create charactonyms for their characters. A charactonym is a name that implies the psychological makeup of the person, makes an allegorical allusion, or makes reference to their appearance. For example, Shakespeare has an emotional young male character named Mercutio, John Steinbeck has a kind, sweet character named Candy in Of Mice and Men, and Mervyn Peake has a Machiavellian, manipulative, and murderous villain in Gormenghast named Steerpike. The charactonym can also indicate appearance. For example, François Rabelais gave the name Gargantua to a giant and the huge whale in Pinocchio (1940) is named Monstro.

Types[edit]

Round vs. flat[edit]

In his book Aspects of the Novel, E. M. Forster defined two basic types of characters, their qualities, functions, and importance for the development of the novel: flat characters and round characters.^[16] Flat characters are two-dimensional, in that they are relatively uncomplicated. By contrast, round characters are complex figures with many different characteristics, that undergo development, sometimes sufficiently to surprise the reader.^[17]

In psychological terms, round or complex characters may be considered to have five personality dimensions under the Big Five model of personality.^[18] The five factors are:

• extraversion (outgoing/energetic vs. solitary/reserved)
• agreeableness (friendly/compassionate vs. critical/rational)
• openness to experience (inventive/curious vs. consistent/cautious)
• conscientiousness (efficient/organized vs. extravagant/careless)
• neuroticism (sensitive/nervous vs. resilient/confident)^[19]

Stock characters are usually one-dimensional and thin. Mary Sues are characters that usually appear in fan fiction which are virtually devoid of flaws,^[20] and are therefore considered flat characters.

Another type of flat character is a «walk-on,» a term used by Seymour Chatman for characters that are not fully delineated and individualized; rather they are part of the background or the setting of the narrative.^[21]

Dynamic vs. static[edit]

Dynamic characters are those that change over the course of the story, while static characters remain the same throughout. An example of a popular dynamic character in literature is Ebenezer Scrooge, the protagonist of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. At the start of the story, he is a bitter miser, but by the end of the tale, he transforms into a kind-hearted, generous man.

Regular, recurring and guest characters[edit]

In television, a regular, main or ongoing character is a character who appears in all or a majority of episodes, or in a significant chain of episodes of the series.^[22] Regular characters may be both core and secondary ones.

A recurring character or supporting character often and frequently appears from time to time during the series’ run.^[23] Recurring characters often play major roles in more than one episode, sometimes being the main focus.

A guest or minor character is one who acts only in a few episodes or scenes. Unlike regular characters, the guest ones do not need to be carefully incorporated into the storyline with all its ramifications: they create a piece of drama and then disappear without consequences to the narrative structure, unlike core characters, for which any significant conflict must be traced during a considerable time, which is often seen as an unjustified waste of resources.^[24] There may also be a continuing or recurring guest character.^[25] Sometimes a guest or minor character may gain unanticipated popularity and turn into a regular or main one;^[26] this is known as a breakout character.^[27][28]

Classical analysis[edit]

In the earliest surviving work of dramatic theory, Poetics (c. 335 BCE), the Classical Greek philosopher Aristotle deduces that character (ethos) is one of six qualitative parts of Athenian tragedy and one of the three objects that it represents (1450a12).^[29] He understands character not to denote a fictional person, but the quality of the person acting in the story and reacting to its situations (1450a5).^[30] He defines character as «that which reveals decision, of whatever sort» (1450b8).^[30] It is possible, therefore, to have stories that do not contain «characters» in Aristotle’s sense of the word, since character necessarily involves making the ethical dispositions of those performing the action clear.^[31] If, in speeches, the speaker «decides or avoids nothing at all», then those speeches «do not have character» (1450b9—11).^[32] Aristotle argues for the primacy of plot (mythos) over character (ethos).^[33] He writes:

But the most important of these is the structure of the incidents. For (i) tragedy is a representation not of human beings but of action and life. Happiness and unhappiness lie in action, and the end [of life] is a sort of action, not a quality; people are of a certain sort according to their characters, but happy or the opposite according to their actions. So [the actors] do not act in order to represent the characters, but they include the characters for the sake of their actions» (1450a15-23).^[34]

Aristotle suggests that works were distinguished in the first instance according to the nature of the person who created them: «the grander people represented fine actions, i.e. those of fine persons» by producing «hymns and praise-poems», while «ordinary people represented those of inferior ones» by «composing invectives» (1448b20—1449a5).^[35] On this basis, a distinction between the individuals represented in tragedy and in comedy arose: tragedy, along with epic poetry, is «a representation of serious people» (1449b9—10), while comedy is «a representation of people who are rather inferior» (1449a32—33).^[36]

In the Tractatus coislinianus (which may or may not be by Aristotle), Ancient Greek comedy is defined as involving three types of characters: the buffoon (bômolochus), the ironist (eirōn), and the imposter or boaster (alazṓn).^[37] All three are central to Aristophanes’ Old Comedy.^[38]

By the time the Roman comic playwright Plautus wrote his plays two centuries later, the use of characters to define dramatic genres was well established.^[39] His Amphitryon begins with a prologue in which Mercury claims that since the play contains kings and gods, it cannot be a comedy and must be a tragicomedy.^[40]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

МЕТОДИЧЕСКАЯ РАЗРАБОТКА

Topic “Traits of Character”

Работа над языковым материалом проводится поэтапно:

— вокабулярная работа;

— работа с предтекстовыми упражнениями;

— чтение и перевод основного текста, контроль
понимания прочитанного с помощью вопросов;

— выполнение послетекстовых лексико-грамматических и
языковых упражнений, предполагающее парную и групповую работу;

— работа над дополнительным текстом.

Особенность большинства заданий заключается в том, что
они носят коммуникативный, творческий характер, способствуют активизации
мыслительной деятельности, развитию воображения и общего кругозора обучающихся,
и, в конечном итоге, более глубокому усвоению учебного материала.

“Traits of Character”

“Be entirely
tolerant or not at all; follow the good path or the evil one. To stand at the
crossroads requires more strength than you possess”.

Heinrich Heine, German poet, journalist, literary critic. (13 December
1797-17 February 1856)

I.
Practicing Vocabulary

Active vocabulary

Phrases

split personality to be a man of character to judge by appearance to keep up appearances

противоречивый характер быть человеком с сильным характером судить по внешности соблюдать приличия

Intellectual ability:

you want to be:
bright gifted shrewd	способный, смышленый одаренный проницательный, практичный

Attitudes towards life:

ambitious – [æm´bıʃǝs] brave caring – [´keǝrıŋ] cautious – [´kɔːʃəs] cheerful – [´ʧıǝfʊl] down-to-earth dreamy flexible generous grateful to smb. for smth independent – [ˏındǝ´pendǝnt] sensible sensitive – [´sensıtıv] secretive talkative shy wasteful

честолюбивый храбрый заботливый осторожный, осмотрительный бодрый, веселый практичный, приземленный мечтательный уступчивый щедрый благодарный кому-л. за что-л. независимый разумный чувствительный скрытный разговорчивый робкий, застенчивый расточительный

Innate features:

qualities that make your life exciting:
determined – [dɪ´təːmɪnd] neat – [´ni:t] imaginative obedient – [ə´biːdɪənt] open punctual – [´pʌŋ(k)tʃʊ(ə)l] straight-forward sympathetic – [sɪmpə´θetɪk] tactful – [´tæktfʊl] tolerant / patient – [´tɔlǝrǝnt] thrifty / economical truthful	решительный аккуратный одаренный богатым воображением послушный откровенный, искренний точный, пунктуальный прямой, откровенный сочувственный, полный сочувствия тактичный терпимый экономный, бережливый правдивый

Relations with other people:

people will be eager to make friends with you if you are:
easy-going energetic – [ˏenə´dʒetɪk] frank helpful honest sincere – [sɪn´sɪə] sociable – [´səʊʃəb(ə)l] trustworthy – [´trʌs(t)wəːði] willing to help	добродушный, веселый энергичный откровенный полезный честный искренний общительный надежный, заслуживающий доверия всегда готовый помочь

You
don’t want to be:

boring bossy/cocky boastful careless childish cold cruel deceitful envious greedy / tight-fisted – [´gri:dı] individualistic insolent insensitive intolerant jealous lazy bones/ a slacker moody – [´mu:dı] nasty – [´na:stı] nosy / a nosy parker rude self-assured – [ˏselfə´ʃɔːd] selfish be a slow-coach, slowpoke be a slacker sly sloppy snobbish stubborn / dogged – [´stʌbən] stupid two-faced unreliable – [ʌnrɪ´laɪəb(ə)l] vain

скучный, зануда дерзкий, нахальный хвастливый небрежный, невнимательный инфантильный, ребячливый недружелюбный жестокий лживый, обманчивый завистливый скупой эгоистичный дерзкий равнодушный нетерпимый ревнивый лодырь, лентяй человек настроения отвратительный любопытный, пронырливый грубый самоуверенный эгоистичный медлительный, копуша лентяй хитрый, коварный неряшливый сноб упрямый глупый двуличный, лживый ненадежный тщеславный

You and your work:

accomplished attentive committed dedicated diligent hard-working responsible / irresponsible

квалифицированный внимательный обязательный преданный упорный, прилежный трудолюбивый ответственный / безответственный

II.
Character adjectives

a. Look at the
title. What is the questionnaire about?

b. Read the
introduction. What kind of person are you?

c. Look at each
question in the quiz. Make sure you understand them.

What Sort of Person are You?

Do
you like to be the centre of attention or do you prefer to be on your own? Do
you like to be the leader or do you prefer to be part of a team? Are you
confident, quiet, bossy, and sensitive? Find out more about yourself from the
personality quiz.

1.
Are you usually smiling and happy?                                             o

2.
Do you enjoy the company of the others?                                      o

3.
Do you find it difficult to meet new people?                                  o

4.
Is it important to you to succeed in your career?                            o

5.
Does your mood change often and suddenly for no reason?           o

6.
Do you notice other people’s feelings?                                          o

7.
Do you think the future will be good?                                           o

8.
Can your friends depend on you?                                                  o

9.
Is your room often in a mess?                                                       o

10.
Do you get annoyed if you have to wait for anyone or

anything?                                                                                        o

11.
Do you put off until tomorrow what you can do today?                o

12.
Do you work hard?                                                                     o

13.
Do you keep your feelings and ideas to yourself?                        o

14.
Do you often give presents?                                                        o

15.
Do you talk a lot?                                                                       o

16.
Are you usually calm and not worried by things?                         o

Pair
work

1. Do the
personality quiz to discover what type person you are. Use a dictionary to
check any new words. Write Y for Yes, N for No, and S for
Sometimes.

2. Ask your partner
to do the quiz about you. Look at your ideas and your partner’s ideas about
you. Are they the same?

3. Match these
adjectives with the questions in the quiz.

a)
untidy                        i) lazy

b)
optimistic                  j) generous

c)
sociable                     k) moody

d)
talkative                    l) hard-working

e)
reserved                     m) easy-going

f)
shy                             n) reliable

g)
impatient                   o) cheerful

h)
ambitious                   p) sensitive

Which
are positive qualities and which are negative? Which could be
both?

4. What is the
opposite of each of the sixteen adjectives in Exercise 3?

Remember
that the prefixes in- and un- can sometimes be used to make
negatives. Which of the adjectives above can use these?

Read
the following opposites and give their Russian equivalents.

in-     patient – inpatient

un-    pleasant – unpleasant

         tidy
– untidy

         social
– unsocial

         happy
– unhappy

         wise
– unwise

III.
Spelling practice: character adjectives

Ÿ Correctly spell
the words below. The first letter of each word is underlined.

1.
Do you have straight or curly (yucrl) hair?

2.
Are you a (ireynfdl) person with lots of friends?

3.
Do you have a (ufnyn) classmate who can make you laugh?

4.
At what age do many people have (rayg) hair?

5.
Can you name any (adhsemon) movie stars?

6.
Are you a smart person?  Are you (ntelliiegnt)?

7.
Do you know anyone who is (azly), who hates to work?

8.
Do you have short hair or do you have (gonl) hair?

9.
How old is a person who is (iddlme-dage)?

10.
Were you a (yanught) child, or did you listen to your parents?

11.
Are you (ysh), or do you like to meet new people?

12.
Do you know anyone who exercises and is very (tornsg)?

13.
Do you have any (lalt) classmates?

14.
Eating lots of ice-cream make you become (hitn)?

15.
Can too much sun make your face become (drinklew)?

IV.
Proverbs and sayings

1. Read the English
proverbs and match their Russian equivalents. Learn them by heart.

1. Still waters run deep.	a. Обуздай свой норов, иначе он обуздает тебя. На сердитых воду возят.
2. A merry heart is a good medicine.	b. Умный меняет своё решение, глупый – никогда.
3. Master your temper lest it masters you.	c. Радостное настроение – лучшее лекарство. Хоть волком вой, а песни пой.
4. A wise man changes his mind, a fool never will.	d. В тихой воде омуты глубоки.

2.
Discuss
with your partner.

—
And you? Can you master your temper/

—
Who can master his or her temper in your family?

—
Can you change your mind if you’re wrong?

—
Is it sometimes difficult to change your mind/

—
Don’t you think you’re a wise person?

V. Situational
dialogues

Ÿ Read the
following dialogues. Mind the words describing people’s character. Act any
dialogue you like.

a

—
I say, Mike what do you think of Mr. Black?

—
As for me I don’t like him. He is envious, obstinate, selfish and rude.

—
Really? Are you sure?

—
Certainly. We work in one and the same office.

b

—
Oh, Den, there you are at last. I’d like to speak to you about our new group
mate. Is he always generous, kind and sociable?

—
Be careful, Max. If you are for him, he’s a very good man, but he can be
aggressive, cruel and even cunning.

—
What makes you think so?

—
He is my distant relative.

c

—
Oh, Fred is so absent-minded.

—
But he’s kind, witty and so well-bred.

—
Witty? His jokes are often very stupid. He always forgets what he can say and
what he can’t.

VI. Translation

Ÿ Give the back translation.

a. Моя мама
самый любящий, заботливый и терпеливый человек во всём мире.

b. Учитель
должен быть воспитанным, внимательным и тактичным.

c. Я
полагаю, что я дружелюбная, весёлая и общительная.

d. Как бы
ты описал(а) себя, я имею ввиду, какие твои основные черты характера?

e. Я могу
быть терпимой, тактичной и чувствительной.

f. Иногда
моя сестра очень любопытная и непослушная.

g. Мне не
нравятся мрачные и жадные люди.

h. Я
считаю, что слишком честолюбивые и эгоистичные люди очень неприятны.

VII. Discussion

Ÿ Discuss with a
partner or in a group.

a. Do you agree
that people have different tastes in clothes and friends?

b. Do people
behave differently and act differently?

c. Do you agree
that some people are better on the inside than on the outside?

d. Do you like
good-looking people or intellectual ones?

e. We all have
different views and opinions, haven’t we?

f. Don’t you agree
that everyone has a special talent for any particular activity?

g. How do we call
people who don’t get along with others?

h. If a person has
a bad temper, what traits of character he or she has?

i. If a person has
a good temper, what traits of character he or she has?

VIII. Describing a
person

Ÿ Describe yourself. Be honest! Use
the personality adjectives from the Active vocabulary.

Example

I’m shy. I get on
with people but I don’t like meeting new people, etc.

Ÿ Describe someone in the class to
your partner but don’t say who it is. Can your partner guess who it is?

When you see a
composition title for the first time, it is a good idea to brainstorm your
ideas and make a spidergram.

If you dislike
this idea, write some notes about someone you know.

Reading

Ÿ Read the
description of three people and complete the table.

I
have made three new friends this year. I met John in January. He goes to my art
class – he really loves painting. He’s quite good-looking with brown eyes and
black hair.
He always wears jeans and a T-shirt. He hates smart clothes.

In
March I met two girls, Ellen and Kate. Kate likes watching sport on TV, but
Ellen never watches TV. She hates TV. They are both quite pretty in their
different ways. I love Ellen’s grey eyes and her fair hair. Kate’s hair is
brown and her eyes are green. Ellen usually wears long dresses, which she
designs herself because she likes designing clothes. Kate prefers wearing baggy
old sweaters and leggings. She hates shopping for clothes.

	John	Ellen	Kate
eyes
hair
clothes
likes
dislikes

Reading
and describing

Ÿ You are going to
read a text presenting the Clarks, a typical English family.

Meet the Clarks

We
welcome you heartily to visit the Clarks family. They come from London. They
are most intelligent and pleasant people. Their house has a peculiar touch of
warmth and security.

The
Clarks live in a semi-detached house with a garden in London. They are four in
the family: the father Mr. Clark, the mother Mrs. Clark, and their two
children.

Mr.
Clark is a tutor. He works at London University. He teaches English and
American Literature. He is a quiet man, rather shy but strict with his
students, a good listener, not very talkative. He is in his early forties, a
little above medium height, with regular features and fair hair slightly grey
in the temples. He has hazel eyes.

Charles
Clark is fond of music. He plays the piano very well. He is also a passionate
reader. He knows French, German and reads and writes these languages very well.
Charles is very industrious and intellectual.

His
wife Mary is two years younger than her husband, tall and slim, with a lovely
face and large grey eyes. She has beautiful brown hair and she wears her hair
long. She makes up very little.

Mary
works in a service industry three days a week. She quite likes her job as it
gets her out of the house. She meets people and is close to the children’s
school. Charles is proud of his wife as she is absolutely adorable, smart and
cooks perfectly.

Their
daughter Kitty is a pretty little girl with dark blue eyes and chestnut hair.
She takes after her mother. She is eight years old and goes to primary school
in London. She is fond of books. Her favourite book is “Alice in Wonderland” by
Lewis Carroll. Though she is sometimes naughty, her parents adore her.

Her
brother Bobby is a dark-haired boy of fifteen. He is not like his sister. He is
a tall strong boy, broad in shoulders and thin at the waist. He is quiet and
hard working. Bobby does well at school. He is good in natural sciences and
he’s going to enter the university. He likes to play chess, tennis and
football. He is the best footballer among his friends. Bobby is also very
sociable and has many friends.

The
Clarks are a friendly family. Their most popular evening entertainment is
watching TV or video. Sometimes they visit friends, go to the cinema or a
restaurant. Their most popular hobby is gardening. They all are energetic,
witty and have a good sense of humor.

Comprehension
check

I. Read the text
again and answer the questions.

1.
Where do the Clarks live?

2.
What sort of people are they?

3.
What are the members of the family?

4.
What’s Mr. Clark’s/Mrs. Clark’s/ Kitty’s/Bobby’s occupation?

5.
How does Charles/ Mary/ Kitty/ Bobby look like?

6.
Who takes after Mrs. Clark?

7.
What are their main characteristics?

8.
Are the Clarks a friendly family?

II. Describe the
members of the family. Include the following information.

—         
name

—         
age

—         
occupation

—         
appearance

—         
character

—         
achievements
in life, professional and personal.

—         
 

IV. Ask and answer the
questions about the family members.

—         
How
many …?                    — How old …?

—         
What…?                             —
What sort of…?

—         
Where
…
?                          — How … look like?

—         
Who…?

V. Write the
description of someone (still alive) who you admire. It might be a friend, a
relative, or someone who you have never met. Use the scheme given above.

Reading
and describing

1. Think of someone
in your family. Write three sentences about them. Read your sentences aloud to
the rest of the class.

2. Which relative
did you choose? Why did you choose that person? Did you write about their
character, appearance, or both?

3. Look at the
photograph and read the description of Aunt Emily.

4. Go through the
text again and underline like this:

Ÿ _______ the parts
which describe her physical appearance

Ÿ _ _ _ _ _ the
parts which describe her character

Ÿ ………… the parts
which describe her habits

5. Find the
following words

quite
Ÿ a little Ÿ rather Ÿ very Ÿ extremelyŸ

How do they change
the meaning of the adjectives which follow them?

My Aunt

Of
all my relatives, I like my Aunt Emily the best. She’s my mother’s youngest
sister. She has never married, and she lives alone in a small village near
Bath. She’s in her late fifties, but she’s still quite young in spirit. She has
a fair complexion, thick brown hair which she 5 wears in a bun, and dark brown
eyes. She has a kind face, and when you meet her, the first thing you notice is
her lovely, warm smile. Her face is a little wrinkled now, but I think she is
still rather attractive. She is the sort of person you can always go to if you
have a problem.

She
likes reading and gardening, and she goes for long walks over the hills with
her dog, Buster. She’s a very active person. Either she’s making something, or
mending something, or doing something to help others. She does the shopping for
some of the old people in the village. She’s extremely generous, but not very
tolerant with people who don’t agree with her. I hope that I am as happy and
contented as she is when is I’m her age.

6. She’s “not very
tolerant”. This is a nice way of saying she is “intolerant”.

Sometimes
we try to be polite by not using a negative adjective. We can say not very
+ the opposite adjective.

Use
a tactful way to describe someone who is:

a    rude      с    mean     e  
cruel

b    boring   d  
ugly       f   stupid

7. Write a similar
description of a member of your family or a person you admire in about 200
words. Include the following:

—     your opinion of
the person

—     physical
description

—     their character,
habits, likes and dislikes.

Writing

I. Complete the
sentences with these words. Use each word twice.

ŸandŸalsoŸhoweverŸbut

Example

Piotr is very hard-working. However,
he always finds time to meet his friends.

1. Danka is really generous ……………
everybody loves her.

2. Eleanor loves classical music, …………… she hates
pop music.

3. Agatha can be quite shy ……………, she wants
to be popular.

4. Jana is always cheerful……………never mean.

5. David is very confident. He’s ……………
very popular.

6. Jan is hard-working, …………… he isn’t
boring.

7. Helen is quite lazy. She …………… never
tidies her room!

II. Before you start

1. Read the
description, My Grandmother. Which paragraphs (1-3) are these topics in?

•
appearance • character • relationships • likes and dislikes •

•
background

2. Which of the underlined linking expressions in the description
give examples?

My Grandmother


My
grandmother is called Alice. She is sixty-one and she lives with my grandfather
in a flat in the centre of town. It’s an old flat and it’s quite small. She
works in a chemist’s –
she
has worked in the same shop for twenty years. It’s hard to imagine the shop
without her. She doesn’t have any hobbies and doesn’t play sport at her age but
she loves children and animals, especially dogs. She used to
have a collie called Tuka but it died a few years ago. I sometimes meet her in
town for a coffee or snack. She hates junk food, such as hamburgers. She never watches TV, except films. Her
favourite films are romantic comedies.

‚
Alice
has got short, white hair and clear, blue eyes. She is quite short and a bit
thin. She always wears lots of make-up, especially lipstick and you
can smell her perfume when she kisses you! She is a very cheerful woman. In
fact, she’s always smiling. Her smile is what people remember about her. She’s also very generous and helpful.

ƒ
My grandmother is very popular with her neighbours, maybe because she is so helpful. For
example,
she often babysits for people in her street. Granddad says she spends more time
with neighbours than with him! They often argue, particularly about politics but after 40 years of
marriage, I’m sure they love each other really!

3. Write
a description of a person you know and like.

Follow
the stages below.

Stage 1

Decide
who you are going to write about — someone in your family, a friend or a famous
person.

Stage 2

Write
some notes in the form of a diagram.

Stage 3

Write
three paragraphs. Use linking words. Check your description for mistakes.

Talkback

In
groups, read your description. Who would be the most interesting person to
meet?

4. Choose a famous
person. Write a description of his / her personality, and something you like
about him / her. Use the words and the model given from the active vocabulary
to help you. Find a picture of the person to illustrate your description.

Writing
help: describing people

1.

Paragraph 1 Introduce the person and give a bit of background, e.g. where he/she was born, where he/she lives now, his/her job, his/ her dislikes. I’m going to write about my grandfather. He’s called Dennis and he lives on his own in a little cottage in the country. He used to work as an engineer but now he is retired though he still does some consultancy work.

Paragraph 2 Describe the person’s physical appearance (but not too many details), personality and character. Dennis has not got very much hair and what he has is white. He’s got a large nose and a very round red face. He’s a rather eccentric man and likes being on his own. He can be irritable especially in the early morning but he is a very generous person.

Paragraph 3 Give some examples of the person’s behaviour or relationships with other people. He’s very well-known in the village where he lives because he is often out walking his dog, an old labrador called Einstein. He gets on with most people but is very impatient with children, particularly when they come and knock on his door at Halloween.

Useful
Vocabulary

Hair:
long
/ short / shoulder-length, black / blond / brown / dark /

fair
/ grey / red / white, curly / straight / wavy, pony tail, plaits

Age:
in
his / her (early/mid/late) teens, twenties, thirties,

elderly,
middle-aged, young

Face:
beard,
chin, eyebrows, freckles, lips, moustache, wrinkles

shape:
long
/ narrow / round / thin / wide

General:
good-looking,
overweight, short, slim, tall, well-built

Personality:
bad-tempered,
cheerful, creative, disorganised,

dynamic,
generous, hard-working, helpful, honest, insensitive,

kind,
lazy, materialistic, mean, moody, nervous, outgoing,

relaxed,
reliable, selfish, shy, sociable, strong, stubborn,

sympathetic,
tolerant, weak

Likes
/ Dislikes: animals,
chess, collecting things, computers,

Playing
/ listening to music, playing / watching sport, reading,

travelling,
watching videos

Linking

To
give examples:

She
loves animals, especially dogs.

She
hates junk food, such as hamburgers.

She
is helpful. For example, she often baby-sits for people in her street.

They
often argue, particularly about politics.

Checking

Spelling:
Use
a dictionary to check your spelling (especially adjectives).

Style:
Check
that the description is quite informal (e.g. with contractions) but make sure
there are no very informal words or expressions.

2. Paragraphs and
topics: describing people

When
you are writing paragraphs, it is important to select only one main topic for
each paragraph.

1. Read Ann’s
composition. Suggest a title for it.

A     My best
friend’s full name is Stuart Kenneth Young. His family calls him Ken, for
short, but his nickname at school is “Sky”! He was born in Manchester, but now
he lives in Newcastle.

B     Sky is
fifteen years old. He is 1.65sm
tall and he weighs 50 kilos. He’s got short brown hair and dark brown eyes.

C     He is
interested in all kinds of sport and music. His favourite, group is U2, but his favourite
singer is Bryan Adams. Sports View is his favourite TV programme. Sky’s favourite
food is pizza. He hates people who smoke all the time.  

D     I Like Sky because
he’s got
a good sense of humour. I also like him because he’s a great dancer.

2. What is the main
topic in each paragraph? Choose from:

physical
appearance

hobbies
and interests

Ann’s
opinions

family
background

3.
Make
notes about your friend.

Paragraph
A

1     full name?

2     nickname?

3     born where?

4     lives now?

Paragraph
B

5     age?

6     height?

7     weight?

8     hair – long
or short?

9     hair colour?

10     eye colour?

Paragraph
С

11     interests
and hobbies?

12     favourite
group and singer?

13     favourite
TV programme?

14     favourite
food?

15     hates?

Paragraph
D

16    
Why I like this person?

4.
Use
your notes to write a description of your friend. Make sure you have a title
and a photo!

Before
you give any written work to your teacher, remember to check your punctuation.

Text for additional reading

Reading
for gist

Before reading

— Do you know the main points
of psychology?

— Have you ever interested in
human’s nature?

— Are you sure you know
everything about your own character?

Ÿ Read the text to find out
what human character is. Analyze four groups of human nature’s traits and
decide which ones you possess.

Ÿ Use a dictionary to check the
meaning of unknown words.

Human Character

A character is a word of Greek
origin and literally means a sign, a distinguishing feature. It defines
features of the behavior of an individual and his or her relationship with
others. Its traits determine patterns of behavior and a way of life of a human
being.

Psychologists divide traits of
human nature into four groups:

1. Relation to
others:

·                    
positive traits: sociability, kind-heartedness, attention,
courtesy, respect;

·                    
negative traits: morose manners, arrogance, rudeness, discourtesy,
disdain;

2. Attitude to work, to
objectives and goals:

·                    
positive traits: hard worker, a taste for creativity,
scrupulousness, responsibility, entrepreneurial attitude, perseverance;

·                    
negative traits: laziness, propensity for routine work,
dishonesty, irresponsibility, inactivity, carelessness, disorderliness;

3. Attitude
to oneself:

·                    
positive traits: self-esteem, adequate pride and self-criticism,
modesty, respect for the individual self;

·                    
negative traits: self-conceit, impudence, vanity, resentment,
shyness, self-absorption, selfishness, arrogance, self-humiliation;

4. Attitude to
things:

·                    
positive traits: accuracy, gentle handling of things;

·                    
negative traits: carelessness, negligence.

Two groups of human nature:
the attitude of an individual to colleagues and the people around him or her
and the attitude to work — are the central, or core, relationship of an
individual. These two groups, being the central relationship, play an important
role in the up-bringing of a person and the formation of his or her line of
behavior.

Psychologists agree that it is
impossible to overcome some deformity of nature and foster necessary positive
qualities. In other words, you can not only generate a certain trait (quality),
you can just bring up the whole system of traits (qualities), paying particular
attention, first of all, to the formation of relationships to people (staff)
and work.

Despite the assertion of the
existence of the central group of relationships, it is important to note, that
there are people with a more holistic and less holistic or contradictory
character.