Describing people: compound adjectives

Compare these sentences:

June has blue eyes and fair hair.

June is blue-eyed and fair-haired.

June is a blue-eyed, fair-haired girl.

Change the sentences below to make two more sentences, using the other forms given.

1. Bob has brown eyes and dark hair.

2. Paul is a broad-shouldered, bald-headed man.

3. Julia is thin-faced and red-haired.

4. Caroline is straight-backed and long-legged.

5. Kevin has a pale face and thin lips.

IV. LISTENING

Listening 1. You are going to hear descriptions of four people, two female and two male.

1. Decide which of the six pictures on the right correspond to the four people described.

2. Write the information you hear in note form in columns 1- 4 in the table below.

3. Then, using the list of questions in the table, complete column 5 by describing in note form a friend or relative of yours. When you have finished, see if another student can draw a picture of him/her, following your description.

Person
Age?
Colour of Eyes?
Shape of Face?			square
Hair?				curly/dark
Complexion?		sallow
Special Features?	dimples in cheeks

V. CONVERSATIONAL PRACTICE

Task 1. Listen to the dialogues and practise them. Pay special attention to the underlined structures.

Will You Do Me A Favour?

Alice: Hello, Mike! Have you been waiting long? I’m so sorry I’m late.

Mike: Now when you’re here it’s all right..

Alice: I say, Mike, I’ve just had a wire from Mary. She’s coming by the five-twenty train. And I have a meeting at five. Will you do me a favour and meet her at the station?

Mike: Certainly. But I’ve never seen her. How shall I recognize her?

Alice: Oh, it’s quite easy. She’s just like her mother.

Mike: Most helpful, I’m sure. But the problem is that I’ve never seen her mother either

Alice: No, you haven’t. But I’m afraid I haven’t any photos of her.

Mike: Try to describe her. What does she look like?

Alice: A tall, slim girl of eighteen with an oval face.

Mike: Complexion?

Alice: Rather pale.

Mike: Hair?

Alice: Fair and curly. Light-gray eyes, a small snub nose, a big mouth with white even teeth and a pleasant smile.

Mike: I’m sure there’ll be at least a dozen girls like that at the station.

Alice: Oh, Mike, we’ve been discussing it for the better part of an hour and I see no end to it.

Mike: But how am I to recognize her in the crowd?

Alice: Oh, I forgot. There’s a dimple in her left cheek, she’s so lovely that you’ll fall in love with her at first sight.

Mike: That’ll help me to be sure. Go to a meeting, promise to be on a platform at five sharp, looking for a tall, slim, fair-haired, lovely girl with a dimple in her cheek.