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describing people's character
If you want to describe someone's character, you will find many useful words in other parts of this book. For example.
calm, confident/not confident, deter mined, friendly/unfriendly, funny, intel licent, interesting, kind/unkind. Here
are some general expressions that are useful for describing someone's character:
can be /'kaen bi:, кэп-/ if you say someone can be annoying, romantic, etc, you mean that sometimes they are annoying or romantic, but they are not like this most of the time
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can be quite/very/reaUij Mark can be quite bad-tempered when he's under
pressure, i He can be really funny when he's had a few drinks. сал be a little especially american can be
a bit LSPUOALLY BRIH5H An па can be a little moody, but basically she's pretty nice.
can be ... at times Yes, he can be a bit annoying at times.
tend to be /tend ts bi:/ if someone tends
to be rude, selfish etc, they are often rude or selfish
tend to be ratKer/quite/a little/a bit
Small children tend to be rather selfish. Billy tended to be a bit impatient.
AS. Only use tend to be about negative qualities.
Q not very /'not veri/ especially spoken if you say that someone is not very friendly, not very polite etc, you mean that they are unfriendly, rude etc. "What's he
like?" "Not very nice. He's rather rude and arrogant."
A
in spoken English as a way of being less direct when they are saying something negative about someone: He's a nice boy, but not very bright (instead of 'he's a nice boy but stupid/%
always /o:lwJ>z, -weiz/ [adu] if someone is always criticizing, always laughing etc, they do this very often, and it is an important part of their character: He's always complaining. I Margaret's really considerate - she's always helping people.
People often use not very, especially
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DESCRIBING PEOPLE
DESCRIBING PEOPLE
side /said/ [л С usually singularl one of the parts of someone's character, especially a part that people do not often notice: Phil's always laughing and joking, but he does have a serious side too.
El the signs of the zodiac
Some people believe that the time of year that you were born has an effect on your character because of the positions of the stars and the planets. They divide the year
into 12 periods of time, and these are known as the 'signs of the zodiac'. People born under different signs are thought to have different characteristics.
Aquarius
20 January - 18 February
People born under the sign of Aquarius are very loyal, but they can be a little insensitive at times.
Aries
21 March ■ 19 April
People born under the sign of Aries are extremely energetic and adventurous. But they can also be aggressive.
Pisces
February -
March
Taurus
20 April - 20 May
People with the sign of Taurus are always calm and patient, but also very materialistic.
People with the sign of Pisces can be very romantic, and are always sympathetic if you have a problem. But they can also be extremely pessimistic.
descrwinc people continues on the next page
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DESCRIBING PEOPLE
DESCRIBING PEOPLE
Cancer
21 June - 22 July
People with the sign of Cancer are very kind and helpful. But
they can sometimes be very moody-
Cemini
21 May - 20 June
People born under
the sign of Gemini are very witty, but they tend to be a little impatient
Leo
23 July - 22 August
People born under the sign of Leo are
very sociable, but
can often be vain as well
Virgo
23 August 22 September
People born under the sign of Virgo tend to be hard-working, but also a iittle fussy and very critical.
vocabulary
adventurous /afventjwas/ [adj] always read/ to tr^ different and exciting things, even if they are dangerous: For the more adventurous members of the groupt there are activities such as rock-climbing and scuba diving,
aggressive /agresiv/ [adj] someone who is aggressive behaves in an angry way and seems to want to fight or argue: Hoynes sudden/у became aggressive and started swearing at us.
artistic /ai^istik/ [adj] good at painting and drawing, and at making and designing things using your skill and irnag ination: She comes from a very artistic family - her mother's ал interior designer and her brothers an
architect.
calm /krcmlkaim, fcailm/ [adj] not getting angiy or upset, even in a difficult situation: Dr Weir answered their questions in а са/m, professional manner. keep/stay calm Meditation a/ways he/ps me stay ca/m and relaxed.
cheerful /фэг&|/ [adj] always happy, smiling, and friendly: Barbara greeted us with a cheerful smile. The children managed to stay cheer/u/ in spite of the bad weather
conceited /кзпъйДО [adj] too confident about your own abilities and achievements, in a way that annoys people: Rupert and his wife are an awful couple - so snobbish and conceited.
critical /кпйЫ/ [adj] someone who is critical always says negative things about other people's work or the things they do and say Mrs Blake wasn't a popular teacher - she was too critical.
cruel /ктЫ/ [adj] deliberately trying to nurt or upset people, and not caring if this makes then unhappy: 'How could anyone be so cruel/' she said and burst into tears. + to Kids can sometimes be very cruel to each other
energetic /enard3euW [adj] very active and able to work hard and do a lot of things without getting tired: // you re feeling energetic, we could go out for a run.