V ÍNCULOS Y SINERGIAS CON OTRAS POLÍTICAS E INSTRUMENTOS COMUNITARIOS

Look at the picture story below and notice the way we describe the two cats' gestures.

Then cover the words and see if you can recall them.

He's licking his lips.

He's staring (leering) at her.

He's winking at her.

She's smiling, grinning.

She's frowning, maybe scowling.

She's pouting.

Gesture, mannerism and body language

He's nodding. She's shaking her head.

He's blowing her a kiss. She's sneering.

He's beckoning to her. She's poking her tongue out at him.

He's scratching his head. She's waving (goodbye).

Practice 1

Check that you know the meaning of each of the verbs below. They all describe different ways of looking. Then choose the appropriate verb to complete each sentence. Finally, make sure you understand the other words and phrases in bold print in the sentences.

glanced gazed peeped peered stared

1 He... intently at the piece of paper in front of him, wringing his hands in despair.

2 He stretched to his full height and... over the wall to see what Lady Thackeray-Smythe's daughter was doing.

3 We... through the fog, blinking, trying to catch a glimpse of a moving light.

4 She stopped fidgeting and fiddling with her dress. She just sat, absolutely still, and .. .out of the window, miles away, just occasionally pursing her lips, then

Gesture, mannerism and body language

Hungry? Thirsty? Feel like a cigarette? Before you do anything, just connect the two halves of these sentences correctly. To do this, decide which verbs go with which objects.

1 He chewed a smoke-rings.

2 She licked b his cigar.

3 He puffed с the sweets to make them last longer.

4 She nibbled d the tablets so as not to have to taste them.

5 He sipped e the tough meat before digesting it.

6 She swallowed f the chocolate biscuits to avoid eating too many.

7 He blew g the ice-cream and then her lips.

8 She sucked h the brandy.

Now match the two halves of this group of sentences.

1 My stomach was rumbling a so I scratched it.

2 We breathed in deeply

(took a deep breath) b like a dribbling baby.

3 My teeth were chattering с and tossing and turning all night.

4 When the meal arrived, the dog

started drooling d and my mouth was watering.

5 I was sweating (perspiring) e and then exhaled fully.

6 My heart began to beat faster f and I was shivering.

7 My arm was itching g and my blood pressure went up.

Reading

Here is a selection of verbs concerned with the physical contact people can have.

Read through the two short texts and then do the exercise that follows.

[1] When I was a boy, I couldn't stand:

being tickled on the soles of my feet.

being patted on the head by my parents' friends and told I'd grown.

being smacked by my father for something I hadn't done.

having my hair pulled and my ear flicked by a sadistic teacher of ours.

being scratched (on the cheek, arm, back, leg) by the girls in the class above.

being pinched.

being kicked and stamped on, having my fingers trodden on and my face stepped on in the annual Girls v Boys football match.

having my hair stroked by my grandma, as if I was a cat. They were terrible like that, our family, always caressing each other. I never understood the need they had to touch people - most embarrassing I found it.

2 An interview with a boxer:

Well, half the time he was just slapping me, with the open glove; that's illegal, you know and he poked me in the eye several times with his thumb it was awful -pushing and shoving me he was; he even tried to wrestle with me - punches? He can't punch. He tapped me, that's all he did - he hardly touched me with a proper blow - when he knocked me out? Let me tell you, he didn't really hit me even then, not properly - he butted me with his head, like the bull he is - next time I'll knock him out in the first round, believe me.

Now use the words in the text to describe what is going on in the playground of a very bad school.

Gesture, mannerism and body language

Practice 2

The verbs on the right are in the wrong order. Decide which to use to complete each of sentences 1 — 6.

1 The freed hostages ... their family and friends. shook hands with 2 The US President... the Prime Minister. sat cuddling 3 I... my mother-in-law on the cheek. squeezed 4 Charles ... her hand reassuringly as they stepped

forward together to the altar. embraced 5 The Pope ... the President. hugged 6 Jack and Jill... each other to keep warm. kissed

If you are working alone, write a paragraph about the signs and gestures used in your country. If you can, compare them with the signs and gestures used for similar purposes in other countries.

If you are working in class, demonstrate and discuss the signs and gestures we make to express ourselves. In an international class, you may be surprised to discover how much body language varies from country to country.

Write or act out a conversation with a friend about one of the topics below.

1 how lovely and peaceful the park was last Sunday afternoon

2 how horrible the station was during the rush-hour on your way home this evening 3 how unpleasant a bar was at closing time last Saturday night

4 how moving it was to see some hostages reunited with their families

Write the page from your diary in which you describe the candidates' behaviour as you were all waiting to be called in for your oral exam. Begin: There were five of us in the room...

Add here any other words about body language, mannerisms and gestures that you may meet.

Posture and