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Welcome to our Daily English Listening Practice with this week’s series:
Shopping Vocabulary
Alright shopaholics, this week’s series is for you! We hope that after listening, you’ll feel comfortable using these words and phrases ASAP!
Please listen to the audio files for explanations.
Transcripts unavailable.
Notes from the Audio Files
Brand Names / No Name Brands
- Labeling / Packaging : How a product is contained or looks
- Stingy: Someone who doesn’t like to spend money
- I’ll go for : I’ll choose
- Supermarket brand: products created and labeled with the supermarket name
- Not a big shopper: someone who doesn’t enjoy shopping
How to use it:
“I really don’t mind using no name brands, they taste just as good to me.”
“I don’t usually mind paying a little more for the brand names I know and trust.”
High Street Names/ Retailers
- Pedestrianized: walkable streets, no cars allowed
- Foot traffic: people walking by
- Widespread brands: popular franchises
- Town squares: center of some small towns or cities
- Shopping mall/center: large stand-alone buildings made for shopping
How to use it:
“The town centre has really blown up recently. There are high street names all over the place now.”
“There’s a bunch of new stores and retailers at the outlet mall, but I’m too lazy to drive that far up the freeway.”
Designer Brands or Labels
- Boutique: a small or sophisticated store
- Off the top of my top: the first thing I think of
- Multilingual: speaks multiple languages
How to use it:
“Our 10th anniversary is a pretty special occasion, so I splashed out and bought her a designer handbag as a gift.”
“The only time I’ll buy designer is if they’ve gone on sale. I usually love the quality, but I have a hard time paying full price for the name.”
Must Have/Gotta Have It
- Ads / Promotions: commercials or advertisements
- Back to School: store sales near the beginning of the new school year
- Fads / Trends: temporary styles
- In or out of style: fashionable or not fashionable
- Accessories: extras other than your clothing
- Boxing Day: December 26th
How to use it:
“French scarves are really trending right now. They are this season’s must have.”
“Did you see that adorable purse? It was on clearance, I’ve gotta have it.”
A Chain
- A brand: a company name
- A franchise: a number of stores/restaurants with the same name but different owners
- A pint of beer: 568ml of beer; common serving size in the UK
- More or less: pretty much, kind of
- Mom and pop shops: small family-owned local restaurant or store
How to use it:
“She’s completely against shopping at chains. She only buys from local merchants.”
“No matter what big city you’re in, you can always find the same popular American chains.”
Feeling comfortable using these words and phrases? Try ‘em out in the comments below!
Thanks!
Kat and Mark
