way2go! 6, Schulbuch

38 Unit 03 | See it. Want it. Buy it. Talking about pictures Which expressions would you use to ‘compare’, ‘speculate’, ‘describe’ or ‘give your opinion’? LANGUAGE 15 By the way: At the mall If you’re visiting the USA, you’re bound to spend some time shopping, so there are a few things you should know. First of all, if you fancy a walk to the shops, be aware that this isn’t common in America. Most people shop in large malls or superstores, such as Walmart, and will drive to reach these. In fact, in some cities, the opportunities for shopping ‘downtown’ in the city centre are limited. If you’re looking for a bargain, bear in mind that in Austria you pay the price you see on the label, but in the USA this is not necessarily the case. Depending on the state you’re shopping in, you could pay up to 10% more than you’d expected when you get to the checkout because of the VAT 1 , so always check before you buy! On the positive side, shoppers in America generally expect good customer service, so you should find friendly and helpful shop assistants. If you need to return an item, you can usually do so easily – no questions asked. Assistants will often address you more informally than you may be used to, calling you ‘darling’ or ‘honey’, and they might stick around whilst you’re shopping to give you advice or recommendations. You will often see shop assistants with headsets which make them look like the Secret Service. Using these they can request items from the warehouse 2   for you if you need a different size or colour. If you’re grocery shopping, you might feel overwhelmed by the huge range of products on offer. There can be whole aisles just with yoghurts and desserts, for example. And don’t be surprised if the shop assistant automatically starts packing your bags for you at the checkout. This is all part of the service for many retailers and some even employ people known as ‘baggers’ especially for this function. If you find yourself suffering from the insomnia 3 that jet lag can bring, don’t despair. Some places are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so you can always go and browse or buy, even on Sundays. You really can shop till you drop! Which of these facts were most surprising for you? Talk in class.  1  VAT: ( abbr. for ) value added tax: Umsatzsteuer  2  warehouse: (Waren-)Lager  3  insomnia: Schlaflosigkeit 1 2 In the background/foreground …; At the top …; In the middle …; On the left …; Behind …; Above …; In the bottom left corner …; Next to … As far as I know, …; I’d say …; I’d like to point out that …; What I mean is …; My personal view is that …; I might be wrong, but …; It seems to me that … 3 4 In both pictures …; Both pictures show …; Neither of them …; The main difference between the pictures is …; In the picture on the left …, whereas the other one …; While the first picture shows …, the other picture doesn’t …; In contrast to the first picture … I suppose it’s …; I expect/I imagine it’s …; He/she/it must be …; He/she/it can’t be …; I’m not sure, but they could be …; It’s not very clear, but probably …; I can’t make it out, but perhaps …; He/she/it seems to be … Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eige tum des Verlags öbv