Hi, my name is Camilla. They asked me to speak to you today about shopping. Here it goes.
First question: why do you like shopping?
First of, why wouldn’t I?! I mean, I’m not a shopaholic, but I like taking some time for myself and take a walk downtown every now and then, even if I don’t have to buy anything. Window-shopping basically. It’s my me-time. I usually go shopping on my own, possibly not on weekends, because I can’t stand the idea of being dragged into over-crowded shops by others for hours!
I think deep down everybody likes shopping, we all buy stuff all the time, and sometimes it’s stuff we don’t even need.
Second question: what is your favourite thing to shop for?
I’d say clothes. It doesn’t matter how much stuff I already have, I’m always gonna need something new to wear! Usually women are really into shoes and bags, I think I just like shopping for clothes: coats, skirts, fancy dresses, blouses. I don’t normally buy clothes online, because I need to try them on and see if they fit as a glove. And if they don’t, I will buy them anyway and have them altered.
Something that I really hate doing is grocery shopping: I hate going to the supermarket, I never know what to buy, and even if I make a list I hardly ever stick to it, plus supermarkets are always crowded and queueing at checkout is so annoying!
Third question: do you use shopping to reward yourself?
Um, I guess I do, sometimes. Whenever I’ve had a bad day, I may end up in the fitting room of some fast-fashion store. I’m sure there’s a sound psychological explanation for it, but I try not to think about it! I wouldn’t call it an addiction, though: it’s just nice to treat yourself to something new once in a while. I usually don’t shop high-end fashion brands, so I can afford to indulge in shopping even a couple of times a month. I’ll just avoid looking at my bank statement and pretend like nothing happened!
So, this is Camilla for Learning English Matters. Thank you for listening
Words in this story
shopaholic – a person who likes shopping a lot
window shopping – to walk by stores and look at what they have in their windows, such as clothes or shoes, but not going in and buying anything
me time – time that a person spends by themselves doing whatever they want that makes them happy
can’t stand – when you can’t stand something, you don’t like it or it bothers you
overcrowded – when a place is filled with too many things or people
deep down– used figuratively; the enjoyment of shopping is inside us
to be into something – to like or enjoy something
fit as a glove/fit like a glove – to fit perfectly
to stick to something – to stay on course or stay with the plan
fitting room – a room in a store where you can to try on clothing before you buy them
to treat yourself – to reward yourself with something you love or one of your favorite things for a reason or not reason at all
addiction: to have very strong interest in something or needing to have something
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