Street markets and bazaars have existed for more than a thousand years.

Most cities and

towns have always had a main street with a lot of shops. But these streets were always in
the centre of a city. The modern shopping centre isn’t in the town centre. It has moved to
the suburbs – big neighbourhoods outside the cities.

After World War II, many people in the USA went to live in the suburbs. More people owned
cars and they wanted to live in big houses with gardens, instead of in small flats inside the
towns and cities. The suburbs were greener, cleaner and also safer than the cities. When
people began building shopping centres with enormous car parks in the suburbs, the
shopping centres quickly became very popular because there weren’t enough car parks
near the shops in the cities. In fact, people from the cities also drove to the suburbs to do
their shopping.

Since then, shopping centres have become very popular all around the world and there are
thousands of shopping centres. Today, many shopping centres have got two or three
department stores and hundreds of different kinds of shops inside one enormous building.
These shopping centres aren’t only for shopping. They have also got restaurants and
cinemas and sometimes they have got art galleries, swimming pools and ice skating rinks,
too.

CORRECT THE SENTENCES

1. There aren’t any street markets today.

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2. Suburbs are in city centres.
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3. After World War II, cities were very safe.
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4. Shopping centres in the suburbs weren’t popular at the beginning.
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5. Shopping centres are popular only in the USA.
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Answer the questions.

1. What have street markets, bazaars and streets with many shops got in common?
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2. Why could many people move to the suburbs after World War II?
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3. Why did many people move to the suburbs?
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4. Why do people like shopping at big shopping centres?
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5. What have some modern shopping centres got in addition to shops?
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The handbag is often a woman’s most important fashion accessory. But once, handbags were only for men.
Long ago, men put bags on their belts. These bags held their money and documents.

In the 14th century, both men and women wore these bags on their belts. For women, they became fashion
items. In fact, fashionable women liked decorating their bags with flowers and precious stones. Then, in the 17th
century, fashion changed. Women started putting their things in bags under their skirts. But in the 18th century,
skirts were smaller and women couldn’t put their bags under them. They needed a new place for things like
gloves, keys and perfume, so the handbag returned. At first, women only used handbags for small things. But as
women became more independent, the handbag became more important.

Today, most women can’t go anywhere without their handbag. The modern handbag has to be big enough to hold a
mobile phone, sunglasses, cosmetics and more. In addition, most women have got a number of handbags: small, elegant
handbags for special occasions and big, practical ones for everyday activities. And, although handbags are now women’s
accessories, men are also beginning to use bags for their personal items – money, documents, keys, a mobile phone, and
sometimes a laptop computer, too.

FINISH THE SENTENCES IN A LOGICAL WAY

1. Today, mostly women use handbags, but long ago ................................................................... .

2. In the 18th century, women started using handbags because .................................................. .
3. The handbag became more important to women when they ................................................... .
4. In the modern world, most women always ................................................................................ .
5. For a special occasion, a woman uses a ..................................................................................... .

Answer the questions.

1. Where did men keep their money in the 14th century?

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2. How did 14th century women turn the handbag into a fashion item?
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3. How did the fashion of bags change in the 17th century?
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4. What types of items did women keep in their handbags in the 18th century?
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5. What type of items do men keep in their bags today?
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