英语口语对话(高级) lesson 7 Anorexia
Summary:
Vanessa and Lisa discuss about the causes and the repercussions of anorexia.
In this episode of World Report Vanessa and Lisa are in the middle of a live show in a radio studio. Listen to their conversation and answer the question that follows about the main idea.
Dialogue:
Vanessa: Good morning listeners and I hope your day is better than some. Lisa has got a disheartening story of a disease which is plaguing teenage girls the world over.
Lisa: A good morning to you Vanessa. So right you are too! A disease, a plague, call it what you will, anorexia nervosa is fast becoming many girls’ dark, deep-seated secret.
Vanessa: How bad are things?
Lisa: Well Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder, afflicting 1 in a 100 girls, usually between the ages of 16-25.
Vanessa: The causes? The repercussions?
Lisa: Anorexia is caused through falsely portrayed role models; tall, lean fat-free models strutting their stuff on the catwalk. The repercussions, well, they can be devastating for some girls.
Vanessa: You‘re saying that these girls want to immediately lose weight so they too can look like their perfectly divine role models.
Lisa: Precisely Vanessa. And so they go on ridiculously quick and easy diets, losing a great amount of valuable fat.
Vanessa: Is this a sign of the times?
Lisa: If it is, Vanessa, well we‘re surely doing something wrong aren’t we?
Vanessa: You‘re not wrong there. Thanks for that story and hope you‘ve got something more upbeat for us tomorrow.
Lisa: You bet. Bye for now.
Now answer the following question…
What is anorexia?
Anorexia is an eating disorder, afflicting 1 in 100 girls usually between the ages of 16-25.
Now listen again to the dialogue in parts. After each part there will be 3 to 4 questions on some details...
Part 1
Vanessa: Good morning listeners and I hope your day is better than some. Lisa has got a disheartening story of a disease which is plaguing teenage girls the world over.
Lisa: A good morning to you Vanessa. So right you are too! A disease, a plague, call it what you will, anorexia nervosa is fast becoming many girls dark, deep-seated secret.
Vanessa: How bad are things?
Lisa: Well Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder, afflicting 1 in a 100 girls, usually between the ages of 16-25.
Vanessa: The causes? The repercussions?
Lisa: Anorexia is caused through falsely portrayed role models; tall, lean fat-free models strutting their stuff on the catwalk. The repercussions, well, they can be devastating for some girls.
Now answer some questions…
1.Vanessa says “a disease which is plaguing teenage girls”. What does ’to plague’ mean?
Plague means to cause someone a lot of trouble or suffering.
2.Lisa says “anorexia nervosa is fast becoming many girls’ dark, deep-seated secret.’ What does “deep-seated” mean?
“Deep-seated” means something which is difficult to change because it’s causes have been there a long time.
3.Lisa says “Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder, afflicting 1 in a 100 girls”. What does “afflict” mean?
“Afflict” is a formal word for when a disease, pain or disaster causes you to suffer.
Now listen to the second part of the dialogue…
Part 2
Vanessa: You‘re saying that these girls want to immediately lose weight so they too can look like their perfectly divine role models.
Lisa: Precisely Vanessa. And so they go on ridiculously quick and easy diets, losing a great amount of valuable fat.
Vanessa: Is this a sign of the times?
Lisa: If it is, Vanessa, well we‘re surely doing something wrong aren’t we?
Vanessa: You‘re not wrong there. Thanks for that story and hope you‘ve got something more upbeat for us tomorrow.
Lisa: You bet. Bye for now.
Now answer some questions…
1.Lisa says ”so they too can look like their perfectly divine role models”. What does ‘divine’ mean?
‘Divine’ means something godly, or perfect.
2.Vanessa asks “is this a sign of the times?” What is ‘a sign of the times’?
“A sign of the times” is something that shows that society is worse now than it was in the past
3.Vanessa says “hope you‘ve got something more upbeat for us tomorrow.” What does “upbeat” mean?
“Upbeat” means positive, optimistic.
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GLOSSARY
Afflict (vb.): If a problem or illness afflicts a person or thing, they suffer from it. The noun is affliction.
Deep-seated (adj.): If something is deep-seated then it is strongly felt or believed and very difficult to change or get rid of. A ”deep-seated secret” is a secret that is kept inside and is not revealed to anyone. We can also use the expression deep(ly) - rooted with no change in meaning.
Devastating (adj.) Devastating means causing a lot of damage or destruction.
Dishearten (vb.): when something disheartens you, it makes you lose confidence, hope and energy.
Disorder (N.): A disorder is an illness of the mind or body. There are many types of disorders, such as eating disorders (Bulimia / anorexia).
Lean (adj.): Lean means thin and healthy. It can also be used to describe a company or organization which uses only a small number of people and a small amount of money etc. so that there is no waste.
Plague (vb.): If something plagues you, it causes worry, pain or difficulty over a period of time.
Portray (vb.): To portray is to represent or describe someone or something in a painting, film, book or other artistic work.
Repercussion (N.): The repercussion is the effect that an action, event or decision has on something, especially a bad effect.
Strut (vb.): If you strut then you walk in a proud way trying to look important. To strut your stuff means to walk or dance in a confident exciting way, especially trying to be noticed by other people.
Upbeat (adj.): Upbeat means full of hope, happiness and good feelings.
