BeaUTy. Unit. Read and listen to Alvin s story. in Hong Kong. Cosmetic surgeons, like me, make people look beautiful and feel better.

Transcription

1 Unit 1 BeaUTy Interview Read and listen to Alvin s story. A: I m Alvin Goh. I m a cosmetic surgeon in Hong Kong. Cosmetic surgeons, like me, make people look beautiful and feel better. I: I ve heard that cosmetic surgery is becoming more popular. Is it true? A: Well, my business has been growing by about 20 percent each year. I: Who are your patients? A: Some years ago, my patients were people who had problems with their skin or faces after accidents, like fires. Nowadays, my patients are average people who just want to be more attractive. I: Do both men and women request cosmetic surgery? A: My patients are male and female, young and old, anyone who wants to be beautiful. I: What are some of the most common requests for cosmetic surgery? A: Lots of Asians want their eyes and noses to look like the eyes and noses of Europeans. I: Why are Asian people unhappy with their natural looks? A: Some people think that our Asian perspectives on beauty are influenced by Western television, movies, and so on. Who really knows? I just do my job. Questions 1. Why does Alvin Goh think that cosmetic surgery is popular? 2. What are the differences between his patients in the past and nowadays? 3. What type of eyes and noses are popular for many Asians? 4. Would you like to have cosmetic surgery? 6 unit 1

2 Reading A Read the passage. Being physically beautiful is a high priority in most cultures. People will suffer in order to be beautiful. Cultural perspectives on beauty change at different times and in different places. Think about teeth. In Sumatra, Indonesia, for example, some women of the Mentawai people have their teeth cut, without painkilling medicine, into sharp points that they think are beautiful. Many centuries ago, Japanese women used to paint their teeth black. However, people in modernized countries pay thousands of dollars for straight teeth. Nowadays, the ideal European woman is slender, but people did not always think that slender women were beautiful. Centuries ago, plump women, like those painted by the artist Ruben, were considered attractive. Likewise, the Hima people of Uganda, Africa, believe that fat women are beautiful. A Hima woman rests and eats fattening food for four months before she gets married. During her wedding, a bride may have trouble walking because of her weight. But, people will say her fatness is beautiful. Footbinding in China is a well-known example of suffering for beauty. The Chinese used to consider tiny feet of about eightcentimeters long to be beautiful, so young girls feet bones were broken. Each broken foot was then tightly wrapped to prevent the foot from growing bigger. The government stopped footbinding in Are people anywhere satisfied with their natural looks? Reading Check Circle the answer to each question. 1. What is important for many people? a. to be fat b. to be scary c. to be beautiful 2. How do the teeth of beautiful Mentawai women look? a. sharp b. clean c. black 3. How many years before today were plump women considered beautiful in Western culture? a. tens of years b. hundreds of years c. thousands of years 4. Why do Hima women eat lots of food and stop exercising? a. to become beautiful b. to become healthy c. to lose weight 5. Why were women s feet broken? a. to make women suffer b. to make beautiful feet c. to make walking easier Beauty 7

3 Reading B Read the passage. Beauty and Men Men, like women, want to be attractive and receive the attention of others. Men of various cultures have different ways to get noticed. Wearing makeup is one way to get noticed, especially for men of the Wodaabe culture in Niger, Africa. Once a year, they have a special dance called the Geowal. Before the Geowal, men carefully paint their faces with bright colors and designs. When dancing, the men move their eyes in circles and jump up and down. The Wodaabe women watch. If a woman likes a man, she chooses him, and they pair off together. It is physical beauty, not personality, that gets the girl. Having tattoos is one way for many North American men to get noticed. Today, approximately a quarter of college students in North America have tattoos. Japanese kanji or images, like koi fish or dragons, are very popular tattoo designs. Unfortunately, many North American tattoo artists do not read kanji. When they make a mistake, it s painful to remove from the skin. In the past, men used to be proud of their hair. Today, removing body hair is a new fashion trend for European men, who feel that hairy chests and backs are unattractive. Men s hair removal products have become part of the international beauty industry. Got It? Read the passage again and write True, False, or INT (information not in text). 1. Wearing makeup is becoming more common for men in the U.S.A. 2. Wodaabe women choose men whom they think are beautiful. 3. North American tattoo artists sometimes make mistakes with kanji. 4. About 25 percent of North American college students have tattoos. 5. Nowadays, most European men are happy to show their body hair to others. 6. Men s beauty products are only sold in Europe. 8 unit 1

4 word power Matching Match the eight words in Column A with their meanings in Column B. Column A Column B 1. attractive a. nice looking b. unusual c. ugly 2. high priority a. not important b. a little important c. very important 3. suffer a. feel excited b. feel very uncomfortable c. feel comfortable 4. ideal a. best b. worst c. average 5. slender a. thin b. fat c. white 6. plump a. a little thin b. fat c. white 7. tattoos a. accessories b. holes for earrings c. designs on skin 8. trend a. movement b. education c. happiness Burning Complete the sentences using the words in Column A above. 1. My parents told me that the entrance examination is a, so I must study hard. 2. People with are not allowed in some public baths. 3. Only a very woman or child can wear that small dress. 4. My weight is 70 kilograms. 5. Before I lost 10 kilograms, my wife said that I was. 6. I will never pierce my ears or nose because I don t like to. Talking With New Words 1. Do you think that tattoos are fashionable? 2. Do you know of any plump actors or musicians? 3. What foods are good for people who want to be slender? 4. What is your ideal weight? 5. What is a recent fashion trend in Japan? 6. Is being popular a high priority for you? Beauty 9

5 LISten to learn Listen to four people talk about cosmetic surgery. Read the statements below. Are they true (T) or false (F)? Speaker 1: An 1. An is a Vietnamese man living in Australia. T / F 2. He wants to have round eyes and a thin nose. T / F 3. An does not like the idea of Asians trying to look European. T / F 4. An is proud of himself. T / F Speaker 2: Ivan Speaker 3: Alem Speaker 4: Jose 5. Ivan does not recommend cosmetic surgery. T / F 6. He wanted to have longer legs and a muscular chest. T / F 7. The Russian cosmetic surgeon was successful. T / F 8. Ivan feels good, and he can walk normally. T / F 9. Alem is a movie actress in Ethiopia. T / F 10. Before she succeeded, her teeth were yellow and her hair was curly. T / F 11. Alem spent a small amount of money for straight white teeth. T / F 12. She thinks that to be successful, outer beauty is more helpful than inner beauty. T / F 13. Jose is a young Portuguese man. T / F 14. He is not happy with his eyes and his hair. T / F 15. Jose s wife asked him to have cosmetic surgery. T / F 16. He wants to look the way he looked 20 years ago. T / F Extra On the lines, writes the following names of body parts: eyebrow, eye, hair, ear, wrinkles, teeth, nose, mouth, chin, arm, chest, stomach, hand, fingers, thigh, foot, toe, legs 10 unit 1

6 Wrap Up A B C D E F G H A List these men and women (A H) according to attractiveness. Write letters in the boxes. men women most attractive quite attractive not attractive least attractive B Then talk about your list with a partner. Use the language below. 1. A: Which (man) did you choose as the (most attractive)? B: I choose (E) because I think that (muscular) men are (handsome). A: I m not crazy about (E). In my opinion, he s just too (muscular). 2. A: What do you think of (C)? B: C has a (great) (smile) and she looks so (happy). A: I think that she is the (most attractive) because of her (friendly appearance). 3. A: What about (G)? B: I can t stand (tattoos) so he is in (fourth place). A: Really, I think that (tattoos) are (cool). 4. A: (B) is the (most beautiful). Don t you agree? B: Well, I think that her (eyes) are (ideal), but she wears too much (makeup). A: I agree, but I still think that she is (fantastic). Beaut y 11