英语听力精选进阶版 6464
时间：2019-03-04 作者：英语课 分类：英语听力精选进阶版
Are you concerned about your body image? These days, both women and men are surrounded by magazines and websites full of tips about dieting, exercise and fashion. Not to mention hairstyles! Gone are the days when all men had to think about was wearing a nice suit to be smart and handsome. Things have changed.
Now, a survey by the University of the West of England has suggested that 80% of men confess to being unhappy about their body. The biggest body issues for them were beer bellies 1 and lack of muscles.
Some think this sudden vanity is due to the pressure or influence of role models we see on TV and in magazines. People end up with a perception of what the perfect body should look like. But not everybody wants to put in the effort to have perfect pecs and dazzling white teeth like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
An opportunistic entrepreneur has even invented a muscle-enhancing shirt to be worn under a man's clothes to make him look more of a hunk.
But Joe Warner, the former editor of Men's Fitness magazine in the UK, thinks the padded shirt is just a gimmick 2. He thinks many people in the country are obese 3, or overweight, and should accept they need to do more exercise.
Warner says: "I think it's a real shame people still want shortcuts 4 when it doesn't take an awful lot of effort to get to the gym or go for a walk."
Exercise is always a good thing. But we mustn't forget that beauty is only skin deep. Character is more important than appearance.
So before I head off to the pub, it might be worth spending an hour at the gym. I'm not looking to get a six-pack, but looking healthier would certainly improve my confidence and self-esteem.
What about you: how much do you worry about your physique?
Quiz 测验
1. What subjects in magazines and websites might make people concerned about their body image?
Dieting, exercise, fashion and hairstyles.
2. What are men's main worries about their appearance?
According to the survey, they're mainly concerned about lack of muscles and having beer bellies.
3. What is a muscle-enhancing shirt?
It's a padded shirt, worn under men's clothes to make men look more muscular.
4. Which two expressions are used to describe men's chest muscles?
'Pecs' and 'a six-pack'.
5. Which expression means 'a person you admire and whose behaviour you try to copy'?
A role model.
body image 身体形象
smart 潇洒的
vanity 虚荣
role model 榜样
perception 看法
to end up with 以...告终
pecs (short for 'pectorals') 胸大肌
opportunistic 机会主义的
muscle-enhancing 增强肌肉感的
hunk 富有魅力的健美男子，猛男
padded 加衬垫的
gimmick 花招儿
shortcut 捷径
beauty is only skin deep 美貌是肤浅的
six-pack 六块腹肌
self-esteem 自尊心
- They crawled along on their bellies. 他们匍匐前进。
- starving children with huge distended bellies 鼓着浮肿肚子的挨饿儿童
- He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。
- It is just a public relations gimmick.这只不过是一种公关伎俩。
- The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
- Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。
- In other words, experts want shortcuts to everything. 换句话说，专家需要所有的快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
- Offer shortcuts from the Help menu. 在帮助菜单中提供快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
- The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
- For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。