男人的身体形象

 　　Rob: Hello I'm Rob. Welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm joined today by Finn. Hi Finn.

　　Finn: Hello Rob.

　　Rob: Today we're talking about men's body image - that means how men feel about their physical appearance.

　　Finn: So it's not about fashion - the style of clothes they wear - it's about how they look physically¹ and how they think other people view them. So come on Rob, how do you think I look?

　　Rob: Hmm… You want me to be honest?! You're a handsome chap really but you're a little skinny, maybe, you don't look like you 'work out' - you know, go to the gym - but look at me, I can't talk - I don't look too good either!

　　Finn: Oh come on Rob, I'm sure your wife thinks you look very handsome!

　　Rob: You'll have to ask her. Well before we explore this subject more and look at some related vocabulary, let's 'work out' with a question. It's about a survey on men's body image. In a survey by the University of the West of England, what percentage of men said they were unhappy about their body?

　　a) 20%

　　b) 55%

　　c) 80%

　　Finn: Well I think men are quite concerned about their body image so I'm going to say 80%.

　　Rob: We'll find out if you are right or wrong later. So let's talk more about body image. We probably know more about women worrying about things like their weight, size, and body shape.

　　Finn: But men also have bodily expectations - in other words, a view on how they think they should look. But where does this vanity² come from?

　　Rob: Vanity - a good word, that's when you are too interested in yourself and especially interested in how you look - spending a lot of time in front of a mirror. I suppose it's from pressure or influence from people we see on TV or in magazines. People have a perception³ - or a belief - of what the perfect body should look like.

　　Finn: Yes, TV and magazines are full of pictures of men with perfect pecs - that's chest muscles - perfect hair and dazzling⁴ white teeth. A bit like Arnold Schwarzenegger?

　　Rob: Not my type! Whilst⁵ I like to look fit and healthy, big muscles don't suit me! The biggest thing I have at the moment is my beer belly⁶ - my stomach is getting a bit too fat - and that's something I'm not too proud of.

　　Finn: It's very impressive, Rob. Well some men cheat to try and achieve the perfect physique. They either take certain drugs or drink protein drinks.

　　Rob: And then there's a muscle-enhancing shirt - that's a padded shirt that you wear under your clothes that make you look more of a hunk - strong and muscly. Come on Finn, you must have one of those?

　　Finn: I'm wearing one right now, Rob. Not really! And Joe Warner, an author and former editor of Men's Fitness⁷ Magazine, thinks they are a waste of time. What word does he use to describe wearing a padded shirt - and what does he suggest men should really be doing to improve body image?

　　Joe Warner, author and former editor of Men's Fitness Magazine:

　　A lot of people now are obese⁸, they are overweight - it's a real issue in the UK. And it's another one of these fitness and health gimmicks¹⁰ we see so much of, I think it's just a real shame people still want shortcuts¹¹ when it doesn't take an awful lot of effort to get to the gym or go for a walk and men do need to take more exercise.

　　Rob: So Joe says many people in the UK are obese - they are too fat and it's dangerous to their health. But he describes trying to pretend to look good by wearing a padded shirt as a 'health and fitness gimmick⁹'.

　　Finn: Yes, a gimmick is something that looks good, but is not really useful. And he says these health and fitness gimmicks are shortcuts to looking healthy. What's the real solution Rob?

　　Rob: Easy - do more exercise. Walk, run, cycle or go the gym. Of course body image is about how you think you look and how you think you should look - I think the best approach is to accept how you look: we don't want to all look the same anyway.

　　Finn: Wise words Rob. We shouldn't forget that beauty is only skin deep. So your character is much more important than your appearance.

　　Rob: A good idiom, but still men - and women - are concerned about their body image. And earlier I asked you, according to a survey, what percentage of men are worried?

　　Finn: I said c) 80%. Was I right?

　　Rob: You were right. The study by the University of the West of England found that 80% of men who responded, said they regularly had conversations about one another's bodies. And the biggest body issue for them was their beer bellies¹² and lack of muscles. Well before I head off to the pub… I mean gym, could you remind us of some of the vocabulary we've heard today:

　　Finn: Yes, we heard:

　　body image

　　workout

　　handsome

　　vanity

　　perception

　　pecs

　　beer belly

　　muscle-enhancing

　　hunk

　　obese

　　gimmick

　　beauty is only skin deep

　　Rob: Thanks. We hope you've enjoyed today's programme. Please join us again soon for another 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.

　　Both: Bye.

1 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

2 vanity   

n.虚荣心，浮华，无价值的东西；adj.虚荣心的

参考例句：

• A man's vanity is actually in proportion to his ignorance.一个人的虚荣心实际上是和他的愚蠢程度成正比。
• Vanity and virtue do not go together.虚荣与美德不是共生物。

3 perception   

n.感知，感觉，觉察(力)；认识，观念，看法

参考例句：

• What's your perception of the matter?你对此事有什么看法？
• He was a man of keen perception.他是一个感觉敏锐的人。

4 dazzling   

adj.眼花缭乱的；耀眼的

参考例句：

• The sky is clear and blue, the sunlight dazzling. 蔚蓝天空，阳光灿烂。
• The light reflecting off the snow was dazzling. 雪的反光很刺眼。

5 whilst   

conj.一边...一边，当...的时候，同时，时时

参考例句：

• She sang whilst she worked.她边干活边唱歌。
• There was dead silence in the court,whilst the white rabbit read out these verses.当白兔子念诗的时候，法庭上鸦雀无声。

6 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

7 fitness   

n.适合，适当，健康，健身

参考例句：

• They're doing exercises to improve their fitness.他们为增强体质而做体操。
• No one questions her fitness for the job.没人怀疑她能胜任这项工作。

8 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• 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。

9 gimmick   

n.(为引人注意而搞的)小革新，小发明

参考例句：

• 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。

10 gimmicks   

n.花招，诡计，骗人的玩意儿( gimmick的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Financial institutions are also often expected yield of gimmicks. 金融机构也往往以预期收益率为噱头。 来自互联网
• However these are just marketing gimmicks that propagate the myth. 然而这些只是噱头的营销传播的神话。 来自互联网

11 shortcuts   

n.捷径( shortcut的名词复数 )；近路；快捷办法；被切短的东西（尤指烟草）

参考例句：

• 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

12 bellies   

n.肚子( belly的名词复数 )；腹部；（物体的）圆形或凸起部份；腹部…形的

参考例句：

• 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