英语听力精选进阶版 6168

A Healthy Glow? 健康的容光吗？

In the UK, a country known for its bad weather and lack of sunshine, there appears to be an ever increasing number of very tanned young people.

So just how are they achieving their golden tans? Some are opting¹ for the sun-free option and are getting their tan from a bottle. However, it appears that others are turning to tanning salons³, of which there are thousands in the UK.

While in China young people often prefer to remain fair, in the UK there seems to be a growing desire for tanned skin. So why do the British prefer to be bronzed? Often, they are trying to emulate⁴ their favourite celebrities⁵, footballers, or footballers’ wives. Research from the British Sunbed Association suggests that many people believe a tan makes them feel and look healthier.

This is a belief that is most definitely not shared by Cancer Research UK. They firmly state that being tanned is not a sign of health. In fact, they are strongly against young people using sunbeds. On their website, they state that people who use sunbeds before the age of 35 have a higher risk of melanoma – the most dangerous type of skin cancer.

The dangers of tanning did not appear to concern ten-year-old Kelly Thompson who hit headlines in April after receiving severe burns from spending 16 minutes on a sunbed.

Kelly’s mother was horrified⁶ that her daughter had been allowed to use the sunbeds and that the tanning salon² was unmanned. She noted⁷ that: “There was no one to give advice on using these potentially dangerous machines.”

Whether the British government has been taking heed⁸ of such recent tanning tragedies is not clear. What is clear however is that self-regulation in the sunbed industry looks unlikely to continue.

Just after Kelly’s story was reported in the news, the government issued a statement advising that people under 18 should not use sunbeds and that all salons should be supervised by trained staff.

GLOSSARY 词汇表

tanned (让皮肤）晒成褐色

tanning salons 让皮肤晒成褐色的沙龙

fair (皮服颜色)浅

bronzed 古铜色的

emulate 模仿

a belief 信念

a sign of 迹象；象征

sunbeds 太阳床

risk 危险/危害

melanoma 恶性黑素瘤

skin cancer 皮肤癌

concern 担忧；引起关注或担忧

hit headlines 见诸报端

severe burns 严重灼伤

horrified 令人震惊的

unmanned 无人管理的

taking heed 注意；留心

tragedies 悲剧

self-regulation 有自我规章的

supervised 有监管的

1 opting   

v.选择，挑选( opt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• What courses are most students opting for? 多数学生选什么课程？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Wells doesn't rule out opting out and then re-signing with Houston. 威尔斯没有排除跳出合同再与火箭重签的可能。 来自互联网

2 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

3 salons   

n.（营业性质的）店( salon的名词复数 )；厅；沙龙（旧时在上流社会女主人家的例行聚会或聚会场所）；（大宅中的）客厅

参考例句：

• He used to attend to his literary salons. 他过去常常去参加他的文学沙龙。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Conspiracy theories about Jewish financiers were the talk of Paris salons. 犹太金融家阴谋论成为巴黎沙龙的话题。 来自互联网

4 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。

5 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

6 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。