英语杂谈：97 Overweight in China

This would be a brave performance anywhere in the world. But here in China, it's an invitation to ridicule¹. In a country where most people are naturally slim, being overweight, especially if you are a woman, is frowned upon. But these dancers, they call themselves the ‘fat artistic² troupe’, are trying to change people's minds.

"I used to think that life was very unfair. I even attempted suicide. But since I've started dancing, I feel that society can finally accept me." And the fact is China itself is changing shape.

Once upon a time, it was a country of equally thin communists. Now socialist³ regality has given way to capitalist excess, weighing China down with the fruits of consumerism.

"Well, in the last 30 years, it has been a process of famine to feast in 2 generations. Availability, accessibility of food is just widespread now. So people have more money and they are just eating more, more and more of everything."

"There are already 100 million obese⁴ Chinese. And that number is predicted to double in just 5 years. This country's obesity⁵ epidemic⁶ has caused a spike⁷ in health problems like diabetes⁸ and heart disease."

So now China is on a diet working off the telltale signs of economic success. In a country that used to worry about malnutrition⁹, these are very strange things. At Love the People Diet Hospital, the doctors have turned to traditional Chinese medicine. Acupuncture¹⁰, they say, can suppress appetite and speed up their patients' metabolisms¹¹. Xiao Yang weighs in at 23 stone, and wants to end the discrimination she suffered her whole life.

"If 2 people go for the same job with exactly the same skills, they will always pick the more beautiful one and don't even get the thoughts about finding a man."

They may be new to the diet game. But the Chinese have learned the old lesson very quickly: "No pain, no gain."

 

1 ridicule   

v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄

参考例句：

• You mustn't ridicule unfortunate people.你不该嘲笑不幸的人。
• Silly mistakes and queer clothes often arouse ridicule.荒谬的错误和古怪的服装常会引起人们的讪笑。

2 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

3 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

4 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。

5 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

6 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

7 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

8 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

9 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

10 acupuncture   

n.针灸，针刺法，针疗法

参考例句：

• Written records show that acupuncture dates back to the Song Dynasty.文字记载表明，宋朝就已经有了针灸。
• It's known that acupuncture originated in China.众所周知，针灸起源于中国。

11 metabolisms   

n.新陈代谢( metabolism的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Garden snails are evolving slower metabolisms. 花园蜗牛新陈代谢进化缓慢。 来自互联网
• Elite swimmers tend to be born with certain advantages, such as superefficient metabolisms. 精华的游泳者趋于与某个优点出生，例如superefficient新陈代谢。 来自互联网