2009年ESL之就医和人际交往16 Getting Plastic Surgery(在线收听

 

16 Getting Plastic Surgery 

GLOSSARY 

plastic surgery / cosmetic surgery – one of many medical procedures that 

involves cutting into one’s skin to make one more attractive or beautiful 

* She’s thinking about having plastic surgery to make her nose smaller. 

to go under the knife – to have surgery; to have a medical procedure that 

involves cutting into one’s skin 

* After the car accident, Kashif had to go under the knife three times for his knee 

and shoulder injuries. 

wrinkle – a small fold or line in one’s skin, usually caused by age and sun 

damage 

* Norah looked in the mirror and was surprised to see so many wrinkles around 

her eyes. 

sagging – hanging down and stretched longer than something shouldbe 

* Jim’s pants are sagging. I think it’s because he has lost over 50 pounds in the 

past year. 

Botox – a chemical substance that is injected into the skin on one’s face to 

reduce the appearance of wrinkles, making the skin smoother

* Have you considered using Botox to get rid of the lines on your forehead? 

facelift – a surgical procedure that removes loose skin on one’s face,making 

one’s face look younger 

* I wonder what percentage of movie stars have facelifts as they start to get 

older? 

tummy tuck – a surgical procedure that cuts away unwanted fat and skin on 

one’s abdomen (belly) to make one look thinner 

* Janice decided to get a tummy tuck so that she’d look better in her swimsuit.

plastic surgeon – a medical professional who does surgeries to improve 

people’s physical appearance, even if there are no healthbenefits 

* Lana became a plastic surgeon to help people with face injuries. 

liposuction – a surgical procedure that removes unwanted fat from one’s 

abdomen (belly) by using suction, pulling the fat out of one’s body 

* Mohamed was overweight and had liposuction, but he continued to eat too 

much food, so within a year he had a big belly again. 

nose job – a surgical procedure to change the shape of one’s nose, usually to 

make it smaller or straighter 

* I hate my big nose! Do you think I should get a nose job? 

to go all out – to do 100% of something; to do all of something, not missing or 

skipping anything; to do something to an extreme; to try very hard to do 

something 

* They went all out for their wedding, inviting more than 500 guests and serving 

them the best food and wine available. 

breast implants – bags of silicone that are placed inside a woman’s breasts 

through a surgical procedure to make her breasts bigger 

* Do men think women with breast implants are more attractive? 

to go off the deep end – to go crazy; to stop thinking or acting realistically or 

normally 

* When Shelby saw how inexpensive stocks were, she went off the deep end and 

spent all her money on stocks, not realizing how risky the investment was.

dead serious – extremely serious; not joking; speaking the truth 

* At first we thought he was joking about wanting to start his own business, but 

now we realize he was dead serious. 

over-the-hill – old; past the best part of one’s life 

* On Hal’s 50th

birthday, his employees decorated his office with balloons that 

read “over-the-hill.”

Barbie doll – a children’s toy; a small plastic doll that looks like a very beautiful 

woman, with large breasts, a small waist, and wide hips;a woman who works 

hard to make her body perfect 

* Yevgeny won’t let his daughter play with Barbie dolls because he thinks it will 

make her unhappy with her own body. 

(something) and all – a phrase used to emphasize that something is included in

the discussion 

* It’s time that we got rid of all this stuff we neveruse, CDs and all. 

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS 

1. Which of these treatments doesn’t require going under the knife? 

a) A Botox injection. 

b) A facelift. 

c) A tummy tuck. 

2. Which of these treatments would an overweight person be most interested in? 

a) Liposuction. 

b) A nose job. 

c) Breast implants. 

______________ 

WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN? 

sagging 

The word “sagging,” in this podcast, means hanging down and stretched longer 

than something should be: “Have you noticed the sagging skin around my eyes?” 

Something that is “sagging” can also be weak or slow: “Weneed to find out why 

our company’s sales have been sagging.” As a verb, “to sag” means to be pulled 

down by something heavy: “The tree branches are sagging under the weight of 

so many apples.” The verb “to sag” can also mean to sit heavily, deep into a 

chair, especially when one is tired: “He sagged into his favorite chair at the end of 

the long day.” Finally, the acronym “SAG” represents theScreen Actors’ Guild, 

which is a professional group for American actors and actresses who work in 

television and the movies: “Are you a member of SAG?” 

to go all out 

In this podcast, the phrase “to go all out” means to do 100% of something, not 

missing or skipping anything, or to do something to an extreme: “They went all 

out decorating their daughter’s room. Absolutely everything is pink!” The phrase 

“to go out” means to leave one’s home to do something:“Do you go out most 

Friday nights?” Or, “I’m going out to get some milk.”The phrase “to go out with 

(someone)” means to date someone or to have a romantic relationship with 

someone: “Did you hear that Charity is going out with Albert?” Finally, the 

phrase “to go into (something)” means to begin working in a certain field or to 

start a certain type of business: “Why did you decide to gointo car sales?” Or, 

“Do you think our company should go into the book publishing business?” 

CULTURE NOTE 

Doctors have to meet many “requirements” (things that must be done) before 

they can “practice” (work as doctors) in the United States. They have to 

complete a certain amount of general education, general medical education, and 

education in their “specialty” (an area of specialization, or the type of medicine a 

doctor focuses on). Doctors also have to complete a “residency” (a period of 

time where a new doctor works under the close supervision of another, more 

experienced doctor). 

Many “boards” (professional organizations) “certify” (officially say that someone 

has met specific requirements) that someone has met published standards in 

particular specialties. These are usually a combination ofeducation and 

experience, as well as an exam. When the doctor has been certified by a board, 

we say that he or she is “board certified.” Certification usually lasts only a few 

years, so the doctors must recertify. This may require courses for “continuing 

education” (education after one has already earned thedegree) and additional 

exams. 

The American Board of Medical Specialties helps 24 different boards develop 

standards for different medical specialties. One of them, the American Board of 

Plastic Surgery (ABPS) certifies plastic surgeons in the United States. If you 

want to find a good plastic surgeon, ABPS can help you find a board-certified 

plastic surgeon in your area. Most people agree that working with a boardcertified plastic surgeon – or any other type of medical professional – is a good 

idea. If you don’t select a board-certified doctor, you“run the risk” (accept the 

chance that something bad might happen) of selecting a doctor who doesn’t have 

enough experience or education to correctly perform the surgery or procedure 

you need. 

______________ 

Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – a; 2 – a 

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT 

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 511: Getting Plastic 

Surgery. 

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 511.  I’m your host, Dr. 

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in 

beautiful Los Angeles, California. 

If you go to our website, eslpod.com, you can download aLearning Guide for this 

episode, an to 8- to 10-page guide that contains our vocabulary, definitions, 

sample sentences, additional definitions, cultural notes,comprehension 

questions, and, most importantly, a complete transcript ofeverything we say on 

this episode. 

This episode is a dialogue between George and Joan about “plastic surgery,” 

when people have medical procedures (surgeries) on theirbody to change the 

way it looks. Let’s get started. 

[start of dialogue] 

George: What are you doing? 

Joan: I’m looking through these magazines to try and decide which plastic 

surgery procedures I should have next year. 

George: You’re not thinking of going under the knife. 

Joan: Yes, I am. I’ve always wanted to improve on the way I look, and I’m tired 

of these wrinkles and sagging skin. I want to look 25 again! 

George: That’s ridiculous. Nobody who is 45 can look 25.People who get 

Botox, have facelifts, or tummy tucks look weird. 

Joan: That’s because they didn’t go to the best plastic surgeons. I won’t make 

that mistake. Help me decide. Should I get liposuctionand a nose job, or should 

I go all out and get breast implants, too? 

George: I think you’ve gone off the deep end. We’ve been friends for over 20 

years and you don’t need any cosmetic surgery. You’re perfect the way you are. 

Joan: You can’t be serious! 

George: I’m dead serious, and if you get all of that plastic surgery, you’ll look like 

an over-the-hill Barbie doll, and I’m not going to be seen in public with you. 

Joan: What’s wrong with a little plastic surgery? I just want to feel better about 

myself. 

George: You don’t need plastic surgery to do that. You just need to spend more 

time with me and your other friends who like you just the way you are! 

Joan: Sagging skin and all? 

George: What sagging skin? 

Joan: I feel younger already. 

[end of dialogue] 

The dialogue begins with George saying to Joan, “Whatare you doing?” Joan 

says, “I’m looking through these magazines to try and decide which plastic 

surgery procedures I should have next year.” “Plastic surgery,” sometimes called 

“cosmetic surgery,” is one of many different medical procedures that involve 

cutting into your skin, usually to make you more attractive or more beautiful. If 

you think your nose is too big, you may have plastic surgery tomake your nose 

smaller. My wife thinks my mouth is too big, so she wants me to have plastic 

surgery to make it smaller! 

Joan is interested in plastic surgery, which is very popular especially in cities like 

Los Angeles where everyone is trying to look beautiful, especially those who are 

on television or the movies. I, of course, am on a podcast, so you can guess 

how ugly I am! 

George says, “You’re not going under the knife.” The expression “to go under 

the knife” means to have surgery; not plastic surgery exclusively, it could be any 

kind of surgery. If you had a car accident you might have to have surgery, where 

the doctor cuts open your body. That’s going under the knife. Plastic surgery is 

just one type of surgery. 

Joan says, “Yes, I am. I’ve always wanted to improve on theway I look (to make 

myself look better), and I’m tired of these wrinkles and sagging skin.” “Wrinkles” 

are small lines (or folds, we might call them) in your skin, usually caused by age. 

As you get older, you have more wrinkles. They may also be caused by sun 

damage. People who like to go out into the sun and get a tan so they look 

younger, well, the problem is later in life then you have even more wrinkles and 

you look even older. “Sagging skin” is skin that hangs down; it is not as tight as it 

used to be. It would be, for example, loose skin on your face, rather than having 

your skin that was tight, as you would see among younger people. Not me, 

people who are really young! The word “sag” (sag) has several different 

meanings in English; take a look at that Learning Guidefor some additional 

explanations. 

Joan says, “I want to look 25 again.” George says, “That’s ridiculous. Nobody 

who is 45 can look 25.” That’s true; I’m 45 and I willnever look 25. In fact, even 

when I was 25, I didn’t look 25! George says, “People who get Botox, have 

facelifts, or tummy tucks look weird (look strange).” “Botox” (Botox) is a chemical 

substance that is injected or put into your skin on your faceso that you have 

fewer wrinkles. It makes your skin smoother. It also makes your skin unable to 

move so that when you smile or try to have some expressionon your face, your 

skin just stays the way it is; it doesn’t move. It looks very strange. It’s very 

popular among a lot of people here in Hollywood; they get Botox, especially 

women, but not just women. “To have a facelift” (one word) is to remove lose 

skin on your face, making it tighter. The idea is to try to make you look younger. 

A “tummy tuck” is a surgical procedure that cuts away fat and skin from your 

abdomen – from what we call your tummy, which is in the middle part of your 

body. The idea of a tummy tuck is to make you look thinner. 

Joan says that people who get Botox, have facelifts, or tummy tucks look weird 

because they don’t go to the best plastic surgeons. A “surgeon” is someone who 

does surgery. A “plastic surgeon” is a medical doctor who does surgeries that 

make people look better or younger. Joan says, “I won’t make that mistake (I 

won’t go to any thing but the best plastic surgeons).” If you ever are in Los 

Angeles and you pick up one of the weekly entertainment magazines or 

newspapers, which are often distributed for free at coffee shops and restaurants, 

you can open up the newspaper or magazine and you can see advertisements 

from doctors who are plastic surgeons. It’s sort of funny;they’re so popular here 

in Los Angeles that they advertise in the newspaper. Usually, the advertisement 

has a beautiful woman in a bikini who has a very – how should we say – large 

top of her body and a very small bottom of her body, obviously the result of 

plastic surgery. 

Joan says, “Help me decide (meaning help me make a decisionGeorge). 

Should I get liposuction and a nose job, or should I go all out and get breast 

implants?” “Liposuction” is a type of plastic surgery that removes unwanted fat 

from your belly – your abdomen, your tummy. It pulls thefat out of your body so 

that you look less fat. The “nose job” is when you get surgery to make your nose 

smaller or to make it have a different shape. The expression “to go all out” 

means to do 100 percent of something, to do everythingpossible, to go to the 

extreme, to try very hard to do something. These are all meanings of “to go all 

out.” “They’re going to go all out on their wedding,” they’re going to invite 500 

people and spend 50,000 dollars – they’re going to go all out. “To go out” has 

several different meanings in English; take a look at the Learning Guide for some 

additional explanations of that phrasal verb. 

So, Joan is wondering if she should go all out and getbreast implants. “To 

implant (something)” is to put something underneath your skin or in your body. 

“Breast implants,” for women usually, are when the woman’s breasts (her chest; 

the top front of her body) are changed, usually madebigger by putting in little 

bags of a type of plastic – of silicone. When I was talking about the 

advertisements for the plastic surgeons in the newspapers in Los Angeles, well, 

usually those are of women in bikinis who have breast implants. 

George says to Joan, “I think you’ve gone off the deep end.” “To go off the deep 

end” means to go crazy, to stop being realistic. George says, “We’ve been 

friends for over 20 years and you don’t need any cosmetic surgery.” Remember, 

cosmetics surgery is the same as plastic surgery. “You’re perfect the way you 

are.” Joan says, “You can’t be serious (meaning you’re kidding, right?)!” 

George says, “I’m dead serious.” When someone says they’re “dead serious,” 

they’re saying they’re very serious, they’re extremely serious, they’re not joking 

at all. George says, “if you get all of that plastic surgery, you’ll look like an overthe-hill Barbie doll.” There’s two expressions there: first, “over the hill” means 

old; it’s an informal expression, somewhat of a negative expression. If somebody 

says, “You’re over the hill,” they mean that you have already gotten to the top of 

your life, and now you’re on the second part of your life. You’re old, in other 

words. That’s what my nieces and nephews tell me, I’m over the hill: “You’re 

over the hill Uncle Jeff!” A “Barbie doll” is a child’s toy, usually a young girl’s toy. 

It’s a small doll that has, usually, blonde hair. It’s been around for several years, 

since probably the middle part of the 20th

century. They’re very popular. Usually 

they are dolls that are very beautiful women with large breasts and a small waist 

– a small bottom. George says, “I’m not going to be seen in public with you.” 

Joan says, “What’s wrong with a little plastic surgery? I just want to feel better 

about myself.” And, of course, that’s one unfortunate reason why some women 

have plastic surgery, I think. George says, “You don’t needplastic surgery to 

(feel better about yourself). You just need to spend more time with me and your 

other friends who like you just the way you are!” Joan says, “Sagging skin and 

all?” The phrase “and all” is used to emphasize that something is included in the 

discussion. It would be another way of “even my sagging skin.” George says, 

“What sagging skin?” Joan says, “I feel younger already,” meaning telling me 

that makes me feel younger. 

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed. 

[start of dialogue] 

George: What are you doing? 

Joan: I’m looking through these magazines to try and decide which plastic 

surgery procedures I should have next year. 

George: You’re not thinking of going under the knife. 

Joan: Yes, I am. I’ve always wanted to improve on the way I look, and I’m tired 

of these wrinkles and sagging skin. I want to look 25 again! 

George: That’s ridiculous. Nobody who is 45 can look 25.People who get 

Botox, have facelifts, or tummy tucks look weird. 

Joan: That’s because they didn’t go to the best plastic surgeons. I won’t make 

that mistake. Help me decide. Should I get liposuctionand a nose job, or should 

I go all out and get breast implants, too? 

George: I think you’ve gone off the deep end. We’ve been friends for over 20 

years and you don’t need any cosmetic surgery. You’re perfect the way you are. 

Joan: You can’t be serious! 

George: I’m dead serious, and if you get all of that plastic surgery, you’ll look like 

an over-the-hill Barbie doll, and I’m not going to be seen in public with you. 

Joan: What’s wrong with a little plastic surgery? I just want to feel better about 

myself. 

George: You don’t need plastic surgery to do that. You just need to spend more 

time with me and your other friends who like you just the way you are! 

Joan: Sagging skin and all? 

George: What sagging skin? 

Joan: I feel younger already. 

[end of dialogue] 

The script for this episode was written by someone who never goes off the deep 

end, Dr. Lucy Tse. 

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thank you for listening. Come 

back and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast. 

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse, 

hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan, copyright 2009 by the Centerfor Educational 

Development. 

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