英语听力精选进阶版 11238（在线收听）

Binge 

Professor David Crystal 

Going on 'a binge' has a long linguistic history. It means 'a heavy 

drinking bout', and goes right back to the 1850s, both as a noun 

and as a verb – you didn't need the word 'drinking', 'binge' meant 

drinking in those days.  

But, you see, in recent times, all sorts of other meanings have 

come along. In the 1970s, people referred to eating heavily as 

'binge eating' – it was a disorder, an actual medical condition, you 

would see a doctor about it.  

And then, the wheel turned full circle. 'Binge drinking' – people 

who drink in order to get drunk, drinking large quantities quickly, 

and for fun. And so you get other uses then like, 'he's a binge 

drinker' or 'they're binge drinkers'. And then, not just alcoholic drink, any kind of 

stuff you put into our body. Somebody was on a caffeine binge – too much coffee. 

A chocolate binge – too much chocolate. People now go on binge shopping 

sprees - binge shopping. And also, of course, you get it in the context of drugs - 

cocaine binge, crack binge. 

And the people who do these things? They're bingers.