上海牛津高二下课文U1-U6

上海牛津高二下课文

U1 What is beauty?

Suffering to be beautiful

Read the transcript below from a radio programme called Head to Head.

Host: Good morning. Today’s topic is beauty. What is beauty? And, to what lengths can or should we go to make ourselves more beautiful? In the studio today are two beautiful women to help answer these questions! Sue Leslie, a former model who is now a successful businesswoman, and Elizabeth Cade, a writer and lecturer. Sue, perhaps we could start with you. Is beauty important?

SL: Welt, first, thanks for the compliment, Mary. Now, I think that in today’s world, it is important to look your best. You should watch what you eat and keep yourself fit. And if that’s not enough, then cosmetic surgery can change people’s lives.

Host: Eliz abeth, what’s your viewpoint?

EC: I think it’s up to everyone to decide what is right for them, but I do feel that people should be happy with themselves, regardless of how they look.There is too much emphasis on appearance these days. Seldom do people think about the real dangers of this obsession with looks, both from eating disorders and from having cosmetic surgery. Also, many people feel unhappy because just don’t happen to fit society’s current ideas of what is beautiful.

Host: Since you’re a histo rian, perhaps you could give us a brief historical perspective on this.

EC: Well, there are lots of examples of societies in which people have done some horrendous things to try to make themselves look more beautiful. For instance, some European women used to have their bottom ribs removed so that they would have thin waists. Neck stretching was fashionable in some parts of South-East Asia. Ln Africa, there were tribes which stretched their ear lobes or lips. I think it is ridiculous that people-usually women-have been forced by society to endure such considerable pain and suffering.

SL: So do l. But times have changed. No one forces people to come to ‘Sue’s Salon’, my health stud\o. They’re free to come, and they enjoy coming because after a course there, they look as if they were ten years younger. So I don’t see any real point in discussing all these quaint o/d customs.

EC: But there really is no difference between then and now! That is why today, millions of women alter their bodies. They have eye operations, facelifts and many other operations just to make other people think they are more beautiful.

SL: Yes, but it’s their own choice.

EC: I don’t agree. Society still judges people on how they look, and so forces them to worry about their appearance. Judging people by their appearance. Is silly. We should judge the whole person.

Host: Well, I think that sets out some of the issues very we11, so now, let’s take our first call…

U2 Laughter heals

A practical joke

Read this article on a humour website to see an example of a practical joke.

We’ can define a joke as something you say that causes laughter, and a practical joke as something you do that causes laughter. A practical joke is a trick that is played on an unsuspecting victim to make him or her look silly or embarrassed. In Richard Boston’s Book of Practical jokes, the writer tells the story of a practical joke played on a Mr Potts who worked in a newspaper office.The impression that Mr Potts regarded his colleagues as inferiors made him unpopula r:’H-is 1 co-workers decided to play a joke on him that might make him feel more humble.

Now it so happened that Mr Potts always wore the same hat to work. It was a rather unpleasant-looking green colour. When he arrived at the office every morning at prec isely ten o’clock, he would hang his hat on a peg near the door and .I proceed