Episode 98

EPISODE 98
LEVEL A1.2/ A2.1

READING COMPREHENSION 

 

BEAUTY

How important is your appearance? Everyone wants to be beautiful (= attractive) but does it really mean that attractive people have easier lives? If a woman is stunning (= extremely attractive) men will not be interested in what kind of person she is, they will only notice her looks. What is more, some people think that women who are really pretty and men who are handsome (= attractive man) must be stupid.

On the other hand, nobody wants to be ugly (= unattractive, unpleasant to look at) or plain (= not very attractive). There is no person who would like to hear behind their back: ‘Look at him, he’s really hideous (= very ugly)’.

Being beautiful is like being rich. It can help you in life, it can make life easier in some situations but it doesn’t make you happy. That is why your aim shouldn’t be to look gorgeous (= very beautiful) but to be an interesting person.

 

More contexts for the new words: 

• If you want to feel good consult a beautician about how your skin should be cared for. (= a person who works in a beauty salon and gives cosmetic treatments)
• It is a local beauty spot, popular with dog walkers, cyclists and runners. (= a beautiful place in the countryside)

 

EXERCISE 1 

Decide if the following sentences are true or false:

1. The word handsome describes an attractive woman.
2. A stunning person is very attractive
3. A hideous person is very attractive.
4. If you want to look beautiful you should visit a beautician.
5. Plain people are not very attractive.
6. If a person is ugly, we usually think they are unattractive.

 

EXERCISE 2 

Complete the questions with correct words. Then answer the questions.

1. Do you sometimes go to a b…………………….?
2. What is the local b…………… spot in the place where you live?
3. Do you agree that b…………………. people have easier lives?

 

ENGLISH IN USE  

When you want to talk about a possible situation in the future you should use 1st Conditional

If you meet an interesting woman, you will only notice her appearance.

This means that it is possible that in the future you will meet a beautiful woman, but in such a situation you will only notice her appearance.

To make a sentence in the first conditional we need to use:

 IF + PRESENT SIMPLE, WILL + INFINITIVE

If she doesn’t work at the weekend, we will go for a walk.
If the weather is nice tomorrow, we will spend some time in the open air.

 

IDIOM CLOSE-UP

 

A: Have you seen Mary’s picture of her newborn baby? He looks pretty ugly to me.
B: BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER.

If we say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it means that different people have different ideas about what is beautiful.

 

PHRASAL VERBS CLOSE-UP

1. When you MAKE SB UP you put special paint, colour etc. on someone’s face in order to change the way they look.

They made him up as an old man for the last act of the play.

2. When you TAKE AFTER someone you look or behave like an older relative.

In looks she takes after her father.

 

EXERCISE 3 

Match the halves:

1. Do you agree that beauty
2. Who do you take
3. Have you ever made

 

a) your face up to look like a clown?
b) is in the eye of the beholder?
c) after in your family?

 

NEWS

MISS PLASTIC BEAUTY

Beauty contests are popular events both locally and internationally. Contestants compete against one another, and the main category is physical beauty. Secondary categories are also part of these contests, such as a talent like playing the piano or singing. But a recent pageant in Hungary was different from other beauty contests because all contestants had experienced plastic surgery. And what was the title of the contest? „Miss Plastic Hungary 2009,” of course!
Facelifts, nose jobs, and other cosmetic surgery were the most important on the evening of unnatural beauties. One of the judges of Miss Plastic Hungary commented that plastic surgery often gets negative opinions, especially in Hungary. The news and other media talk about swollen lips, skin that is stretched too thin, and other unsuccessful surgical corrections. However, this contest was about the positive results of plastic surgeries – beautiful, perfect women.
The winner of the contest won an apartment in Budapest. All of the contestants said that it was a night to remember.

 

GLOSSARY 

• contestant – someone who takes part in a contest or a competition
• pageant –  contest
• plastic surgery – medical operation to improve someone’s appearance
• facelift – medical operation to make someone’s face look younger
• swollen – when a part of your body is swollen it is bigger than normally because of an injury or an illness
• stretched – made longer or wider

 

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