Models under 16 banned in London
Models under the age of 16 __________________ London’s Fashion Week. In addition, all models may soon have to show a health certificate before they __________________ down the catwalk. These are the decisions of the Model Health Inquiry __________________ March by the British Fashion Council to ensure models eat healthily. One major concern was how skinny models have become. Super-thin __________________ that models are risking their health __________________ eating disorders. An unwanted side effect is that teenagers and young women in their twenties and thirties copy the looks and shape of size-zero models and __________________. The inquiry __________________ deaths of two Uruguayan models Luisel Ramos, 22, and her sister, Eliana, 18, who died last year because of poor diets.
The Model Health Inquiry did not recommend __________________ their body mass index (BMI). It said that the BMI - _______________________ - was "not an accurate method of determining health". The inquiry said models could easily make themselves __________________ the tests and get on the catwalk. Other countries have barred models with a BMI of less than 18. The World Health Organization says a BMI of 18.5 __________________ standard. The report made 14 recommendations, which include random drug tests and a "rigorous scientific study" __________________ eating disorders within the industry. The report also said that from September 2008, models "should provide a medical certificate _____________________ from doctors with expertise in recognizing eating disorders."
5. Listen to the recording once again and reproduce how the words below were used in the article:
1) 16
2) allowed
3) in
4) side
5) zero
6) poor
7) mass
8) accurate
9) vomit
10) minimum
11) random
12) expertise
Discussion
1. Discuss in pairs:
1. What did you think when you were listening to the article?
2. Would you like to be a model?
3. Do you think a model’s job is an unhealthy one?
4. What rules would you male models follow to help them stay healthy?
5. Do you eat balanced?
6. What do you think when you see models walking down the catwalk?
7. Do you think health certificates for models are necessary?
8. Why do you think super-thin is in?
9. Do you think there should be laws banning super-thin models?
10. Would you like to be size zero?
11. What more should the fashion industry do to help models with eating disorders?
12. How would you help someone with an eating disorder?
13. Do you think women who have eating disorders because they copy the model’s looks should sue the fashion industry?
14. What kind of lifestyles do you think models lead?
15. What do you think of the clothes fashion models wear on catwalks?
16. Do you think 15 is too young to be walking down a catwalk?
17. What is in your country?
18. What questions would you like to ask a fashion model?
Writing
1. Write a letter to the head of a fashion show. Ask him/her three questions about the policy towards making sure models are healthy. Give him/her three pieces of advice about how models should and must serve a good role model for society. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.
APPENDICES
Appendix 1. RECORDING SCRIPTS
Unit 1. FRIENDS
Listening
I=Interviewer; C=Chris
I: According to a survey published in today’s Metro newspaper, we have fewer friends today than ever before. The average city-dwelling thirty- or forty-something has about three close friends, as well as a few ‘semi-detached’ ones. Joining us now to discuss this phenomenon is Chris Johnson, a counselor. Chris, does this surprise you?
C: It doesn’t really surprise me. I think the thing is people don’t seem to have the time or don’t think they have the time to see their friends, and therefore we don’t have as many as our grandparents’ generation. And that, according to this report, is the big difference between friendships now and friendships twenty or thirty years ago.
I: We are busy and, as a result, we don’t socialize?
C: No, I think we do. However, we also apply the same principles to friendship as we do to anything else in life. Why sit around the kitchen table having coffee with your best friend when you could be finishing a report for work or in the gym getting fit?
I: On the other hand, why bother going to the gym when you could be spending time with friends?
C: Absolutely. I agree. Most of the calls I get are from people who have great problems and are suffering from this lack of friendship too. Because of this, they don’t have anyone to turn to when the problems get on top of them.
I: Although you’d have thought that with modern-day means of communication particularly, it’s easier to keep in touch with people.
C: Yes, but nevertheless. Something like the Internet doesn’t really bond people, does it? I mean, whatever gets written or communicated, a computer screen is no substitute for a friends in the flesh.
Song “I’ll Be There for You”
So no one told you life was gonna be this way
Your jobs a joke, you're broke, your love life's D.O.A.
It's like you're always stuck in second gear
And it hasn't been your day, your week, your month,
or even your year
but..
I'll be there for you
When the rain starts to pour
I'll be there for you
Like I've been there before
I'll be there for you
'Cuz you're there for me too...
You're still in bed at ten
And work began at eight
You've burned your breakfast
So far... things are goin' great
Your mother warned you there'd be days like these
Oh but she didn't tell you when the world has brought
You down to your knees that...
I'll be there for you
When the rain starts to pour
I'll be there for you
Like I've been there before
I'll be there for you
'Cuz you're there for me too...
No one could ever know me
No one could ever see me
Seems you're the only one who knows
What it's like to be me
Someone to face the day with
Make it through all the rest with
Someone I'll always laugh with
Even at my worst I'm best with you, yeah
It's like you're always stuck in second gear
And it hasn't been your day, your week, your month,
or even your year...
I'll be there for you
When the rain starts to pour
I'll be there for you
Like I've been there before
I'll be there for you
'Cuz you're there for me too...
I'll be there for you
I'll be there for you
I'll be there for you
'Cuz you're there for me too...
Unit 2. ADRENALIN
Listening
I=Interviewer; K=Keith; H=Helena
I: Demand for the thrills of heliskiing is growing despite the death of a man enjoying the sport last week. With me in the studio today are Keith Armitage, spokesman for the Association of British Travel insurers, and Helena Veltins, editor-in-chief of the Extreme Extra, the magazine for unusual and extreme sports. Now Keith, you were saying just before we went on air that you would like to see a ban on heliskiing. Why is that?
K: Actually, David, I said I would like to see a ban on heliskiing in the United Kingdom. Other countries have already banned this sport. Like France, for instance. And the reason is that being dropped off by a helicopter on some remote slope in the middle of nowhere when nobody has ever gone before is just too dangerous. The case of the man who tragically died last week caught in an avalanche is a prime example. It shows if you fancy skiing you should do it with other skiers who could help you if something goes wrong. Most importantly on slopes that have been used by many skiers in the past and are known to be safe for skiing. In other words, on a piste.
I: Helena, you have actually been heliskiing, right?
H: Several times, David. Helisking is as safe as skiing, if not safer. Though heliskiers are dropped onto remote mountains by helicopters. The slopes they ski down are often gentler than resorts slopes. The odds of the heliskier being caught in an avalanche of 1 in 175,000 and you are more likely to die at home coming down the staircase.
I: Why, was it then banned in France?
H: Actually, the French banned it for ecological reasons, not because they think it’s dangerous.
I: Keith, what is it about heliskiing that makes it more dangerous in your mind than say whitewater rafting or paragliding?
K: Well, David, the difference between heliskiing and whitewater rafting is in the degree of danger involved, but before I elaborate on this I must respond to some of the points Heleina made. First of all, France banned the sport, not only for ecological reasons, but for safety reasons too. Secondly, although avalanches are quite rare, they are not the only thing that can hurt you when you are heliskiing, soft snow which disappears under your feet the moment your weight is on it, unpredictable weather and even wild animals are some of the dangers you may have to face. And this more or less answers your question, David. The difference between heliskiing and other extreme sports is that heliskiing can present you with many more dangers.
H: Keith, I think measuring the degree of danger involved in a sport is very difficult. I mean I can be pretty confident when I say that chess is safer than skiing, but not nearly as confident if I try to assert that whitewater rafting is safer than heliskiing.
K: It is possible then that we ought to take a closer look at all extreme sports. Risking human life for thrills is, in my view, quite irresponsible and …
H: That’s exactly what I fear the most, that the banning of helisekiing will set a precedent that could be then applied to other sports. It’s a slippery slope, if you forgive the pun, which I would much rather not go skiing down.
I: I think it’s time to take a short break, and when we come back we’ll be receiving listeners’ calls on the subject…
Unit 3. RELATIONSHIPS
Relax
1.
The Irish poet and playwright, William Butler Yeats, is one of the most famous writers in the English language. He was born in Dublin in 1865, but his family moved from Ireland to England when he was 2 years old. His mother used to tell her children Irish folk tales to remind them of their homeland and when Yeats grew up and became a poet he often included characters and events from these stories in his poetry. The family returned to Dublin when Yeats was fifteen. In 1889 Yeats met a rich young woman called Maud Gonne. She was a political activist who was fighting for Irish independency from England. Yeats fell in love with her. And in 1891 he asked her to marry him – she refused. He asked her again in 1899, 1900 and 1901. She refused all three times. In 1917 Yeats asked Maud Gonne’s daughter to marry him but refused too. Later that year at the age of fifty-two he finally got married. His was twenty-six years old Georgy Hide Lease. Yeats wrote many plays and poems. The most important influences on his work were early dramatic poets and his own interest in Irish nationalism and mysticism. His early poems are mostly about love, beauty and Irish folk tales. His later works have a less streamlike style and were often more political. In 1923 he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. He died at the age of 73, a few months before the start of the Second World War. He was buried in France, but in 1948 his remains were removed to Ireland.
2.
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim Soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.
Unit 4. PARTY
Listening
Rio Carnival Says “No” to Violence
Rio de Janeiro’s world famous carnival opened on Sunday with a riot of colour and music. Hundreds of thousands of partygoers arrived in the city to dance through the streets and watch parades, samba dancers, and hundreds of other colourful attractions. In keeping with tradition, Rio’s mayor handed the key to the city to the king of the carnival – named Rei Momo. This year, carnival king Alex de Silva took the key for the ninth year running in a noisy ceremony in front of Rio’s city hall. Mayor Cesar Maia declared: "From this moment, happiness will reign across the city." Mr de Silva echoed these words. He said the carnival “requires some serious work, but…we have the right to play”. He hoped people would be “filled with the spirit of carnival” and could “enjoy the mixing between social classes and respect each other”.
In spite of the positive words expressed by the mayor and carnival king, violence is overshadowing this year’s event. A wave of drug-related violence has hit the headlines in recent days. One battle between drug gangs resulted in a six-year-old boy being dragged four kilometres through the streets by a gang member’s car. The child’s death shocked even city residents, who have become almost immune to hearing about child murders. In another incident, the vice president of a top samba school and his wife were shot dead last week. Mayor Maia said that: "Rio has to overcome these regrettable events and promote its true nature.” He stressed that the majority of Brazilians are “calm, peaceful, and happy people”. He told reporters that the carnival was a good time to say “no” to violence.
Unit 5. EDIBLE
Listening