I Wanna Talk About Losing Weight
外语系2014-2015年春季学期电台第13,14周听力原文
I wanna talk about losing weight
I wanna talk about losing weight. I suppose many people agree that this is such an important topic for girls in Hong Kong. You can tell by the number of advertisements in the MTR stations, magazines and even on TV promoting the importance of it…in your everyday life.
If you walk in the streets in Hong Kong, you will find that the majority of women are fairly skinny, maybe skinnier than they need to be because I guess if they are not in good shape, they know that if they are not in good shape, they’ll be considered ugly or in general not attractive at all. There was a piece of news that a girl in high school had committed suicide because she was considered fat and had been consistently teased by her peers or been called names by her peers, and she couldn't take the pressure and I guess she had the concept of being fat is generally a sin.
In fact I myself have tried different ways of losing weight. The first method that I’ve tried was go to beauty salons regularly and there are of course pros and cons of doing that. One of the pros is that it’s really fast and it’s quite effective in fact. Of course the biggest con is that it’s quite costly - it can cost you from say 5000 grand to more than 10,000 grand depending on how many days or how many courses you open. And the other con is that it in fact rebounds quite quickly if you don’t go to the beauty salons on a regular basis. And other than going to the beauty salon, you can also control your diet by eating less than you usually do but it can really be a killer if you are a food lover like me and it’s sometimes hard to maintain the diet.
And the third method that I tried was to sleep earlier than I usually do, which is around, say 11pm. I think it is really a good method or it’s really good for your health because it keeps your metabolism going. And also to sleep late, say 2 am, usually you’ll get hungry and you’ll grab a supper too, meaning that you will consume more food than you really need to. And the fourth method that I tried, that I finally tried, which is by far the most effective method was to work out, or to go to the gym regularly, not that it helps you to achieve your goal – to lose weight and it is actually not difficult to do because if you go to the gym or run for like every day for at least half an hour or say just half an hour, you can achieve your goal within one month. And also noticed myself getting healthier because it improves my blood circulation, substantially I would say, and I guess less tired and I start to perform well or better at work as well. And people say that your brains produces [produce] what I call the happy hormones after you finish your work out and I really like the feeling of being happy especially if I go to the gym after work and it’s a great stress reliever.
And in summary I think that it is not a bad idea to lose weight on a regular basis because you get a better appearance by doing that, and that generally does boost one’s self-esteem. And also if you work out to lose weight, obviously you get a healthier body, which is one of the, or I say the most important thing for life.
I wanna talk about my experience of moving out and living on my own.
Moving out to live on your own is not very common in Hong Kong. Many people still choose to live with their parents even though they have a decent job and they’re already at their thirties. Many of them would stay with their parents until they get married. There are several reasons behind – firstly, Hong Kong’s rent is expensive, many people would rather save up more money to purchase an apartment instead of renting one. Secondly, the Chinese traditional value of family is that the parents are the ones who brought you up. When you become an adult, you should also take good care of your parents and you should spend more time to be with them. And of course there are people who are still dependent on their parents for food, clothing, household chores, etc..
When I tell people about the idea of moving out, many people’s reaction is like, “what do your parents say?” because they assume the parents would not like their children to leave them. Well I don’t know if my parents like it but I can tell you my parents support and respect my decision. They think it is good for me to try and live on my own and then I would know it is the best to stay with my family.
The most important reason for independent living is to save the travelling time to work. It used to take me one hour fifteen minutes to travel to work from my previous living place. From my new apartment, it just takes me thirty minutes so I saved forty-five minutes’ traveling time. I don’t have to get up so early and I save two-third of my traveling cost. It does not only save my time to travel for work but also from most of the places in Hong Kong. In addition, I gain my personal space and freedom by independent living. I make my own decision all the time, I do not have to say whether I would go home for dinner, I can invite my friends to come up and stay late.
Of course there are some trade-offs in living on your own. If you want to rent an apartment, there are lots of preparatory works (work) to do. You have to keep visiting the apartments to search for your ideal one. You have to negotiate with the landlord about the price, furniture inclusion, who is responsible for the maintenance of the furniture and equipments (equipment). My experience was that after we moved into the apartment, it was not until the kitchen cupboard was soaked with water that we found out there was water leakage in the kitchen sink.
Money is the main issue in living on your own. You have to be responsible for all the expenses, for example, the rent, electricity, gas, water, telephone, internet bills, etc. Therefore you’ve got to be well prepared and save up for your bills. Although I find my transportation time much shorter, the saved time is spent on other things, such as cooking and some other household chores. I think preparing and cooking the food do occupy a significant portion of my time, therefore I always try to make simple meals. On the other hand, I have to regularly tidy up my apartment and wash my clothes, so it doesn’t really save much of my time after all.
Now everything is settled down, I’m getting used to my new life and I am enjoying it. I feel that moving out makes it easier for me to strike a balance between my work, my social life, my study and my family. It may be troublesome but it may worth.
I want to talk about horror films and why I like them and what my favourite types are.
When I was young, I watched the classic horror films like 'Nightmare On Elm Street' and 'Friday The 13th'. My mum told me that when I was about six, she came downstairs in the middle of the night because there was a noise, and it was me watching 'The Omen' on TV in the dark on my own. So I guess I've always liked horror films. I really like what I called 'slasher films' – the really gory, bloody, violent films like 'Final Destination' and 'The Hills Have Eyes'. I just find them quite funny and I like the special effects. I
don't really find them scary at all. I think the scariest sort of films are the ones that are very tense, like Hitchcock films. I think the scariest one for me is 'The Birds' because it's just very sinister the way that the birds come and sit and look at the people. And you know that it's going to be really bad very soon.
But I think my favourite ... favourite sort of horror films are zombie movies. I've watched loads of zombie movies and I really like them. Again I don't really think they are very scary. 'Dawn Of think. It's a film where people just wake up one morning and there are zombies everywhere. If a zombie bites you, you turn into a zombie. And the survivors end up in a shopping mall in a shopping centre and they are surrounded by zombies. And it does not have a happy ending. There is a British comedy horror film called 'Shaun Of The Dead' which is a bit of a joke on the idea of the 'Dawn Of The Dead' which is also
really great. The most recent one I watched was a New Zealand film called 'Black Sheep' which is about zombie sheep. That was pretty funny as well.
The most recent horror film I watched was on a plane last time I went back to the UK. It was a Stephen King film based on a Stephen King book - I think a short story. And it was called 'The Mist'. It was about people who lived in a
small town in America and there was a hurricane, or typhoon as we call them here. And after the typhoon, they wanted to go into town to get some supplies to fix up the house. And it started to get misty or foggy. It was quite a strange mist - it didn't look normal. And these people ended up in a hardware store in the town all trapped together because there were sort of monsters in the mist - these unrealistic giant creatures that were in the mist that were killing people. There was quite a lot of blood and guts and people died in horrible ways which is what I like about horror films. I would recommend it if you like horror films as much as I do.
Smart, intelligent, wise 三词区别
Feifei:
大家好，我是冯菲菲。欢迎收听《你问我答》节目。在英国诺丁汉的听众Mao
Kunlun 想请我们讲一讲以下这三个词的区别：
Question
I am told that 'smart', 'intelligent' and 'wise' mean different things.
Feifei:
So are you smart, intelligent or wise? Or all three? 我相信这几个特征你肯定都
已经同时具备，就算不完全具备也没关系，因为在学完它们之间的区别后你就会变得
smart, intelligent and wise!
为了帮助更好地解答今天的问题，咱们来当一回老板。是的，你和我作为一个公司的领
导层，准备面试招聘一个新的经理。经过筛选后有三个求职者将被面试。我们先来认识
一下他们。首先第一位：
Example
Number one: Mr Salt. He's clearly very intelligent: he won a scholarship to study at
Harvard and has a PhD in astrophysics. He can speak seven languages and learned how
to fly a helicopter last year.
Feifei:
Hmmm… he sounds very intelligent! Mr Salt 是天体物理学的博士，astrophysics 天体物理学；曾获得奖学金去Harvard University 哈佛大学深造；会讲七国语言还会飞直升飞机flies helicopters. 他听起来也太聪明了吧！在这里我们则可以用单词intelligent 来表达一个人能非常轻松的学习和掌握很多复杂的事情。有请下一位应聘者：
Example
Number two: Mrs Spice. She is very smart. She has two degrees and a successful business. She is good at thinking quickly in difficult situations in her business. She also dresses very smartly. And she collects frogs.
Feifei:
Hmmm… 挺有意思。But Mrs Spice was very… smart! 单词smart 可以用来表达有智慧的、聪明的意思，尤其是在美式英语中人们会更多的使用smart 的这层这个含义。单词smart 还可以用来形容一个人的思维敏捷she thinks quickly, 而且总能做出正确的决定，那么也就是说这个人通过实际工作证明了自己的智慧。对了，在英式英语中，smart 还可以形容一个人穿着整洁、漂亮，衣冠楚楚。You're very smart today! 下面是第三位应聘者，想必你已经猜到了，这个人很wise:
Example
Number three: Miss Curry. She's incredibly wise. She has worked in four different companies over a 20-year career. She's got a lot of experience dealing with many kinds of situations, and has seen great changes in the industry, which helps her make good decisions. People often go to her for advice. She has climbed Everest twice, and has three children.
Feifei:
Now, Miss Curry 究竟她具备了哪些使她wise 的条件呢？答案是她多年积累的经验使她能做出正确的、明智的决定和选择，也正因如此，大家在遇到问题的时候会经常征求她的意见advice 、向她取经。Wise 常用来形容年纪较长的前辈，不过我们每个人都可以做一个wise decision. 比如说，看外面天气不太好然后决定带上一把雨伞。不过，这位Miss Curry 好像身体也很强壮啊，她曾经两次登上珠穆朗玛峰she climbed Everest. 哎，说不定有一天我也能去爬呢！
那我们到底应该选以上三位应聘者中的哪位来做我们公司的经理呢？收听我们节目的朋友们，你们来帮我们选选吧。请你再来听一遍这三位的简介然后告诉我们你会选谁？最后，如果你在英语学习中遇到任何难题，可以通过邮件给我们发送你的问题，. 下次再会！
Examples
Number one: Mr Salt. He's clearly very intelligent: he won a scholarship to study at Harvard and has a PhD in astrophysics. He can speak seven languages and learned how to fly a helicopter last year.
Number two: Mrs Spice. She is very smart. She has two degrees and a successful business. She is good thinking quickly in difficult situations in her business. She also dresses very smartly. And she collects frogs.
Number three: Miss Curry. She's incredibly wise. She has worked in four different companies over a 20-year career. She's got a lot of experience dealing with many kinds of situations, and has seen great changes in the industry, which help her make good decisions. People often go to her for advice. She has climbed Everest twice, and has three children.
How are you?
如何回答？
Li:Hi I’m Li and welcome to Question and Answer of the Week. With me today is my colleague Neil. Hello Neil, how are you?
Neil: Awful. I have so many problems I don’t know where to start. My house is falling to pieces, my neighbours have an aggressive dog which tries to bite me every time I go in or out of my front door, I hate my boss, I have no money whatsoever and I’m falling deeper and deeper into debt, I’ve started drinking too much alcohol in order to cope and on top of it all I’ve developed this really disgusting medical condition on my...
Li: Ahh, I think that’s enough information now Neil. Please stop! 我跟Neil 打招呼‘how are you?’ 这不是英国人习惯的一种客套问候语吗？你怎么样啊？瞧他还真的认真起来了，把所有的问题都一一叙述给我，什么借债了酗酒问题了，压抑症还有什么什么敏感的健康问题。
Neil: But you asked me ‘How are you?’
Li: Yes, but I didn’t want the real answer.
Neil: Li, you really have learned British culture well in your years in the UK,haven’t you!?
Li: Oh thanks! Neil 说今天的问题实际上是关于文化的一个问题Neil, read out our
Question and Answer of the Week, will you?.
Neil: Tina Xu sent us an email and asked: “ I work in a foreign company and my boss is Swedish. He speaks frequent English. I met him every day. Usually I greet him by saying "hello". And he responds as "hi, how are you today?" Then I find myself in an awkward position. I know he asked due to politeness and didn't really want to know what I am feeling. Can you please help me?
Li: Tina 给我们发来电邮询问一个有关文化的问题。她说她通常与老板打招呼"hello"对
方回问说"hi, how are you today?" 你今天怎么样？这可难住她了，Tina 不知道应该如何回答。
Neil: You’re right Tina, your boss probably doesn’t want to know your true feelings. The question is just part of a greeting.
Li: 在英语里how are you? 这句话看上去是个问句，实际上是一种客套语，期待的回答
是礼貌的寒暄，向对方讲述烦心的事是非常不妥的。
Neil: Listen to this example.
Insert
June: Oh God, here comes Terry the head of department. I feel dreadful with this terrible cold. I hope he doesn’t speak to me. Terry: Hi June, how are you?
June: (with blocked nose) Yeah not too bad, thanks Terry. You?
Terry: I’m great!
Terry: (urgh)
Li: 听到了吗？如果你同对方不是很熟的朋友那么在回答你怎么样这个寒暄问候语的时
候，最保险的回答就是。
Neil: I’m fine, thanks.
Li:或者
Neil: Not too bad. And you can also ask a follow up question, such as:
Li: And you? 回答要简单不能拖拉。不过我想肯定有你能够叙述自己真实感情的时候
的。你说呢？
Neil: Of course. If you know someone well, then the question is more genuine
and calls for a more honest response. Listen to this couple:
Insert
Husband: Hi darling, I’m home! How are you?
Wife: Hi there! Gosh I can tell you I’m glad to see you. It’s been such a tough day. Both kids have picked up some kind of bug and they’ve been ill all day. And then we got a gas bill for 700 pounds!
Li: 那是夫妻之间的对话，对夫妻或亲近的朋友你可以吐露心声，对方也希望听到你的真
实感受，而不是客套。
Neil: So Tina, we hope that answers your question.
Li: Tina 的问题很好。如果你也有文化或英语学习上的问题请随时来信，别客气我们的电
….. Anyway Neil, how are you?
Neil: Yeah, I’m fine thanks Li.
Li: No, you don’t have to pretend, it’s ok.
Neil: No, honestly, I’m fine.
Li: But the programme’s over now, Neil. We’re good friends, aren’t we, you
can tell me. It sounded earlier like you have some deep problems.
Neil: No, seriously I’m fine. I’m not really in debt or an alcoholic. I was just
saying that for the sake of the programme.
Li: Really Neil, you can tell me. How are you? How are you? Come on tell me.
How are you?
Neil: I’m fine!
Li: You’re so British...
CNN英语专访姚明：职业生涯终有结束的一天
TERRY BADDOO, CNN ANCHOR
CNN主播泰瑞·巴杜
The Houston Rockets Chinese center Yao Ming will play no more than 24 minutes in each NBA game next season as he returns from injury. An NBA game lasts 48 minutes, so Yao will only play half of it. The team's athletic trainer Keith Jones told the Houston Chronicle newspaper Thursday that the time limit would be applied strictly, adding that the seven-feet-six-inch Yao would even skip lots of practiced sessions to limit the impact on his surgically repaired left foot. Ahead of his long-awaited return, Yao spoke with Anjali Rao for the Talk Asia program.
下个赛季，休斯敦火箭队的中国中锋姚明伤愈复出之后，在每一场NBA球赛的上场时间都不会超过24分钟。NBA球赛一场是48分钟，所以姚明每次只能打半场。该队的运动伤害防护员凯斯·琼斯用四向《休斯敦纪事报》表示，这项时间限制将会严格执行，并且他指出7英尺6英寸高的姚明甚至会错过许多日常练习，以减少他术后恢复的左脚所受的冲击。在众人期待己久的复出前夕，姚明来到《亚洲名人聊天室》接受安姿丽访问。
YAO MING, HOUSTON ROCKETS CENTER
前休斯敦火箭队中锋姚明
Everything looks perfect on pictures, I mean those X-ray pictures, and today, I'm walking on it well, full pressure on my foot already. But before I start to play the first real NBA game, I still have some [things] I need to [be] concern[ed] about.
在照片上，我是说X光片，一切看起来都非常完美。一直到今天，我走起路来也都没有问题，已经把全身重量都压在脚上了。不过，在我真正上场比赛之前，还是有些事情必须注意。
ANJALI RAO, TALK ASIA
《亚洲名人聊天室》安姿丽
You know, many thought that your playing days were over when the injury happened. How did you feel when you heard people talking like that?
当初你受伤的时候，很多人都认为你的篮球生涯已经结束了。你听到别人这么说，心里有什么感觉?
YAO MING, HOUSTON ROCKETS CENTER
前休斯敦火箭队中锋姚明
Well, that shocked me, of course. You know you play this game almost 20 years, since you know [I was] nine, and one day... well everybody know[s] that your career is going to end at some day. But just I'm not ready for that day yet, right? Maybe I'm 24 or 25, I watch... I know my body is kind of like going down every year. I know it's about time, but the day I know that I have a career-ending, threatening... that's almost the best time in my career. That's really difficult for me.
当然，我很震惊。你也知道，我打篮球已经将近20年，从9岁就开始打了。有一天……反正大家都知道职业生涯一定有一天会结束，只是我还没准备好那一天的到来，不是吗?也许在我24或25岁的时候，我看到……我知道我的身体好像年年走下坡路。我知道已经差不多是时候了，可是我知道自己的职业生涯可能即将结束的那一天，却几乎是我职业生涯中最风光的时刻。那对我来说真的很难接受。
ANJALI RAO, TALK ASIA
《亚洲名人聊天室》安姿丽
Yeah, because you were sort of at a high when it happened.
是啊，因为事情发生的时候，你的状态正处于高峰。
YAO MING, HOUSTON ROCKETS CENTER
前休斯敦火箭队中锋姚明
Uh-huh. It was about when I was going to reach my peak.
的确。当时我才正要达到巅峰。
ANJALI RAO, TALK ASIA
《亚洲名人聊天室》安姿丽
Are you nervous about getting back on the court?
你对于回到球场上会不会紧张?
YAO MING, HOUSTON ROCKETS CENTER
前休斯敦火箭队中锋姚明
Ah, yes. Now, before we decide[d] what [we] [were] going to do on my foot, they [had] different plan[s] come out about how to fix my foot-plan A, plan B and plan C. And we did a lot of researching on them, asking a lot of doctors. And we also asked a few players, either still playing NBA or retired, you know, how they feel after they had that same kind of surgery. You know they give us... they give me a lot of good opinions, you know? It's really helpful at [in] the end. So we decide[d] [we're] going to... alright, we're going to do this, and we, we are going to see what happens.
会啊。在我们决定该怎么治疗我的脚之前，他们提出了许多不同的治疗方案——方案一、方案二、方案三。而且，我们也做了许多研究，问了许多医生。我们还问了几个球员，包括现役与退休的球员，问他们接受了同样的子术之后有什么感觉。他们给了我很多很好的意见，对我帮助良多。于是，我们决定要……要做这个，然后看看结果会怎么样。