Body image concerns more men than women (elementary)
материал (9 класс) по теме

Фамилия _______________________________________Имя__________________Класс__________________

Body image concerns more men than women

A recent survey in the UK has revealed that men have higher levels of anxiety about their bodies than women. ‘Body talk’ affected more than four in five of those researched, who cited ‘beer bellies’, being ‘chubby’ and having ‘moobs (man boobs)’ as their chief concerns.

1     Word stress

Put these words in two groups according to their stress.

2     Find the information

Find the following information in the text as quickly as possible.

1. What percentage of men talk negatively about their body image? - _______________________        _________

2. What percentage of women talk negatively about their body image? - ____________________________

3. What percentage of men have heard someone talk about their beer belly? - _____________________

4. What percentage of men think about their appearance at least five times a day? - _______________

5. What percentage of men have made themselves sick to lose weight? - ____________________________

6. What percentage of men in the survey were gym members? - ______________________________________

1. Comprehension check

Match the beginnings and endings to make sentences about the text.

2. Chunk

Rearrange the words to make phrases from the text.

1. a least at times five day - _____________________________________________________________

2. or years more ten - ____________________________________________________________________

3. a Men’s of Health professor - _________________________________________________________

4. picture physical a of perfection false - _______________________________________________

5. more men four five than in - _________________________________________________________

6. lose diet to on a weight - ______________________________________________________________

Фамилия _______________________________________Имя__________________Класс__________________

Body image concerns more men than women

1. A recent survey has shown that men worry more about their body shape and appearance than women worry about how they look. More than four in five men (80.7%) talk negatively about their body image, compared with 75% of women. Also, 38% of men would give up at least a year of their life for a perfect body – again, a higher percentage than women.

 2. “This survey tells us that men are worried about body image, just like women. We knew that ‘body talk’ affected women and young people and now we know that it affects men too,” said Dr. Phillippa Diedrichs, from the Centre of Appearance Research at the University of the West of England, which did the study of 394 British men.

3. The survey showed that men are very worried about their bodies and that some use intensive exercise, strict diets, laxatives and even make themselves sick to lose weight or have a better body.

4.  80.7% talked about their own or others’ appearance, e.g. weight, lack of hair or slim body. 30% have heard someone talk about their “beer belly”, 19% have been described as “chubby” and 19% have heard other people talk about their “man boobs”. 23% said they didn’t go to the gym because they were worried about their appearance. 63% thought their arms or chests were not muscular enough. 29% thought about their appearance at least five times a day. 18% were on a diet to increase their muscles, and 16% were on a diet to lose weight.

5.  One expert said that it is normally women who talk about their bodies but the survey shows that men do this too. Men spend a lot of time talking about their bodies, and this shows how worried they are about their appearance, she added.

6.   Almost three in five men (58.6%) said body talk affected them, usually negatively. 12% said they would give up a year of life if they could have their ideal body weight and shape, 15.2% would give up two to five years, 5.3% would give up six to ten years and 5.3% would give up ten years or more.

7.    About 4% said they had made themselves sick to control their weight, while 3.4% said they used laxatives to control their weight. Almost a third (31.9%) had exercised in an intensive way to lose weight, but that might be partly because 52% of the people in the survey were gym members. The average gym membership is 12%.

8.   The men in the survey said the media and celebrities gave a false picture of physical perfection. “Girls want to be slim and males want to be big and muscular. It isn’t a bad thing for people to want to look better, but it has become more like a competition. It has a bad effect on most people’s mental health”, said one man.

9.    Alan White, a professor of Men’s Health, said: “These results are worrying but not surprising. More and more British men are having cosmetic procedures, such as a nose job or breast removal.” He said this makes people try to find a quick and temporary solution. What they should do is eat well and exercise.

Body image concerns more men than women, research finds Denis Campbell 6 January, 2012

3. Key words

Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text. The paragraph numbers are given to help you.

1. Your ___________________________________ is the opinion you have about how attractive your body is. (title)

2. Your ___________________________________ is the way that you look. (p. 1)

3. A ____________________is a medicine, food or drink that helps you to pass solid waste more easily when you use the toilet. (p. 3)

4. A __________________________ person is thin in an attractive way. (p. 4)

5. If a man has a beer ____________________, he has a big stomach after drinking too much beer over a long period of time. (p. 4)

6. If a person is __________________________, they are a bit fat in the way a healthy baby or a young child is. (p. 4)

7. ___________________________ is an informal word for women’s breasts. (p. 4)

8. A ________________________ person is big and strong with muscles that have been developed through exercise. (p. 4)

9. ________________________ are famous people, especially in entertainment or sport. (p. 8)

10. A __________________ is an operation to change the appearance of someone’s nose to make them more attractive. (p. 9)

6     Two-word expressions

Match the words in the left-hand column with the words in the right-hand column to make phrases from the text. The first answer is given for you.