Is this the answer to improving body image?
Women are not the only people who worry about how they look. Research has found that men are also concerned about their body image – meaning that men worry about their physical appearance or how they think other people view them.
But where does the pressure to look good come from - and what should men really do to feel good about their bodies? Two handsome men, Rob and Finn, discuss the subject and look at some words related to body image.
- Body image 身體的形象; image通常是指一個東西的外表和呈現出來的樣子，跟body放在一起就是我們所謂的身形或身材。另外，image也可以用來形容一個人在大眾眼裡所呈現出來的形象，這就不只是身體型像，而是更深層的公眾形象。大部分會在乎這樣image的人都是公眾人物比較多，尤其是藝人。因為他們本身的工作就是靠大眾喜好而論定。
- Concerned adj. 在乎的; 關注的; 關心的; concerned這個字眼比care還要強烈一點，也比較正式。通常我們在說care是對我們真心在乎的人，跟我們自身比較熟或是親密的人。而concerned通常是用在工作上，對某件事情 ‘在意’ 或是 有所疑慮，所附帶的情感比較少。在這裡是指男人也會 ‘在意’ 自己的身型或身材。
- Physical appearance 生理上的外表; 當你看到physical這個字，就是在說肢體的或是生理的，任何跟身體接觸有關的東西都可以用physical來形容。反義字是mental，就是心理的。Appearance則是一個人的外表。
- Pressure n. 壓力; 可以用在 “我最近壓力很大”，”I have so much pressure lately.” 這裡除了人心理的壓力之外，也可以用來表示一個東西的內部壓力，比如說一個密閉空間裡的內壓，像是艙壓，就是cabin pressure。
- Feel good about 對…感到滿意或是滿足，這裡是指一個人對自己的身材或對自己的身體有自信、感覺很好。當然，你也可以用在其他的事情上，像是 “feel good about my job”，”feel good about my life”
Read and listen to the story online>>>
This week's question:
In a survey by the University of the West of England, what percentage of men said they were unhappy about their body?
a) 20%
b) 55%
c) 80%
Listen to the programme to find out the answer.
Finn: So it's not about fashion – the style of clothes they wear – it's about how they look physically and how they think other people view them. So come on Rob, how do you think I look?
- Style of clothes 就是指我們的穿著，body image不只是探討我們的身型，而是我們在意別人怎麼看我們，比較貼近形象
Rob: Hmm… You want me to be honest?! You're a handsome chap really but you're a little skinny, maybe, you don't look like you 'work out' – you know, go to
the gym – but look at me, I can't talk – I don't look too good either!
- Chap n. 是指那些一直都很注重自己外表穿著，每次出席場合都很在意穿得合不合適，或是永遠都穿的西裝鼻挺，我們所謂的型男~
- Work out 這個動詞片語並不是在外面工作喔，這是我們口語化用在形容 ‘健身’ 的意思。這除了當動詞使用之外，也可以當名詞用 work-out。你如果去國外的健身房，在廣播的最後，通常會祝大家健身愉快，用英文說就是， “Have a nice work-out!”
Finn: But men also have bodily expectations – in other words, a view on how they think they should look. But where does this vanity come from?
- Bodily expectations 在身形上的期許; 也就是人們在身材上會有一種既定的標準型態，這樣的形態就是bodily expectation
- Vanity n. 虛榮; 浮華; 這裡是指一個人對於自我的形象衣著非常在意，所以會花很多時間在鏡子前面打扮
Rob: Vanity – a good word, that's when you are too interested in yourself and especially interested in how you look – spending a lot of time in front of a mirror. I suppose it's from pressure or influence from people we see on TV or in magazines. People have a perception – or a belief – of what the perfect body should look like.
- Influence n. 影響; 人們很容易受到媒體或是社會觀感所影響，漸漸的就會迷失自我或是為了別人的想法而活著
- Perception n. 意識形態; 因為大部分社會所總結出的一種共同想法或是共同觀點，讓人知道要怎麼樣穿著或是怎麼樣的身體才是最完美的。
Finn: Yes, TV and magazines are full of pictures of men with perfect pecs – that's chest muscles – perfect hair and dazzling white teeth. A bit like Arnold
Schwarzenegger?
- Pecs 這是指結實精壯的男生身上擁有的胸肌
- Dazzling adj. 令人眼花撩亂的; 這裡是指男模總是擁有一口令人如迷的白牙齒
Rob: Not my type! Whilst I like to look fit and healthy, big muscles don't suit me!
The biggest thing I have at the moment is my beer belly – my stomach is
getting a bit too fat – and that's something I'm not too proud of.
- Fit adj. 結實的; 精壯的; 這也可以用在更衣間 “fitting room” 或是 衣服合不合身 “Does the shirt fit?”
- Beer belly 就是我們所謂的"啤酒肚"
Finn: It's very impressive, Rob. Well some men cheat to try and achieve the perfect physique. They either take certain drugs or drink protein drinks.
- Impressive adj. 令人印象深刻的; 讓人留下好印象的; 這個形容詞是正面的，當你對一個人表現讚譽有加，就可以說 “Your performance tonight is impressive.”
- Cheat v. 作弊; 偷吃步; 基本上就是在背後做見不得人的壞事，包含外遇或是劈腿都可以用cheat來形容。
- Protein n. 蛋白質; protein drinks是指健身在喝的高蛋白飲品
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