Unit 1 CULTURE
Lesson 01 Big and Beautiful?
Target Vocabulary
1 industry [??nd?str?] n. 工业;企业;行业
2 rural [?r??r?l] adj. 农村的;田园的
3 tradition [tr??d??n] n. 传统
4 obese [???bi:s] adj. 过胖的
5 calorie [?kl?r?] n.(热量单位)卡;卡路里;千卡
6 prospect [?pr?spekt] n.(成功的)可能性;前景;前途
7 generation [?d?en??re??n] n. 世代;一代;同时代的人
8 couscous [?k?sk?s] n. 蒸粗麦粉(北非菜名)
9 will [w?l] n. 意愿
10 diabetes [?da???bi:ti:z] n. 糖尿病
11 modern [?m?dn] adj. 现代的;现代化的
Big and Beautiful?
Weight loss has become a multi-billion
dollar industry1 in many parts of the world. But in rural2 western Africa, where
tradition3
values obese4 women, many young Mauritanian
girls are force-fed also known as gavage 1 to become more attractive to men.
While many women across the globe count calories 5, skip desser t , and pay for
expensive gym memberships, ten percent of Mauri tanian women are overeating to
pack on the pounds2, all in the name of beauty.
"A thin woman feels like bones. A fat
woman feels soft. It is interesting and exciting. When a woman is big, it shows
that she is well taken care of because her family can afford to feed her a
lot," says 25-year-old male Mohammed M''Barek. "It is tradition. It is
our culture."
A recent study suggests that this custom is
dying out. While over one-third of Mauritanian women over-ate to improve
marriage prospects6
a generation7 ago, only about 10 percent
continue to engage in the practice. Many of these young girls are sent to
"fat farms" to consume foods high in calories, such as couscous8 and
cow and goat''s milk, to gain weight. For many, it is against their will9. It is
not uncommon for girls to be woken up in the middle of the night to eat and to
be punished for refusing to eat.
"This tradition is old-fashioned.
Obesity is known to cause many health issues such as diabetes10 and heart
disease. I don''t want my daughter to die young," said the mother of a
nine-year-old girl who will not be sent to one of many "fat farms" in
rural Mauritania along with
some of her friends. "Modern11
Mauritanian women want to eat normally and be healthy, not be force-fed."
1 gavage(法文),指强饲。
2 pack on the pounds 指增胖。
After You Read
A. Reading Skill: 用5W1H获取信息
报刊文章通常会有一定的格式。了解此类文章的撰写方式,可以帮助读者找出文章的重要信息。一般来说,文章的第一段会提供整篇文章最重要的信息。而另一个可以帮助读者找出重要信息的方式,就是通过下列的5W1H来获取信息:
5W1H:
How ... is the story about?
Who ... is the story about?
What ... is the story about?
Where ... does the story take place?
When ... does the story take place?
Why ... is this happening?
Re-read the first paragraph of the reading
passage and complete the chart below.
Who?
What?
Where?
When?
Why?
How?
B. Word Study: 同义词
英文里有非常多的同义词,同义词(synonym)指具有相同或相近意思的单词或短语。作者在写作时通常会使用同义词,以增加文章的变化性和可读性。在本篇文章中,就包含了许多同义词,包括:
fat, big, and obese tradition and custom
eat and consume 2 Use synonyms found in the Word Box to fill in the blanks.
1. Jessica prefers modern contemporary
furniture in her home.
2. People across the world share some of
the same ideals for beauty.
3. It is rare for there to still be snow
on the ground in May.
4. If you want to keep fit, don''t eat
junk food.
5. The student was reprimanded for
starting a fight at school.
6. Maria declined the job offer.
2 Target Vocabulary
From the list of target vocabulary, choose
the word that best completes the sentence.
rural prospect calorie diabetes generation
industry couscous will
1. The health food is
constantly growing.
2. Margaret attended piano lessons against
her to please her mother.
3. My uncle was diagnosed with at
his last doctor''s appointment.
4. Many families choose to raise their
children in communities.
5. How many are in one
slice of pizza?
6. Most people from my grandmother''s are
unfamiliar with new technology.
7. Jane says the of
finding a job in the field aren''t very high.
8. I think I''ll make
instead of rice to serve with the chicken.
3 Critical Thinking
1. What might be some of the challenges
young girls in Mauritania face when being sent to a fat farm against their
will?
2. Imagine a young Mauritanian girl asks
you for advice on whether or not she should begin gavage. What advice would you
give her?
3. What are some beliefs you would assume a
Mauritanian man has if he supports the force-feeding of young women?
4. What are some of the pressures women and
or men in your culture have faced throughout history to meet standards of
beauty?