Write an abstract of the second part of the article and suggest the key words which represent its content.
4. When speaking a foreign language (for example English) are you first constructing a sentence in Ukrainian and then translating it into English? Is it possible to think in a foreign language? Try to find some additional information about it and share it with your group mates.
DISCOVERING OTHER CULTURES Body weight [10] In cities like New York and London, it is possible to find very overweight people and malnourished people living within a few meters of each other. The reasons for this are mainly political and sociological, but culture plays a part too. The habit of over-eating, particularly of “junk food”, is widespread, and encouraged by advertising. It is estimated that 60% of the population of the United States is overweight, in the sense that this means that health problems are likely for these individuals. In cultures like these, dieting in many forms has become a very common phenomenon. Many people lack will-power and need patterns and reassurance, so all sorts of strange diets have arisen, and clubs and gyms have been founded and dedicated to weight loss. There is a very serious side-effect here, largely culturally determined. A considerable number of young women, but also young men, suffer from anorexia nervosa. This seems always to have a psychological component, but results in an inability to eat enough to be fully healthy.
Does anything similar exist in your culture? How is it dealt with? What role does the image of a slim figure play in different cultures? Is body weight linked to concepts of beauty and sexual attractiveness? Has this changed over time? Compare a “Venus at a Mirror” (17th century) painted by Rubens and a picture of Olga Kurylenko (a Bond girl – 21st century)
UNIT 6
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