Ginger whingers (исполнитель: 6 Minute English)
NB: This is not an accurate word-for-word transcript. Группа Learning English. Продолжение текста здесь: [bad word] /downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/6minute/090827_6min_redheads.pdf Dima: Hi, [bad word] to 6 Minute English with me, Dima Kostenko Rebecca: and me, Rebecca Byrne. Hi. Dima: Rebecca, can I begin by asking you a very very simple question? How would you describe yourself? Rebecca: Responds. Dima: Sounds like a pretty accurate description to me - but it's not your height, weight, or built that we're going to talk about today. Rebecca: What then? Dima: Your hair colour! Rebecca: Responds (what IS it about my hair colour that's worth talking about?) + short exchange with Dima. Dima: …today we'll be talking about how your natural looks - and in particular your hair colour - can tell others what kind of person you are - or at least reveal some of your qualities. Rebecca: Responds (sounds interesting - but shall I go through some of today's key vocabulary first?) Dima: Yes, and I would like you to begin with the expression 'ginger whingeing'. Rebecca: I haven't heard it before but I guess it refers to an opinion that some of us who are redheads, also known as ginger [bad word] about things more often than others. There will be the phrase 'fiery temper'. If you have a fiery temper, you get very angry, or extremely excited quite easily. We'll hear the term 'scientific backing', which means that something has been proved or confirmed by a scientific study. And finally the verb 'to avoid', meaning to manage not to do something, to stay away from something or someone. Dima: So that's 'to avoid', 'scientific backing', 'fiery temper' and 'ginger whingeing'. Rebecca: Yes, that's right. Listen now to our correspondent Matt McGrath, a redhead himself. He's talking about a recent study involving redheads - of course this is just one of many studies, not textbook material, but I thought it was interesting. As you're listening, try to catch today's key vocabulary, and also see if after listening you can answer this question: during the study, who or what did the group of redheads try to avoid? Dima: Let's listen to find out: Clip 1 0'19" We redheads are well known for our fiery tempers. Now it seems there is scientific backing for our ginger whingeing as well. Scientists in the United States studied a group of 144 dental patients, almost half of whom had red hair. They found that the red hair group were more sensitive to pain and as a result were twice as likely to avoid visiting the dentist. Rebecca: Matt McGrath says that redheads, including himself, are well known for their fiery tempers. They have a reputation [bad word] a lot, or as our reporter put it, for their ginger whingeing. And, because it can sometimes hurt, they even try to avoid visiting dentists! However, it looks like not all of this is down to temper alone. There is a newly discovered scientific reason. Dima: In a moment we'll hear from Professor Daniel Sessler, one of the authors of the study at the Cleveland Clinic in the United States. But before that Rebecca, I need you to explain two more terms for us. One is 'anaesthetic requirement'. Rebecca: Someone's 'anaesthetic requirement' is how many painkillers they need before surgery, such as dental treatment, can be performed on them. Dima: And secondly, the word 'phenotype'. Rebecca: This is a scientific term. It describes how a certain quality of yours shows in your physical appearance. Dima: Thanks Rebecca. OK, now, armed with all this knowledge, shall we have a go at this week's question? Rebecca: Responds Dima: Imagine seeing a couple of people walking along the street. ...