第40期音频：Beauty

　　Beauty … is in the eye of the beholder

　　(2006-2007学年第40期)

　　By Geoff Lemon

　　Pong: Hey Jimmie! I like your glasses. They make you look just like Bono in U2.

　　Jimmie: Yeah, thanks. Well I feel a bit like a rock star when I wear them too!

　　Pong: They look nice. Where’d you get’em?

　　Jimmie: Ah, these little beauties came from Ya Bou Lu market and they aren’t as expensive as they look.

　　Pong:No? Well then, that sounds like a cheap make-over. What do you call inexpensive?

　　Jimmie: Just over 40 RMB. OK, you can buy cheaper sunglasses, but I like these.

　　Pong: For that price they are not going to be originals. But a lot of people would say that is still too dear.

　　Jimmie: Do you really think so? Don’t forget that they perform a useful function. These really are eye protection. I would get a headache in the summer sun if I had no eye protection.

　　Pong:That’s true — actually I read in Australia that students are encouraged to wear sunglasses.

　　Jimmie:Well I can believe that too. The angle of the sun makes the Australian sun especially bright in summer and there are problems with glare and the wrong kinds of ultra-violet light reaching the eyes.

　　Pong: I read that the incidence of eye cancer is rising in some of the countries of the Southern Hemisphere.

　　Jimmie: Sure. Eye protection is serious business. But we are lucky that it is also a “ fashion statement.”

　　Pong: Well how do you think they became such a high fashion accessory?

　　Jimmie: You know, I think that it was because of the aviation industry. Those guys spend their time flying at great altitude where the air is thinner and the problems of glare are greater.

　　Pong: That’s right…and it’s critically important that THOSE guys can see well.

　　Jimmie: Sure. And then of course who are the people that we look up to? It’s the Fighter pilots, the Astronauts and even the Captains of Airliners.

　　Pong: Why do you think airline captains are considered heroes?

　　Jimmie: Oh, of course they are heroes — Anyone who can fly you across the country or around the world and land you safely is a big hero! And of course when international air travel REALLY got going in the 1960’s and 1970’s sunglasses, and all the accessories of the “jet-set” — those lucky people who could afford to jet around the world — became part of the fashion.

　　Pong: Oh, you mean — I might not be able to afford to travel — but at least I can look like I can afford it.

　　Jimmie:Sure. Buy a pair of attractive “sunnies” and you’re an instant movie star.

　　Pong:Hah. But what if someone talks to me and finds out I’m a fake — just like my sunglasses?

　　Jimmie: Don’t be concerned — it’s all part of the game. Anyway, if you still want to carry on the pretense…just talk to them in a foreign language — they’ll be none the wiser and you’ll probably seem even more exotic.