WHY PEOPLE GET TATTOOS

1. Read the essay.

Jack lay, quiet and unmoving, for thirty minutes while a stranger repeatedly stabbed him with sharp needles, causing blood to pour steadily out of his leg. Jack was getting a tattoo. His friend Tony had recently gotten a tattoo, and Jack was so impressed by Tony's bravery and his tattoo that he decided to get one too. Getting a tattoo because your friends and peers have them is just one of the reasons why a lot of young people in North America get tattoos. Peer pressure, media influence, and personal expression are some of the common reasons for wearing tattoos today.

The desire to be part of a group, to be accepted by one's friends or peers, can have a great influence on what a person does. Sometimes, wearing a tattoo can be a sign that you belong to a certain group. Gangs often use special clothes and tattoos to identify their particular group. For example, in one gang all the members may wear green army jackets and have large 'Xs' tattooed on their arms. It is not only gangs that have this type of special 'uniform'. Young people often belong to a certain group of friends. Some of these groups wear only brand-name clothes. Some wear only black clothes. Others wear tattoos. When a person's friends are all doing something, such as getting a tattoo, that person is more likely to do the same thing, and get a tattoo too.

The media is another big influence behind the popularity of tattoos in North America. A wide variety of media images show tattoos. Tattoos can be seen on people appearing in commercials selling expensive cars. Famous sports heroes with tattoos are shown in magazines. Fashion models are often seen in magazines and on TV wearing designer clothes that show their bodies tattooed with detailed and colourful patterns. These media images link tattoos to ideas of wealth, success, and status. As a result, many people decide to get a tattoo for its fashion and status value.

It is not always the influence of other people or the media that results in a person getting a tattoo. Many people decide to wear tattoos in order to express their artistic nature, their beliefs, or their feelings – in other words, to show their individuality. A musician in a rock band may get a tattoo of a guitar on the arm. Some environmentalists may tattoo pictures of endangered animals on their shoulders. Lovers may tattoo each others' names over their hearts. A tattoo can be a public sign to show what is important in a person's life.

As you can see, there are many reasons why young North Americans get tattoos. A tattoo can be part of a group's uniform. It can be a sign of fashion. It can be an expression of individuality. The decision to get a tattoo is most often a result of the influence of friends or media or the desire to express oneself. For Jack, it was a mixture of all three.

2. Choose the correct answer.

1. What are the three most common reasons why a person gets a tattoo?

a. Pressure from their peers.

b. It is healthy.

c. Influence from the media.

d. A way of personal expression.

2. Which of the following are common ways that people show they belong to a certain group?

a. Wearing a tattoo.

b. Wearing special clothes.

c. Wearing a special uniform.

d. Wearing a special kind of socks.

3. Which of the following are ways that the media uses tattoos in advertising?

a. To sell cars.

b. By using fashion models.

c. By using sports stars.

d. By using endangered species.

4. According to the essay, media images are linked to _____________. Choose all that apply.

a. wealth

b. status

c. success

d. debt

5. Which of the following are possible artistic reasons for getting tattoos?

a. To show membership in a band.

b. To show a lover's name.

c. To show pictures of animals that may become extinct.

d. To show which language you speak.

6. Jack was stabbed for thirty minutes with a needle because _____________

a. he was getting a tattoo.

b. he was getting acupuncture.

c. he was getting his ears pierced.

d. he was getting a nose ring.

7. Some people get tattoos because ____________

a. they think it is fashionable.

b. they like pain.

c. they think it will wash off in the bath.

d. they are religious.

8. Jack thinks people who get tattoos are ____________

a. brave.

b. cowardly.

c. old fashioned.

d. nitwits.

9. The reason Jack wanted to get a tattoo was ____________

a. the influence of friends.

b. the influence of the media.

c. a desire to express himself.

d. all of the above.

LIFESTYLES

1. Read a magazine article about Sarah Bryant, an acupuncturist. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.

I’ve done a lot of travelling in Europe and Asia throughout my adult life and it was whilst I was teaching in China that I became interested in acupuncture.

1. ___________________________________________________________________

It was after returning from China and witnessing how successful it had been that I reached the decision to become an acupuncturist myself. I was lucky to discover that the town where I lived had a famous and well-reputed college of traditional acupuncture.

Alternative medicine is particularly important for me because I firmly believe that it works on the level of body, mind and spirit.

2. ___________________________________________________________________

Of course this medicine is very powerful and can consequently have powerful side effects. Alternative medicine like acupuncture on the other hand is aimed at treating the person as a whole. When a person’s ill, there’s something in their life which is putting their energy levels out of balance. What alternative therapies try to do is help to gradually push that energy back into balance. The result is that any disease present might naturally disappear as it cannot survive when energies are balanced.

The treatments consist largely of balancing the energy between the different meridians of a person’s body.

3. ___________________________________________________________________

Treatment aims to free blocks of energy in these meridians which may be causing ill health and which may have been there for many years.

It would be an odd state of affairs if a practising alternative therapist had not had treatment themselves and this is certainly not the case for myself.

4. ___________________________________________________________________

I’ve never suffered particularly from physical problems but treatment for my mental and spiritual wellbeing has been very successful.

I’ve treated a wide range of people for various conditions, for example people suffering from stress and anxiety and helped them to cope with stressful situations in their lives.

5. ___________________________________________________________________

There’s another woman who suffers from arthritis of the hip and at the moment I’m treating an old lady who has several health problems, one of them being Parkinson’s Disease. All these people have found that acupuncture has made them feel more balanced in themselves and they have certainly benefited from the treatment.

To date I currently own the Licentiate in Acupuncture. This course lasted three years and I had to go to the college about one weekend in three.

6. ___________________________________________________________________

I had a large amount of homework to do and practical work, which I did two or three evenings a week. This entailed locating points on different people. As you can imagine, this isn’t straightforward as people are different sizes and have different shaped bodies.

In the future I hope to set up an alternative health clinic which will involve myself as an acupuncturist but perhaps other people as well.

7. ___________________________________________________________________

I’d like to set this up somewhere in a rural setting, where people could enjoy coming not only for the treatment but where they would be able to sit and enjoy the scenery, go for walks and basically feel free from the stresses of life.

2. Choose the most suitable sentence from the list A – H for each part (1 – 7) of the article. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

A. These are twelve acupuncture channels along which energy travels in the human body.

B. Also on a physical level I’ve treated a woman for problems with eczema.

C. I'd like to work with practitioners of homeopathy, reflexology, aromatherapy and perhaps counselling.

D. There was a lot more to it than that though.

E. It is common for people there to have acupuncture treatment, not only if they’re ill but also to prevent the onset of diseases.

F. Contrary to popular belief, having the needles placed in your body is quite painless.

G. I’ve had a lot of acupuncture treatment and found it particularly useful.

Level B 2

Date: 2015-04-20; view: 3287