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BBC 6 Minutes English 2021, Fashion and Shopping (3)

Fashion and Shopping (3)

Don't forget to visit our website at bbclearningenglish.com. Bye for now.

Bye bye.

Hello. This is 6 Minute English and I'm Neil. And joining me today is Rob.

Hello. Rob, how do you feel about shopping?

Urgh! Mooching around a shopping mall from one shop to another,

spending money - it's my idea of hell!

How about shopping online?

Ah yes, much better – sitting in front of the TV and browsing online is much easier.

Well, that can be a problem – it's sometimes too easy, especially when we are tired – and we

sometimes make purchases we regret. That's what we'll be talking about in this programme – an

activity known as 'vampire shopping'. But before we continue, it's my job to set you

a quiz question, so here goes. According to the UK's Office for National Statistics,

at the end of 2018, what percentage of all retail sales took place online? Was it…

a) 9.8%, b) 19.8%,

or c) 29.8%?

Buying things online is big business now, so I'll say c) 29.8%.

Well, you'll have to wait a bit to find out. But let's talk more now about vampire shopping – this

term refers to shopping late at night - traditionally a time when vampires appear.

Most of us are asleep at this time but sleep-deprived parents,

shift-workers and gamers might not be. If you're an insomniac – someone who

can't sleep easily – it's tempting to open up your laptop and start shopping.

Online shops are open 24 hours a day so it's easy to get sucked in and do some shopping!

When you get sucked into something it means you can't stop yourself getting

involved with something that you didn't want to do. So what you're saying Neil is at night,

when we're very tired, we don't always think straight and can make some bad decisions.

That's right. And this shopping temptation can be particularly problematic for those with mental

health issues. It's something Helen Undy has been talking about on the BBC Radio 4 programme,

You and Yours. She is the Chief Executive of the Money and Mental

Health Institute. Let's hear what she had to say…

Our ability to control our impulse to spend and to resist things like advertising

is reduced when we're sleep deprived. Well mental health problems can have a similar

effect so the mental health problems themselves make it harder to resist the urge to spend

and they also cause sleep deprivation, so you're alone possibly surfing the internet, and both the

lack of sleep and the mental health problems make it harder to resist the things that you can see.

Helen said that for all us, when we're sleep deprived – that means

not having enough sleep – we find it harder to resist the urge to shop.

We're more sucked in to shopping by the advertising we see.

And resist the urge means stop yourself acting on a strong

feeling to do something. But this is more serious for people with mental health

issues. They are particularly sleep deprived and along with everything that's going

on in their minds, they find it harder to resist – to stop themselves buying things.

I suppose buying things at night, if you're alone, gives you some comfort - even a feel-good

factor – doing something that gives someone a happy and positive feeling. I certainly feel

good when I've bought something. But Rob, have you ever bought something you regret?

Yes. Bits of tech, even flight tickets to somewhere I didn't

really want to go to – because they were cheap!

Regret is a sad feeling you get when you've made a mistake and wished you hadn't made

the mistake in the first place. We all have regrets Rob, particularly

when buying things – but there's usually the option to return something and get a refund.

That's true but it's not always easy. Let's hear what Helen Undy had to say about that.

We found in our research that 75% of people,

so regardless of whether you've got a mental health problem or not - three-quarters of people

didn't send back the last thing they bought online that they regretted. We found that 4

in 10 people with mental health problems didn't send things back because they were so ashamed of

the things that they were buying that they just wanted to pretend it never happened.

So, she says that three-quarters of people didn't send back the last thing

they bought that they regretted. Maybe they were too embarrassed?

Possibly. But it's not always easy to return an item

and for those with mental health issues it can be a struggle,

a great effort. Helen Undy says that sometimes they were ashamed of their purchase.

Well, I think we have all bought things we are ashamed of. But while

online shopping continues to expand the temptation will always be there.

Well, your question earlier was about the rise in online shopping, so what's the answer, Neil?

I asked according to the UK's Office for National Statistics, at the end of 2018, what percentage of

all retail sales took place online? Was it… a) 9.8%,

b) 19.8%, or c) 29.8%?

I said c) 29.8%. I've got to be right!

Well, you're not. The rise was a bit smaller at b) 19.8%. But that's still

large compared with ten years previously, when the figure was just 5.8% of all retail sales.

No doubt the figure will continue to rise. And before I nip off to do a bit of vampire shopping,

let's recap some of the vocabulary we've mentioned today. Starting with insomniac.

An insomniac is someone who can't sleep easily. They suffer from insomnia.

Next, we talked about to get sucked into something. This informal phrase means not

being able to stop yourself getting involved with something that you don't want to do.

If you are sleep deprived, you do not have enough sleep.

And if you resist the urge, you stop yourself acting on a strong feeling to do something.

For example, resisting the urge to buy something online.

But if you don't resist the urge to buy something, it might have a feel-good

factor. A feel-good factor is something that makes you feel happy and positive.

But after buying something you may have regret. That's a sad feeling you get

when you've made a mistake and wished you hadn't made the mistake in the first place.

Well, hopefully you haven't regretted spending 6 minutes listening to us! Please join us next time

and in the meantime, why not check us out on your favourite social media platforms and on our app.

Goodbye! Goodbye!

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Dan.

Neil Let me just sit down. Ah! And I'm Neil.

Dan Neil, are you wearing high heels?

Neil Hang on. Ah! Not any more!

Dan How did they feel?

Neil Agony! How do women do this?

Dan Why on earth are you wearing them?

Neil Well,

I wanted to look fashionable and cool! Everyone knows that high heels are the

height of fashion – on the street, at work and at parties. I'm ready for anything!

Dan I'm not so sure you're right there,

Neil. Our topic for this 6 Minute English is about the rise in popularity of the comfy shoe. However,

before we step into that, let's have our quiz question. Which famous sports clothing company's

first pair of running shoes was inspired by the square pattern on a waffle-making machine? Was it:

a) Adidas

b) Nike, or

c) Puma

Neil Well,

I have no idea, so I'm going to say Adidas because that's got marks.

Dan We'll have

to wait until later to find out. So, what do you think of when I say comfy shoes?

Neil Well,

comfy is an adjective which is an informal way of saying 'comfortable'. So, I suppose we're

talking trainers. But I was always told that trainers weren't appropriate for everywhere,

like work and many formal or social places, such as parties, bars and clubs.

Well, that certainly used to be the case, but that may not be as true any more. Victoria Moss

is the Senior Fashion Editor at the Telegraph newspaper in the UK. Here she is speaking on

BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour about why trainers are considered more fashionable these days.

Is it something that's happened very recently? Well I think it's been, sort of, coming on for a while. And I think one thing in fashion in the last 10 years has been a, sort of, mass

casualisation of everything. And there's been a big streetwear trend, which has filtered through.

So, is it something that's happened very recently?

Apparently not, no. She said that there has been a mass

casualisation of things over the last 10 years.

Casualisation here means 'the process of becoming less formal and more relaxed' – 'more casual'.

Yes! Society has relaxed its idea of what is considered formal or appropriate.

In addition, we're told there has been a big streetwear trend. Streetwear is a style

of casual clothing worn especially by young people from urban settings – that's the city.

This trend has filtered through.

If something filters through, it appears or happens gradually over time.

So, presumably, the trend for streetwear filtered through

from its specialised area into mainstream fashion until everyone was following it.

Well, that explains why trainers are more fashionable these days,

but it doesn't explain why people are wearing them more. Not everyone follows fashion, you know.

Yes, Neil I can see that when I look at you. But you're forgetting the comfy part. Emma Supple is

a podiatrist – a foot doctor - who also spoke on Woman's Hour. Here she is explaining why

being comfy is so important. What are people doing more these days that they weren't before?

So what we're actually talking about is, actually, people, for wellness walking more

and doing more… and they're not going to do that in a lot of high heels… so trainers are changing

the materials. There are now a lot of fabric trainers and if you've inherited foot problems,

then that kind of fabric… they're wrapping around knobbly bits, and knobbly bits hurt.

What are people doing more?

They're walking more and they're doing it for wellness. Wellness is the state of being healthy.

As a result, trainers have had to change their materials to fabric

to make themselves more comfortable.

Not only that, but if you have any foot problems, these fabric, or cloth,

trainers are better at fitting to the shape of your foot. That means if you have any

knobbly bits, they won't hurt as much, which makes trainers more comfortable for everyone!

Knobbly is an adjective that means 'lumpy' – 'having many raised areas on the surface'.

So, it's the combination of a change in fashion and a change in materials

that's made trainers and other comfy shoes more popular than ever, right?

Exactly! And hard on the heels of that revelation, we can reveal the answer to our

quiz question. Earlier I asked which famous sports clothing company's first pair of running shoes

was inspired by the square pattern on a waffle-making machine. Was it:

a) Adidas

b) Nike, or

c) Puma

Neil, you said?

I said Adidas

Sorry. The answer is Nike. In 1971 their co-founder Bill Bowerman was

having breakfast when he saw the waffle machine

and it inspired the design of Nike's first running shoe. Let's hope it was comfy one.

Aha! It must be time to review our vocabulary!

So, first we had comfy – an adjective which is an informal ways of saying 'comfortable'.

Then we had casualisation. This describes the process of things,

such as fashion or behaviour, becoming less formal and more casual.

Next was streetwear. That describes a style of casual clothing that is worn especially

by young people who live in cities.

Then we heard filtered through. If something filters through, it appears or happens gradually

over time. For example, has it filtered through to you yet, Neil, that high heels were a mistake?

Yes it has! They didn't do anything for my wellness,

I can tell you, which means 'the state of being healthy'.

Learn languages from TV shows, movies, news, articles and more! Try LingQ for FREE

Fashion and Shopping (3) Mode und Einkaufen (3) Moda y compras (3) Mode et shopping (3) Moda e shopping (3) ファッションとショッピング (3) 패션 및 쇼핑 (3) Moda i zakupy (3) Moda e compras (3) Мода и шопинг (3) Moda ve Alışveriş (3) 时尚与购物 (3)

Don't forget to visit our website at  bbclearningenglish.com. Bye for now.

Bye bye.

Hello. This is 6 Minute English and  I'm Neil. And joining me today is Rob.

Hello. Rob, how do you feel about shopping?

Urgh! Mooching around a shopping  mall from one shop to another, |ぶらぶらする||||||||| |Holgazanear||||centro comercial||||| Уф! Мотаюсь по торговому центру от одного магазина к другому,

spending money - it's my idea of hell! ||||||infierno

How about shopping online?

Ah yes, much better – sitting in front of  the TV and browsing online is much easier.

Well, that can be a problem – it's sometimes  too easy, especially when we are tired – and we

sometimes make purchases we regret. That's what  we'll be talking about in this programme – an ||||lamentamos||||||||||

activity known as 'vampire shopping'. But  before we continue, it's my job to set you 「ヴァンパイアショッピング」として知られる活動。しかし、続行する前に、あなたを設定するのが私の仕事です

a quiz question, so here goes. According  to the UK's Office for National Statistics,

at the end of 2018, what percentage of all  retail sales took place online? Was it… ||||||||ventas al por menor|||||| 2018年の終わりに、すべての小売売上高の何パーセントがオンラインで発生しましたか?それでした…

a) 9.8%, b) 19.8%,

or c) 29.8%?

Buying things online is big  business now, so I'll say c) 29.8%.

Well, you'll have to wait a bit to find out. But  let's talk more now about vampire shopping – this ||||||||||||||||compras de vampiros||

term refers to shopping late at night -  traditionally a time when vampires appear.

Most of us are asleep at this  time but sleep-deprived parents, ||||||||||睡眠不足の| |||||||||||padres privados de sueño 私たちのほとんどはこの時点で眠っていますが、睡眠不足の両親は、

shift-workers and gamers might not be.  If you're an insomniac – someone who |||Gamer|||||||Insomniak|| turno||||||||||||

can't sleep easily – it's tempting to  open up your laptop and start shopping.

Online shops are open 24 hours a day so it's  easy to get sucked in and do some shopping! ||||||||||||引き込まれる|||||

When you get sucked into something it  means you can't stop yourself getting |||absorbido|||||||||

involved with something that you didn't want  to do. So what you're saying Neil is at night,

when we're very tired, we don't always think  straight and can make some bad decisions. ||||||||claramente||||||

That's right. And this shopping temptation can  be particularly problematic for those with mental |||||tentación de comprar||||||||

health issues. It's something Helen Undy has  been talking about on the BBC Radio 4 programme,

You and Yours. She is the Chief  Executive of the Money and Mental ||||||jefa ejecutiva||||||

Health Institute. Let's hear what she had to say…

Our ability to control our impulse to  spend and to resist things like advertising

is reduced when we're sleep deprived. Well  mental health problems can have a similar снижается, когда мы лишены сна. Проблемы с психическим здоровьем могут иметь аналогичный эффект

effect so the mental health problems themselves  make it harder to resist the urge to spend |||||||||||||衝動|| |||||||||||||impulso|| そのため、精神的な問題そのものが、消費衝動を抑えることを難しくしているのです。 Таким образом, проблемы с психическим здоровьем сами по себе усложняют борьбу с желанием потратить деньги.

and they also cause sleep deprivation, so you're  alone possibly surfing the internet, and both the そしてそれらはまた睡眠不足を引き起こすので、あなたはたぶん一人でインターネットをサーフィンしているでしょう、そして両方とも

lack of sleep and the mental health problems make  it harder to resist the things that you can see.

Helen said that for all us, when  we're sleep deprived – that means

not having enough sleep – we find it  harder to resist the urge to shop. |||||||||||impulso|| 十分な睡眠が取れていない–買い物への衝動に抵抗するのは難しいと感じています。

We're more sucked in to shopping  by the advertising we see. ||||||||publicidad|| 私達は私達が見る広告によって買い物にもっと夢中になっています。

And resist the urge means stop  yourself acting on a strong

feeling to do something. But this is more  serious for people with mental health

issues. They are particularly sleep deprived  and along with everything that's going の問題があります。彼らは特に睡眠不足で、すべての出来事と一緒に

on in their minds, they find it harder to  resist – to stop themselves buying things.

I suppose buying things at night, if you're  alone, gives you some comfort - even a feel-good

factor – doing something that gives someone a  happy and positive feeling. I certainly feel

good when I've bought something. But Rob,  have you ever bought something you regret?

Yes. Bits of tech, even flight  tickets to somewhere I didn't |fragmentos||tecnología||||||| はい。ちょっとした技術、私がしなかった場所への航空券さえ

really want to go to – because they were cheap!

Regret is a sad feeling you get when you've  made a mistake and wished you hadn't made Сожаление - это грустное чувство, которое возникает, когда вы совершили ошибку и жалеете, что не сделали ее.

the mistake in the first place. We  all have regrets Rob, particularly

when buying things – but there's usually the  option to return something and get a refund. ||||||||||||||reembolso

That's true but it's not always easy. Let's  hear what Helen Undy had to say about that.

We found in our research that 75% of people,

so regardless of whether you've got a mental  health problem or not - three-quarters of people |||||||||||||tres cuartas partes||

didn't send back the last thing they bought  online that they regretted. We found that 4 彼らが後悔した最後にオンラインで購入したものを送り返しませんでした。 4 не отправили обратно последнюю купленную в Интернете вещь, о которой пожалели. Мы выяснили, что 4

in 10 people with mental health problems didn't  send things back because they were so ashamed of ||||||||||||||avergonzados de|

the things that they were buying that they  just wanted to pretend it never happened. 彼らが買っていたもので、それが決して起こらなかったふりをしたかっただけです。

So, she says that three-quarters of  people didn't send back the last thing

they bought that they regretted.  Maybe they were too embarrassed? 彼らは後悔していることを買いました。多分彼らはあまりにも恥ずかしかったですか? купили, о чем потом пожалели. Может быть, им было слишком стыдно?

Possibly. But it's not  always easy to return an item Возможно. Но не всегда легко вернуть товар.

and for those with mental health  issues it can be a struggle, |||||||||||lucha А для тех, кто страдает психическими расстройствами, это может оказаться непростой задачей,

a great effort. Helen Undy says that  sometimes they were ashamed of their purchase. огромные усилия. Хелен Унди говорит, что иногда им было стыдно за свою покупку.

Well, I think we have all bought  things we are ashamed of. But while

online shopping continues to expand  the temptation will always be there. ||||||tentación|||| オンラインショッピングは拡大し続け、誘惑は常にそこにあります。

Well, your question earlier was about the rise  in online shopping, so what's the answer, Neil?

I asked according to the UK's Office for National  Statistics, at the end of 2018, what percentage of

all retail sales took place online? Was it… a) 9.8%,

b) 19.8%, or c) 29.8%?

I said c) 29.8%. I've got to be right!

Well, you're not. The rise was a bit  smaller at b) 19.8%. But that's still

large compared with ten years previously, when  the figure was just 5.8% of all retail sales.

No doubt the figure will continue to rise. And  before I nip off to do a bit of vampire shopping, |||||||||||立ち去る|||||||| |||||||||||salgo rápidamente|||||||| 間違いなく数字は上昇し続けるでしょう。そして、吸血鬼の買い物をするために少し立ち寄る前に、 Без сомнения, эта цифра будет расти. И прежде чем я отправлюсь за покупками для вампиров, Безсумнівно, ця цифра зростатиме. І перед тим, як я кинуся робити вампірські покупки,

let's recap some of the vocabulary we've  mentioned today. Starting with insomniac.

An insomniac is someone who can't sleep  easily. They suffer from insomnia.

Next, we talked about to get sucked into  something. This informal phrase means not ||||||absorbido por algo|||||||

being able to stop yourself getting involved  with something that you don't want to do.

If you are sleep deprived,  you do not have enough sleep.

And if you resist the urge, you stop yourself  acting on a strong feeling to do something.

For example, resisting the  urge to buy something online.

But if you don't resist the urge to buy  something, it might have a feel-good

factor. A feel-good factor is something  that makes you feel happy and positive.

But after buying something you may have  regret. That's a sad feeling you get

when you've made a mistake and wished you  hadn't made the mistake in the first place. когда вы совершили ошибку и жалеете, что не совершили ее с самого начала.

Well, hopefully you haven't regretted spending 6  minutes listening to us! Please join us next time

and in the meantime, why not check us out on your  favourite social media platforms and on our app.

Goodbye! Goodbye!

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Dan.

Neil Let me just sit down. Ah! And I'm Neil.

Dan Neil, are you wearing high heels?

Neil Hang on. Ah! Not any more! |espera|||||

Dan How did they feel?

Neil Agony! How do women do this? |苦痛|||||

Dan Why on earth are you wearing them? |||demonios||||

Neil Well,

I wanted to look fashionable and cool!  Everyone knows that high heels are the

height of fashion – on the street, at work  and at parties. I'm ready for anything!

Dan I'm not so sure you're right there,

Neil. Our topic for this 6 Minute English is about  the rise in popularity of the comfy shoe. However,

before we step into that, let's have our quiz  question. Which famous sports clothing company's

first pair of running shoes was inspired by the  square pattern on a waffle-making machine? Was it: |||||||||||||gofrera||||

a) Adidas

b) Nike, or

c) Puma

Neil Well,

I have no idea, so I'm going to say  Adidas because that's got marks. Я понятия не имею, поэтому скажу "Адидас", потому что у него есть марки.

Dan We'll have

to wait until later to find out. So, what  do you think of when I say comfy shoes?

Neil Well,

comfy is an adjective which is an informal way  of saying 'comfortable'. So, I suppose we're

talking trainers. But I was always told that  trainers weren't appropriate for everywhere,

like work and many formal or social  places, such as parties, bars and clubs.

Well, that certainly used to be the case, but  that may not be as true any more. Victoria Moss Раньше так и было, но теперь, возможно, это уже не так. Виктория Мосс

is the Senior Fashion Editor at the Telegraph  newspaper in the UK. Here she is speaking on

BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour about why trainers  are considered more fashionable these days.

Is it something that's happened very recently? Well I think it's been, sort of, coming on for Это произошло совсем недавно? Ну, я думаю, что это происходит уже в течение a while. And I think one thing in fashion in  the last 10 years has been a, sort of, mass некоторое время. И я думаю, что за последние 10 лет в моде было нечто вроде массового

casualisation of everything. And there's been a  big streetwear trend, which has filtered through. カジュアル化|||||||||||||

So, is it something that's happened very recently?

Apparently not, no. She said  that there has been a mass ||||||||||misa

casualisation of things over the last 10 years.

Casualisation here means 'the process of becoming  less formal and more relaxed' – 'more casual'.

Yes! Society has relaxed its idea of  what is considered formal or appropriate.

In addition, we're told there has been a  big streetwear trend. Streetwear is a style

of casual clothing worn especially by young  people from urban settings – that's the city. |||||||||urbano||||

This trend has filtered through. Эта тенденция дошла и до нас.

If something filters through, it  appears or happens gradually over time.

So, presumably, the trend for  streetwear filtered through

from its specialised area into mainstream  fashion until everyone was following it. из своей специализированной области в основную моду, пока все не стали следовать ей.

Well, that explains why trainers  are more fashionable these days,

but it doesn't explain why people are wearing  them more. Not everyone follows fashion, you know.

Yes, Neil I can see that when I look at you. But  you're forgetting the comfy part. Emma Supple is Так, Ніл, я бачу це, коли дивлюся на тебе. Але ви забуваєте про зручну частину. Емма Саппл є

a podiatrist – a foot doctor - who also spoke  on Woman's Hour. Here she is explaining why |足病医|||||||||||||| |podólogo||||||||||Aquí está ella||||

being comfy is so important. What are people  doing more these days that they weren't before?

So what we're actually talking about is,  actually, people, for wellness walking more

and doing more… and they're not going to do that  in a lot of high heels… so trainers are changing

the materials. There are now a lot of fabric  trainers and if you've inherited foot problems, |||||||||||||受け継いだ||

then that kind of fabric… they're wrapping  around knobbly bits, and knobbly bits hurt. ||||||||でこぼこした||||| тоді така тканина… вони обертаються навколо вузликів, а вони болять.

What are people doing more?

They're walking more and they're doing it for  wellness. Wellness is the state of being healthy.

As a result, trainers have had to  change their materials to fabric

to make themselves more comfortable.

Not only that, but if you have any  foot problems, these fabric, or cloth,

trainers are better at fitting to the shape  of your foot. That means if you have any

knobbly bits, they won't hurt as much, which  makes trainers more comfortable for everyone! abultados|||||||||||||

Knobbly is an adjective that means 'lumpy'  – 'having many raised areas on the surface'. Nodoso||||||abultado|||||||

So, it's the combination of a change  in fashion and a change in materials

that's made trainers and other comfy  shoes more popular than ever, right?

Exactly! And hard on the heels of that  revelation, we can reveal the answer to our

quiz question. Earlier I asked which famous sports  clothing company's first pair of running shoes

was inspired by the square pattern  on a waffle-making machine. Was it:

a) Adidas

b) Nike, or

c) Puma

Neil, you said?

I said Adidas

Sorry. The answer is Nike. In 1971  their co-founder Bill Bowerman was

having breakfast when he saw the waffle machine ||||||gofre|

and it inspired the design of Nike's first  running shoe. Let's hope it was comfy one.

Aha! It must be time to review our vocabulary!

So, first we had comfy – an adjective which  is an informal ways of saying 'comfortable'.

Then we had casualisation. This  describes the process of things,

such as fashion or behaviour,  becoming less formal and more casual.

Next was streetwear. That describes a style  of casual clothing that is worn especially ||ropa urbana|||||||||||

by young people who live in cities.

Then we heard filtered through. If something  filters through, it appears or happens gradually

over time. For example, has it filtered through  to you yet, Neil, that high heels were a mistake? ||||||filtrado|||||||||||

Yes it has! They didn't do  anything for my wellness,

I can tell you, which means 'the state of being healthy'.