Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following
words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. fad (n.) [fad] – an interest or activity that many people follow with strong excitement or feeling
Example: Wearing large beaded
necklaces and bracelets became a fad
last summer.
2. candid (adj.) [kan-did] – not planned; being caught unprepared
Example: The photographer likes
taking candid shots of people in the
streets.
3. blemished (adj.) [blem-ishd] – marked by imperfection or flaws
Example: Her face was blemished because of the pimples she had
when she was young.
4. flaunt (v.) [flawnt] – to display or show off oneself
Example: She flaunts her beautiful face through
pictures on social networking sites.
5. foster (v.) [faw-ster, fos-ter] – to promote or help develop something
Example: A teacher must foster a good learning environment for the
students.
Article
Read the text below.
American actress AnnaLynne
McCord boldly shared her barefaced photo on Twitter, joining a growing celebrity fad of posting pictures without makeup.
It all started when
a candid picture of McCord was taken
in Vancouver, Canada last month. Celebrity news websites criticized her blemished skin.
McCord was upset at
first, but a week after, she posted a picture of herself without make-up on
Twitter. She said she did not care anymore if people made negative comments. Instead of being criticized again, however,
she was praised by the media and her fans.
McCord added she
always wears makeup whenever she is working, so she has a natural look in her
personal life to let her skin breathe. Her boyfriend also likes for her to flaunt her real beauty.
Recently, many stars such as Bethenny Frankel and Jennifer Love Hewitt have posted their own
makeup-free faces on Twitter. Other celebrities have posed for People’s
magazine’s Most Beautiful Issue without makeup.
According to Brian
Solis, a media analyst at Altimeter Group, celebrities’ fresh-faced photos
are grabbing much attention from fans and social media. Fans may feel better
about themselves by seeing a star’s imperfections, or they may find the
star’s honesty likeable.
Many publicists also
now encourage stars to share “natural look” pictures to foster a relationship with the community.
However, some stars
might have fake reasons and are just doing it to gain attention. Some stars fix
their hair, plan the scenery and poses of their photos and later say their pictures
are candid.
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Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
Why do you think people sometimes criticize celebrities’
appearances?
·
Why is physical appearance important to some people?
Discussion B
·
Do you think make-up is important? Why or why
not?
·
Which do you prefer, people with makeup or
those with natural looks? Why?