Phonetic exercises
Some words may seem difficult for you to pronounce. Train and try to remember the right pronunciation
/ɔ/ - prosthesis, vomit, cough, swollen
/ɔ:/ - sore, gauze, nausea
/ɔƱ/ - bone, hangover, protein, throat
/ɔı/ - poisoning, ointment, appointment
/ʌ/ - muscle, ulcer, blood, junk, mumps, cut
/aı/ - spine, carbohydrate, eyelid, sterile, wipe
/ı/ - rib, illness, malignant, hip, addictive
/ı:/ - sneeze, bleed, cream, tweezer, measles, wheezing, disease
/eı/ - blame, takeaway, aid, pacemaker
/æ/ - rash, fat, cancer, examine
/e/ - threaten, evidence, adhesive, obesity, reject, chemist
/Ə:/ - surgery, burn, murmur, mercury
/u:/ - bruise, tumor, wound
/ʃ/ - pressure, prescription, intubation
/tʃ/ - itching, crutches
/ʒ/ - seizure, transfusion
/dʒ/ - injury, congestive
Reading
Before reading: What is your attitude to tattoos? Have you got one or would you like to have one? What are your reasons for or against?
Read the text and say, are the reasons given in it similar to yours. Have you changed your mind or not? Why?
Young Adult Health. Healthy Body. Tattoos.
In Western culture tattoos are often seen as something associated with people on the edge of society. Since the early 90s, however, tattooing became more common and socially acceptable in Australia.
Although more people these days seem to have tattoos, getting one still carries some risks.
There are many reasons why people choose to have a tattoo on their body, including:
Cultural reasons – i.e. coming of age or rites of passage
To express individuality
To indicate membership of a particular group or way of life
To make a statement
To establish a permanent reminder of an event – such as the death of a loved one
To reclaim the body after an event – for example, a sexual assault
To make the body more pleasing to their eye
To annoy parents?
It seems that getting a tattoo can make someone look like an individual or a conformist, depending on your view. People have been known to get tattoos as an impulsive act, perhaps when they were intoxicated - and they may or may not regret it later when they are sober.
Getting a tattoo at an accredited professional tattoo parlour is relatively risk-free, but getting a tattoo still puts you at risk of the following:
serious infectious diseases such as hepatitis C, hepatitis B or HIV (which are passed on via infected blood or other body fluids), or tetanus
skin infections such as impetigo (‘school sores’)
dermatitis
flare ups of existing eczema
allergic reactions
thick scars called keloids (you are more likely to get these if you have dark skin)
distress due to regret after the procedure - this has been identified as one of the main problems after getting a tattoo.
Tattooing is a painful process, and tattoos are expensive and so is getting them removed. If you want to have a tattoo removed there will always be a scar.
You need to carefully consider the reasons behind your need to get a tattoo before going through with it. Trends come and go, but a badly chosen tattoo lasts forever, or costs a lot to remove.
If you do decide to get a tattoo, you need to go to a qualified professional. Home-made tattoos, such as those made with Indian ink, should never be considered.
When choosing a tattoo artist you should make sure of the following:
that the tattoo parlour uses new sterile equipment for each client, or thoroughly cleans and sterilises equipment (e.g. by using an autoclave)
that standard precautions are followed to reduce risks of infections, as used in many places, including hospitals. Can they show you how they keep clients safe?
that the tattoo artist has credentials, a licence and references
that the tattoo parlour looks clean, safe and professional. You should use your judgment and keep away from a parlour that seems dodgy.
If the tattoo artist is a professional, then he or she will be happy to show you the ways in which their workplace adheres to standard safe practices. If they are uncooperative or give you a hard time because of your requests, simply leave – they do not deserve your trust or your business.