Man spends $35,000 to become a real-life elf

Why do you think this man wanted to look like a fantasy character?

How would you feel if you looked like this?

A fantasy fanatic has spent over $35,000 on plastic surgery including laser skin whitening to become a real-life elf.

Luis Padron, 25, from Buenos Ares, Argentina, became obsessed with the world of elves, angels and fantasy beings after being bullied as a child.

He became determined to look like his favorite characters. And so he looked for inspiration from fantasy movies.

To look more like an elf, Luis started coloring his hair and skin. Now he has a $5,000-a-month ritual applying special creams, dyes, treatment and SPF100 sunscreen.

He has also spent more than $35,000 on surgery including on his jaw, full body hair removal and operations to change his eye color.

Luis gets stared at because of his strange appearance. But he says he doesn't care what people think and that he won't stop until he has fully transformed into an elf.

He is expecting to get surgery to make his ears pointed, hair implants for a heart-shaped hairline and to get surgery to make himself very tall like an elf.

Luis fell in love with the fantasy movies during his early teenage years. At this time he was bullied at school. Other students mocked him because he dyed his hair and had different dress sense.

But by the end of high school, Luis claims his strange ways caused him to be admired. And this helped him more with his desire to be different.

Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary depending on how they are used.

 The answers are below the table.

A=1, B=8, C=5, D=2, E=7, F=3, G=6, H=4

Some example sentences using the new words or phrases from the meaning of how they are used in the reading to help you understand better.

Read Madrid soccer fans are fanatical about their team.

1.      She was obsessed with getting a perfect score, so she would study every night until 12am.

2.      The police are determined to find out who did the crime.

3.      He said that the movie Dead Poets Society was inspirational for him to achieve great things.

4.      He has a ritual coffee at the same time and the same café every morning.

5.      That hair cut has totally transformed how you look.

6.      The fans mocked their team because they played so badly.

7.      Italians have the best dress sense in Europe.

Some questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the words/phrases in your answer.

1.      How would you feel if you had a brother or sister who was obsessed like Luis?

2.      What do you think about his determination? Could he be an inspiration to other people How would you feel if you met a high school friend many years later who had transformed like Luis?

3.      Is there anything you could be fanatical about?

4.      who have felt like him during their teenage years?

5.      What rituals do you have that help to make your life better? What is your morning ritual?

6.      What should we do to help students who get mocked at school?

7.      What do you think of the dress sense of other countries in Asia?