Money Spent on Plastic Surgery is Increasing
Is the world economy sprouting again? Is it the springtime after the economic winter, after the financial storm that started in Wall Street back at the end of 07’ and hit the rest of the world shortly after that? When we see that people are spending their disposable income on non-discretionary items, then this must be a sign that we are pulling out of recession.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons the number of cosmetic operations performed recently has increased by 5%. And I’ve noticed that there are more and more advertisements around the subway for aesthetic surgery clinics that are aimed at increasing beauty.
To my way of thinking all this money spent on cosmetic surgery tells me that beauty is linked to self-esteem because one of the first things that some people spend money on when they have more money is appearance.
|
sprouting |
A |
1 |
Economic disaster. Troubling times financially |
|
economic winter |
B |
2 |
Money we have left over from our salary to spend after we pay for living |
|
financial storm |
C |
3 |
Buying things that are not necessary |
|
hit the rest of the world |
D |
4 |
New growth, at the beginning of springtime |
|
disposable income |
E |
5 |
External appearance |
|
non-discretionary |
F |
6 |
Removing from something or some situation |
|
pulling out |
G |
7 |
In my own opinion |
|
Aesthetic |
H |
8 |
A connection between 2 things such as how we feel about ourselves and how we look |
|
To my way of thinking |
I |
9 |
A time of recession and a poor economy |
|
beauty is linked to self-esteem |
J |
10 |
An impact |
A=4, B=9, C=1, D=10, E=2, F=3, G=6, H=5, I=7, J=8
Some Questions to strengthen your understanding & vocabulary knowledge
1. Are things beginning to sprout again in your business or industry? Please give an example.
2. Can you give some examples of other economic winters in history?
3. Can you describe the financial storm that hit Korea in 97’
4. How much do you think the effect of political protests in countries like Libya will hit the rest of the world?
5. What do you like to spend your disposable income on?
6. How do you feel about spending non-discretionary income on cosmetic surgery? Answer using “To my way of thinking.”
7. With the political situation in Middle Eastern countries at the moment, do you think that some Korean companies could think about pulling their investment out?
8. Describe a building in Seoul, or some other city, that is aesthetically pleasing.
9. How much do you think economies like Korea and China are linked to the price of oil?
Some example sentences using the readings words & phrases
In the last 10 years coffee shops have sprouted up all over Seoul.
The longest economic winter in history is still the Great Depression of the 1930’s.
The financial storm that hit Wall Street last week meant that shares fell 7%. The effect of this hit the rest of the world the next day.
One product that people continued to spend their disposable income on in 2008 was smart-phones.
As more and more people in China have more money, then they are spending on non-discretionary items like cosmetics. Before, their spending was only on discretionary food items such as rice.
Even with the problems with North Korea, foreign investment has continued into South Korea and investors have not pulled out of the Korean market.
To my way of thinking, the new Genesis cars styling is aesthetically pleasing.
With globalization all countries are now linked to each other financially.
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