节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-08-18
难易度:Medium
关键字:procedure, scratch, insurance, in the long run, double vision, contact
solution
Hello, everybody.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
My name is Steve.
For many years, if you wanted better vision and you had the money, wearing
glasses was the only option.
Contact lenses came on the scene in the late 1800s,
but it would take almost 100 years before they became affordable and comfortable
enough to wear on a daily basis.
Today, reasonable prices are making laser surgery popular too.
But as we'll discover in today's conversation, this procedure isn't without its
risks.
OK. Let's open our Studio Classroom magazines to page 38 and pick up Karen and
Sue's conversation about the best way to improve vision.
(Music).
Glasses, Contacts or Surgery?
What risks could there be with such a simple procedure?
Eye infections or even new problems like double vision.
But those problems must be pretty rare.
So many of my friends have recommended laser surgery that I think it's worth the
risk.
Plus, contact lenses have risks too.
True.
You have to be careful to keep them clean and change them often to avoid getting
an infection.
It's also possible for contacts to scratch your eyes.
And they're not always that comfortable.
(Music).
Hello, friends.
Thank you so much for joining us here in the studio.
My name is Kaylah.
And my name is Ryan.
Friends, do you wear glasses, contacts or have you had surgery?
Well, we're trying to decide which one is best.
That's right.
How should you improve your vision?
What is the best way to improve your vision?
Now most of us do wear contacts or glasses at some point in time, but then there
are very lucky people like Ryan who never have to.
Luckily. Maybe one day I will, though.
So it's important for me to know.
Now we're talking about Sue and her friend Karen who met at an eye doctor's
office.
And we learn that Karen is just coming to try and get a stronger prescription
for her glasses.
But Sue thinks she might want to get laser surgery.
That's right.
Sue thinks that the risks of this procedure could be OK.
It's permanent.
She thinks that's worth it, but Karen doesn't agree.
Right. Now Karen says there are risks involved with laser surgery.
There could be problems with it.
And that's what "risk" means.
That's right.
So Sue says: What risk could there be with such a simple procedure?
Well, they just use a laser on your eye, and it changes the lens on your eye.
It seems like a procedure that would be so simple.
Now a "procedure" - you can see in there kind of a little piece of the word a
"process" - so a procedure is the actual set of actions that is done,
and it is the official way and the most accepted way of doing something.
So when you are having surgery,
you definitely want them to follow the procedure because you don't want to be
going off of what is most accepted and most commonly done.
Yeah. And Kaylah, sometimes we do use that word "procedure" when we're talking
about medicine in order to mean a surgery or the way that something is treated.
And she says it's a simple procedure; "simple" meaning it doesn't have a lot to
it.
We think: Oh. Well, it's just a laser in our eye. It should be very simple.
But maybe it's not as simple.
It could be more complicated than we think.
Well, that's what Karen thinks.
She says eye infections or even new problems like double vision could be a
problem.
That's right.
Now eye infections - an infection is when your eye has some sort of problem with
it that usually has gooey and it makes your eye hard to see through.
And it hurts your eyes turn red and the... water or or stuff... gross stuff
comes out of your eyes.
Yeah, definitely not fun.
If you've had that happen before, you know that's not enjoyable.
And you don't want that to happen.
And that could be a risk of laser surgery.
Now you might also get "double vision," which means you are seeing two of
everything at the same time.
That's right.
Now if I was looking at Ryan and had double vision, I would see two Ryans.
Excellent!
Most often when there is double vision, that means that the two images kind of
cross over.
That makes you very dizzy and can give you headaches.
It's hard to see.
You can't really see anything because you're seeing two of everything.
So that's a problem.
And if you think about it, how do you know which is the real one.
I can see two Ryans But not know which one is really him, I can't tell where
things are.
That doesn't matter.
There are still two Ryans, it's OK.
All right, just kidding.
Now Sue says, well, those problems they must be pretty rare, right?
Rare. When we say something is rare, that means they do not happen all that
often.
So she says they must be pretty rare, so I don't think I should have to worry
about them.
Exactly.
She says: so many of my friends have recommended laser surgery that I think it's
worth the risk.
Her friends have recommended it.
That probably means her friends have had the surgery and think it is a good idea
and tell her: Absolutely try it.
Now I have a lot of friends that have told me, they have recommended the surgery
to me as well.
Hmm, OK.
Now that might be worth it for you.
If something is worth it, that means that it's OK.
The benefits are more, worth more than what you have to give or what you have to
pay.
That's right.
So even though there could be some problems, maybe I think having this permanent
fix is worth going through these possible risks.
OK. And here Sue continues to say: Plus, contact lenses have risks too.
That's right.
There are some risks involved with contact lenses.
Now what could these risks possibly be?
Well, Karen says: True. Yes, there are risks.
You have to be careful to keep contact lenses clean and change them often to
avoid getting an eye infection.
That's right.
You do need to be changing your contacts.
Some contacts are made to be changed every day, some every week, and some every
month.
So make sure you know what your contacts are good for the length of time, and
take them out at night when you sleep.
This would help avoid getting an infection.
To "avoid" means to not have or to keep away from.
OK. So these are things you have to do, friends, in order to make sure that your
contacts do not give you an infection.
Now there are other things as well that Sue has to say. Right, Kaylah?
That's right.
You can have an infection, which is that gooey, nastiness in your eye that we've
talked about.
You can get it from surgery, but you can also get it from having contact
problems.
It's also possible for contacts to scratch your eyes.
OK. Now if something "scratches" something, that means it cuts the surface of
it, maybe on your skin or even on your eyes.
And they're not always that comfortable.
Now I have a story that I can tell you from my life about uncomfortable
contacts.
But you have to wait till after these interviews.
I started wearing glasses since I was very young, probably from the age of
seven.
And it was not the most pleasant thing wearing glasses in school.
Then I started wearing contact lenses, and it wasn't easy either.
I remember it being very painful, especially I had to put them in early in the
morning.
A few years ago, I had the LASIK surgery.
And it was the best thing so far.
Contact lenses became popular when I was in high school.
The idea first was really scary to me because I just couldn't stand having
anything get into my eye.
So I resisted the idea for many years.
Until I started working full-time and I told myself: I should try to overcome
the fear.
So I did.
And I tried contact lenses for a few days.
And then I realized they weren't so bad at all that they could work for me.
So for the next ten years, I wore them every day.
But toward the end of that time, my eyes just got increasingly dry,
so dry that a new pair of contact lenses couldn't last longer than five or six
hours before my eyes got so uncomfortable.
So I tried different brands and different kinds, but nothing seemed to work.
And I eventually gave up contact lenses completely.
Now I'm wearing glasses every day.
These glasses I wear are very light in weight and also offer very good UV
protection.
I like themvery much.