每日听力｜BBC六分钟 - 6 Minute English- Do opposites attract?

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Why are we attracted to some peopleand not to others? What role does beauty, personality, and how people smellplay in our feelings? Sophie and Neil discuss love at first sight and thesignificance of the waist-hip ratio. 

This week's question

What percentage of Americans said they believe in love at firstsight? Is it…

a) 26%?

b) 56%?

c) 86%?

You'll hear the answer at the end of the programme.

Transcript

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript. 

Sophie
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Sophie… 

Neil
And I'm Neil. So, Sophie, the subject of today's show isattraction – do you believe in love at first sight? 

Sophie
No, I don't. I think it takes time to get to know somebodywell enough to know if you love them. But I have a friend who says when she sawher husband for the first time… 

Neil
That was before they got married? 

Sophie
That's right – when they met for the first time, that wasit: a bolt out of the blue. And they got married three months later. 

Neil
A bolt out of the blue means something totallyunexpected. Well, that sounds very romantic. And leads me on to today's quizquestion. Sophie, what percentage of Americans said they believe in love atfirst sight? Is it...
a) 26%?
b) 56%?
Or c) 86%? 

Sophie
I'm not an old romantic like you Neil, so I'm going to gofor a) 26%. 

Neil
Well, we'll find out later on in the show if you're rightto be sceptical or not, Sophie. And sceptical for those of you who don't know, means tohave doubts about something. 

Sophie
I think you can be physically attracted to somebodystraight away. I just don't think you can fall in love with somebody so easily.Love is about other things: compatibility, personality and a good sense ofhumour. 

Neil
Yes, humour is important, but apparently, Sophie, for menit's all about the waist-hip ratio. According to research, the ideal waist-hipratio for women is 0.7 – where ratio means the relationship between two sizes –and you get this figure by dividing the waist measurement by the hipmeasurement. 

Sophie
I see. And why do men find 0.7 so irresistible? 

Neil
Well, let's listen to Dr Anna Machin, an EvolutionaryAnthropologist from the University of Oxford, explaining what a man is lookingfor. 

INSERT
Dr Anna Machin,Evolutionary Anthropologist, University of Oxford
He's going to look for signs for fertility and what wecall fecundity and good health. And the major indicator of that in women is thewaist-hip ratio. And the waist-hip ratio – the absolute ideal – what men findmost attractive regardless of culture – this has been tested in many differentcultures round the world – is 0.7 and that's really your classic hourglassfigure. And the reason why that universally is attractive is because it's tiedto the health of that individual. There's a very strong relationship betweensomeone circulating oestrogen and testosterone – obviously you want theoestrogen to be high and the testosterone to be low for a woman to be fertile,and also her general health, so .7 is linked to lower risk of heart disease,lower risk of diabetes and certain sorts of cancers. 

Neil
So a waist-hip ratio of 0.7 correlates – or has a strong relationship – withgood general health and fertility in women. 

Sophie
And men find this attractive because it identifies fertile women– women who will be able to conceive – or get pregnant – and have babiessuccessfully. 

Neil
Dr Machin also mentions that 0.7 is the classic hourglass figure –which means curvy! 

Sophie
Do you like curves, Neil? 

Neil
Mind your own business, Sophie. But all this waist-hiptheory of attraction isn't very romantic, is it? 

Sophie
You're right, it isn't. And whilst we do judge people bythe way they look – we also use our sense of smell to sniff out our ideal mate –or sexual partner. Apparently, we can detect whether people are geneticallydifferent to us by the way they smell. And parents who have different immunesystems create healthier babies.  

Neil
So it's back to having babies again – all biology andchemistry – and not about feelings at all.

Sophie
Well, let's leave chemistry behind for a moment and listento Professor David Perrett, at the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at StAndrews University in Scotland. He talks about other factors that play a rolein attraction.

INSERT
David Perrett,Professor at the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at St Andrews Universityin Scotland 
Plastic surgery really doesn't count for much in the end.You could be with somebody who's aesthetically very beautiful but if they don'tsmile or react then that counts for much less. So we can change our faces byinteracting with others and doing so in a pleasant manner, and that will aidour attractiveness and make others interested in us. 

Neil
What does aesthetically mean, Sophie? 

Sophie
It means judging something by the way it looks. And whilstwe all enjoy a pretty face, most of us are looking for more than that. We arelooking for people who appear friendly and approachable, and who we shareinterests with. 

Neil
Exactly – and personally, I think kind eyes are veryimportant – with a bit of a twinkle. What about you, Sophie? 

Sophie
I like a good sense of humour. 

Neil
Very good. Now, remember I asked you, Sophie: Whatpercentage of Americans said they believe in love at first sight? Is it… a)26%, b) 56% or c) 86%? 

Sophie
I said 26%. 

Neil
Sorry, that's the wrong answer, Sophie. 56% of Americansbelieve in love at first sight, and the percentage is even higher for marriedpeople and those in relationships, according to a poll conducted by the websiteCBS.com in 2013.

Sophie
Well, Americans are a romantic bunch.

Neil
Me too, and I'm British. Now, here are the words we heardtoday.
bolt out of the blue
sceptical
ratio
correlates
fertile
conceive
hourglass figure
mate
aesthetically

Sophie
Well, that's the end of this edition of 6 Minute English.Join us again soon! Meanwhile, visit our website: bbclearningenglish.com, where you'llfind guides to grammar, exercises, videos and articles to read and improve yourEnglish.

Neil
And we are on social media too. Make sure to visit ourprofiles on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. 

Both
Bye!

Vocabulary

bolt out of the blue
something totally unexpected

sceptical
have doubts about something

ratio
the relationship between two sizes

correlates
has a strong relationship

fertile
able to produce babies

conceive
get pregnant 

hourglass figure
curvy, with a well-defined waistline

mate
sexual partner

aesthetically
judging something by the way it looks

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