Saris

BBC Learning EnglishPeople and PlacesSarisAmber: Hello! Today, we turn our attention to fashion andfind out what women inIndia think about the modernisation of their traditionaldress - the sari.
　　Now the sari is one of the more complicated garments forwomen to wear - you can’t just slip into it, you have toknow exactly how, and where, to wind and to tuck it. It’smade out of a long piece of fabric² that winds into a lovelygarment. Traditional styles cover a lot of the body, exceptthe middle (or ‘midriff’), and have one end of the longpiece of fabric resting over one shoulder. Some modernstyles are more revealing and some are even more sombre orserious than the traditional styles!
　　We hear women explain what they love about the sari in bothits traditional and modern styles, and we focus on thedescriptive language they use.
　　First try to catch what this lady thinks are the positivequalities of a traditional sari. She lists five adjectivesand they cover two extremes – from ‘convenient’ and‘practical’ to?
　　Voice 1It is one of the most convenient clothes for the summer. Itis a wonderful garment that is sexual, seductive andactually quite practical.
　　Amber¹: Did you catch the two extremes? On one hand, thetraditional sari is‘convenient’ and ‘practical’ – it’s useful andsensible, it’s suitable for everyday wear. On the otherhand, it’s ‘sexual’ and ‘seductive’ – it’s sexy!
　　Listen again.
　　Voice 1It is one of the most convenient clothes for the summer. Itis a wonderful garment that is sexual, seductive andactually quite practical.
　　Amber: Next, we hear how the traditional sari is beingworn by women today in ‘a corporate³ set up’ – in abusiness environment. This woman has seen the sari worn by‘a CEO of a company’ (a chief executive officer of acompany) in style that is ‘not at all sensual’ or sexy,but is suitable for her high status andpowerful position at work. We hear that, in this way, thesari has ‘become some sort of a feminist⁴ statement inIndia’ – it conveys a belief that women are equal to men,and can do the jobs they do. Try to catch what this sarilooks like – we hear it’s ‘reduced’ (it’s beensimplified and shortened) and the speakercompares it with a particular kind of ‘outfit⁵’(or set ofclothes).
　　Voice 2I think it’s incredible how traditional attire⁶ has becomesome sort of a feminist statement in India. I’ve seen itbeing used with really incredible strength in a corporateset up. For example, the CEO of a company - she wears thesari and it is not at all sensual; it’s reduced to almosta military outfit and it has incredible power.
　　Amber: So, for high-powered executives, the traditional ‘attire’ (that’s a formal word for clothes) has beenchanged into a kind of ‘military’ outfit! Listen again.
　　Voice 2I think it’s incredible how traditional attire has becomesome sort of a feminist statement in India. I’ve seen itbeing used with really incredible strength in a corporateset up. For example, the CEO of a company - she wears thesari and it is not at all sensual; it’s reduced to almosta military outfit and it has incredible power.
　　Amber: To end this programme on the qualities of theIndian sari, we interrupt a lady shopping in Delhi to askher what she thinks about the modern, more revealing stylesof saris. She said that young women today enjoy showing offtheirbodies with low cut saris with ‘plunging⁷ necklines’, butshe thinks the traditional style that reveals some midriffis the most ‘alluring⁸’ or sexy. Try to catch the wordsshe uses to mean ‘a little bit’, when she talks about thesmall amounts of women’s bodies that the traditional sarireveals.
　　Voice 3On the other hand, the plunging necklines and all – in theIndian sense of sexuality, a sort of mysteriousness is veryimportant for sexuality, and one of the things that used tobe the most alluring about women in a sari was this glimpseof a midriff and this hint of a navel, and that is whatactually drove desire.
　　Amber: So it’s the ‘glimpse’ and ‘hint’ of a woman’smiddle that is alluring – a glimpse is a quick look, or anincomplete look, and a hint is just a suggestion!
　　Voice 3On the other hand, the plunging necklines and all – in theIndian sense of sexuality, a sort of mysteriousness is veryimportant for sexuality, and one of the things that used tobe the most alluring about women in a sari was this glimpseof a midriff and this hint of a navel, and that is whatactually drove desire.
　　STING

1 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

2 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

3 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

4 feminist   

adj.主张男女平等的，女权主义的

参考例句：

• She followed the feminist movement.她支持女权运动。
• From then on,feminist studies on literature boomed.从那时起，男女平等受教育的现象开始迅速兴起。

5 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

6 attire   

v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装

参考例句：

• He had no intention of changing his mode of attire.他无意改变着装方式。
• Her attention was attracted by his peculiar attire.他那奇特的服装引起了她的注意。

7 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 alluring   

adj.吸引人的，迷人的

参考例句：

• The life in a big city is alluring for the young people. 大都市的生活对年轻人颇具诱惑力。
• Lisette's large red mouth broke into a most alluring smile. 莉莎特的鲜红的大嘴露出了一副极为诱人的微笑。