英語口語對話（中低級） Lesson 3: Compulsive Shopping
Summary:
Vanessa is interviewing Dr Koram about the surprising results of a report about male shoppers.
In this broadcast, Vanessa is the middle of a live show interviewing Dr Laura Koram about her research. Listen to their conversation and answer the question that follows about the main idea.
Dialogue:
Vanessa: Good afternoon. Do you find yourself buying things you don’t need? Well, I’m joined in the studio by Dr Laura Koram, a researcher with the Carolina institute of psychology, and publisher of a new report about compulsive shopping. Dr Koram, thank you for being here.
Dr Koram: My pleasure.
Vanessa: So Dr Koram, what’s the deal?
Dr Koram: Well, 1 in 20 American adults buy things they may not even want or never need or use…. Learning English Podcasts: Lesson 2 1
Vanessa: No real surprise there. Though honestly, I’m surprised the number’s so low.
Dr Koram: umm…quite…, but what may raise an eyebrow or two is our finding that men are just as likely as women to suffer from “compulsive buying”.
Vanessa: You’re kidding? Now that is a surprise. That means the days of dragging my bored husband around a shopping mall are over.
Dr Koram: um, yes, indeed. Our research has revealed that men are now just as avid and compulsive shoppers as...Um…women.
Vanessa: I gotta level with you doc, I always thought of compulsive buying as very much a "woman's disease”.
Dr Koram: Well yes, but our research shows that the number of men who indulge in unnecessary ‘shopping therapy’ has dramatically increased in the last ten years.
Vanessa: So what’s changed? Where did all these male shopaholics come from?
Dr. Koram: I think that in the past male obsessive shoppers were more reluctant than women to recognize that they have a problem and then come forward and admit it. Generally, in psychiatry, men seek care less often than women…It's not 'manly' to seek help.
Learning English Podcasts: Lesson 2
Vanessa: So what do you do? I mean, if you suspect your boyfriend of being a non stop shopper?
Dr Koram: It's always important to encourage people who have these types of disorders to seek treatment. Many find themselves in debt and filled with shame and can even experience suicidal tendencies as they attempt to hide their addiction.
Vanessa: Well, doc, thanks for letting us girls know about the dark side of male shopping.
Dr Koram: You’re welcome.
