AUTHOR WRITES OF HER BULIMIA "HELL"

 NAMA : Ahmad Faathir

NPM : A1C018062

AUTHOR WRITES OF HER BULIMIA "HELL"

When it comes to potentially lethal eating disorders, adolescent girls are the highest risk category. Many simply don't survive. 

And while 28-year-old-Basque writer Espido Freire lived to tell the story - literally - of her seven-year-fight with the binge-and-purge eating disorder bulimia, the experience has left her scarred for life. 

In her new book Cuando comer es un infierno, released yesterday, Freire painfully retraces those seven long years because, as she says, "if a writer isn't able to lend a voice to those who aren't capable of expressing themselves, then part of their vocation has been lost." 

According to Freire, Cuando comer es un inferno "offers a realistic and personal view of bulimia - the seven years of suffering and the strength it took to get over them." Arriving at Barajas Airport earlier this week from Scotland, where she has spent the last two months as a visiting writer to various universities, Freire headed straight for her home in Madrid but couldn't avoid noticing the billboards filled with skinny models advertising next season's fashion on the road home 

They immediately reminded her of her book and the exhaustion she felt after writing about the darkest period of her life. 

Freire has a strong desire to tell her story - but still, she warns, she doesn't want to become a poster girl for bulimia. She doesn't just have that story to tell, she stresses. As a writer, she was the youngest-ever winner of the Planeta Award with her second novel Melocotones helados in 1998. 

Her first two books were works of fiction but now, in Cuando comer es un infierno, she has gone down the autobiographical road to recount, with some bitterness, her difficult adolescence - cataloguing her terrible daily battles with the weighing scales.

Answer the following questions.

Guessing vocabulary from context. Read each definition below and choose the word from the list that matches the definition

lethal, scarred, released, retraces, headed, skinny, bitterness

very thin : skinny

went, moved in a particular direction : headed

marked, wounded : scarred

anger, resentment : bitterness

made available to the public : released

Answer the following questions according to the text. Try to use your own words.

Why is bulimia defined as a deadly eating disorder? 

Answer:

Because people with bulimia eat big portion of meal but they don't want to have a fat body, so they excrete what they have consumed by "force" or improperly.

What did Freire think when she saw the billboards with skinny models?

Answer:

The billboards with skinny models reminded Freire of her book and the exhaustion she felt after writing about the darkest period of her life.

What literary prize did Freire received for one of her books? 

Answer:

She got prize as the youngest-ever winner of the Planeta Award with her second novel Melocotones helados in 1998.

How does Cuando comer es un inferno differ from Freire's previous two books?

Answer:

Freire's first two books were works of fiction, but in Cuando comer es un infierno she has gone down the autobiographical road to recount, with some bitterness, her difficult adolescence - cataloguing her terrible daily battles with the weighing scales.

Rewrite the following sentences maintaining the same meaning

While Espido Freire lived to tell the story of her bulimia, the experience has left her scarred for life. (however) 

Answer:

Freire lived to tell the story of her bulimia. However, the experience has left her scared for life.

According to Freire, Cuando comer es un infierno "offers a realistic and personal view of bulimia." (Freire says ....)

Answer:

Freire says: "Cuando comer es un infierno offers a realistic and a personal view of bulimia".

Freire has spent the last two months as a visiting writer to various universities. (for) 

Answer:

Freire has spent for two last months as a visiting writer to various universities.

In order to write Cuando comer es un infierno, Freire ____(1. have) to relive her own difficult past. She also ____(2. listen) to 20 case histories from other bulimics, some ____(3. tell) to her directly, others over the Internet, and some via telephone. In one of the book chapters, Freire ____(4. describe) her life after the eating disorder. "For almost the last eight years, I ____(5. live) an absolutely normal life," she says. 

Answer:

1) had

2) listened

3) told

4) described

5) lived

 5. Composition: Choose one of the following topics.

a.       Do you think too much importance is placed on physical appearance? Are there other factors more important? Please explain

 answer :

  Personal appearance is an essential aspect of nonverbal communication. Every individual is entitled to his/her opinion, but people place a lot of importance to physical appearance and facial expression while communicating. An individual can create many friends just by showing a smiling face. Showing a smiling face make individuals appear friendlier, sociable, and more liberal. Dressing modestly can enhance individual’s reputation. In addition, a smartly dressed person looks wealthier than a person dressed in an ordinary way.  A firm handshake and sitting straight on a chair depicts that a person is confident with whatever he/she is intending to do. Physical appearance can make people look friendlier and able to interrelate well with others. The way individuals dress can attract or keep away other people.