Have we lost our ability to communicate?

[toefl]

Toronto story

A man and a women are sitting at the bar at the same table. They are opposite one to another. They know each other. They may even be a couple. They do not however talk to each other. They can hardly see each other. Their faces are hidden behind the monitors of the laptop computers. What are they doing on these computers? Are they sending electronic messages? Are they perhaps studying together? At the first glance, to some this scene may seem funny and awkward. No, this is a sad scene which clearly illustrate the social alienation.

[Jamie (K)]

A couple weeks ago I saw what I thought was a group of girls standing in a circle having a conversation. As we got closer, the student I was walking with started to laugh, because although the girls were standing in that circle facing each other, they were all talking on cell phones to other people who weren't there.

[Cristina]

In Peru,thanks God,I think that alienations take time to first appear here,people enjoy the company of their friends and family and cell phones are used only in emergency cases,at least is what happens around my friends circle,
Cris.
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Brains like hearts go where they are appreciated.

[Jamie (K)]

[Cristina]

It's curious to hear that,because it's well known that the United States has a lot of obese people because they abuse eating "junky food" and that has a Mac Donald per two blocks,also the universities there doesn't have natural food prepared in that moment ,they use freeze food,indeed,Americans drinks liters of soda,All the things I mentioned before were in a docummental we watched in the cinema one year ago,which is called"engordame"in Spanish.
Peruvians are far away from that.
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Brains like hearts go where they are appreciated.

[Jamie (K)]

The documentary you saw sounds like an exaggeration. For example, there are lots of McDonalds and other fast food restaurants here, but certainly not one every two blocks, as you claim. I've looked at the restaurant locator, and their restaurants seem to be at least 5 to 8 kilometers away from each other.

Plus, any documentary about fat people is going to show fat people out of proportion with the general population.

What kind of food is served at a university depends on which university it is and who handles their food service. However, I have never seen frozen vegetables that are more fattening than fresh vegetables, so freezing food doesn't make people fat.

McDonald's isn't really causing the problem with obesity, because their average customer eats there only once a month. That's not enough to get fat on.

I blame the problem on this:

1. As you say, many Americans drink lots of pop. You say "Americans" drink liters of it, but that's like saying that "Peruvians" live in the mountains, herd goats and play flutes all day. The companies that make pop have gradually increased the size of the serving, while making the bottles look almost the same size. When I was a kid the bottles were 12 ounces, and now they're 20 ounces.

2. More kids live in newer suburbs where there's no town. There are only residential streets that let out onto fast, dangerous roads. Everything is built for cars, and everything is far away. Kids can't go anywhere unless their moms drive them. They can't walk or ride bikes to school, to their sports or to anything, so there's nothing for them to do outside. They stay inside and get fat. On the other hand, I live in a suburb that is like a town, and it's rare to see a fat kid where I live.

3. More mothers are working (often because of feminism, not finances), so no one is home to supervise and what food the kids eat and how much. Nor is anyone home to force the kids to go outside. The kid comes home and pigs out on anything he wants, and no one can tell him to stop.

Anyway, this Peruvian doctor did not say that the obesity problem in your country is "just like in the United States". He simply claimed that in medical practice they are seeing the beginnings of an obesity problem due to the same overeating and sedentary lifestyle that some kids have in the US.

[Cristina]

The docummental is called "Super engordame"in Spanish,We saw it in the cinema,and we don't know if its an exaggeration or not,we don't live in the United States,I'm just telling you the exactly things that everyone saw in that movie,it would be a good idea if you could watch it and then comment it,then you could tell me if I'm exaggerating or not .....
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Brains like hearts go where they are appreciated.

[Jamie (K)]

The original English name of the movie is Super Size Me. I'll look for it at the video rental store and see what it's like.

For now I have read the summary of the movie on Amazon.com and some reviews by people who have seen it. Evidently, it's an exaggeration, because the man in the movie ate three meals a day at McDonald's for a month, super sized the meal whenever he was asked, and he ate everything on the menu at least once. Obviously no normal American eats like this, and most ABnormal Americans don't either.

I understand that the guy got fat and unhealthy eating this way, which anyone would expect. However, it's interesting to note that the advertising for Subway restaurants features a guy who used to be super fat, and he shrank down to a normal size eating nothing but Subway meals for a year.

This movie Super Size Me sounds something like the movies Michael Moore puts out. He's a comedian who knows how to use cinematic tricks to make Americans look stupid. Americans know his past, and we can basically see through the games he's playing. When the films go overseas, however, the foreigners watching them have no context, and they think he's a documentary journalist telling the truth. Because of this, people all over the world think that in my state you can open an account at a bank and walk out with a free shotgun as the bank's gift to you. In fact, this is impossible, and even if you buy a gun, you have to get fingerprinted have a criminal background check, wait 30 to 45 days before you can pick it up. Nonetheless, because of Michael Moore people all over the world think that in my state businesses give guns out like confetti.