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  • Rob: Hello. This is 6 Minute English,

  • and I'm Rob.

  • Sam: I'm Sam. Hello!

  • Rob: Now, Sam, we're going to be talking

  • about tattoos. Are you a fan?

  • Sam: Of tattoos? Well, I don't have one,

  • but they can be quite impressive

  • works of art.

  • Rob: Well, I'm not that keen on tattoos

  • – I mean, who wants things

  • drawn on their body?!

  • Sam: It sounds like you need

  • some convincing, Rob!

  • Maybe our discussion today

  • will change your mind.

  • Rob: Maybe. But as you're a fan of them,

  • here's a question for you

  • to answer. According

  • to the Guinness World Records, the record

  • for the most tattooed person in the world

  • goes to Lucky Diamond Rich from

  • New Zealand. Do you know how much

  • of his body is covered

  • by tattoos? Is it… a) 80%, b) 90%,

  • or c)100%?

  • What do you think, Sam?

  • Sam: Well, it's got to be 100% if he is

  • the most tattooed man, surely?

  • Rob: Not necessarily, but, we'll see if

  • you're right at the end of the programme.

  • Now let's talk more about tattoos. I know

  • many people have them. Sometimes it's a

  • picture of an animal, like a small gecko,

  • sometimes it's words like 'I love you'

  • or the name of a loved one. And then

  • there are the huge designs spread

  • across someone's back, chest or

  • arm - like footballer David Beckham has.

  • Sam: Well, he's no stranger to a tattoo

  • parlour. A parlour is the name of the shop

  • where a tattoo artist draws

  • a tattoo on you with ink and a needle.

  • Rob: Needles! Ouch!

  • Sam: OK, you need some convincing, so

  • let's hear from Lucie Parfitt, YouTuber

  • and tattoo fan. Here she is

  • speaking on the BBC's Smart

  • Consumer podcast

  • Lucie Parfitt: I'm quite a creative person

  • and ever since I first discovered tattoos,

  • I thought it was a really

  • cool way of expressing yourself.

  • I'm quite a visual person as well,

  • so for me it really, like, just looked really

  • cool and it made me think more

  • about my own, like, personality and

  • how I could express

  • that in creative ways.

  • Rob: Right, so, Lucie describes herself as

  • a creative person. When you're creative

  • you imaginative and like

  • to experiment with new ideas.

  • Sam: Yes, Rob. And tattoos are a good

  • way to be creativetrying out different

  • designs and colours - it's

  • a good way to express yourself.

  • Here, to express yourself means

  • 'to show how you feel in a particular way'.

  • Rob:OK, so some people express

  • themselves through singing

  • or wearing particular clothing,

  • but here she's expressing herself through

  • the images on her skin. But what happens

  • if you want change

  • what you want to express?

  • Sam: Well, then it's time for a new tattoo!

  • Rob: OK, well I know that the

  • tattoo industry is big business

  • nowwhich means it's

  • 'popular and making lots of money'.

  • I've heard that one in five people

  • now have a tattoo.

  • Sam: Not you yet, Rob! But it has certainly

  • become a trend in recent years and it's

  • something tattoo artist Lee Clements

  • has noticed. Also speaking on the

  • BBC's Smart Consumer podcast,

  • he explains why he thinks that is….

  • Lee Clements: The thing for me

  • that has obviously changed massively

  • over the last, possibly, ten years is you

  • see a lot of celebrities

  • getting tattooed.

  • With that comes the fact that you're going

  • to get people who want

  • to copy them or it becomes almost

  • like a fashion thing, so we do

  • see certain tattoos, sort of, becoming

  • a trend andyeah, so I guess it kind

  • of dilutes that value a little bit, yeah.

  • Rob: Ah so it's celebritiesfamous,

  • well-known people from TV, film

  • and fashionthat have possibly

  • driven the trend. People want to copy

  • themor it's what he says is 'a fashion

  • thing', so you have a tattoo

  • because it's fashionable, which means it's

  • 'popular at a particular time'.

  • Sam: And one of the down sidesthe

  • negative thingsabout just having

  • one to be fashionable

  • is it dilutes the individuality of having

  • one. Dilute means to 'make something

  • less strong or less valuable'.

  • Rob: Well, I'm not going to

  • get one anytime soon - except

  • maybe a big six on my arm to remind me

  • that we only have 6 minutes for

  • this programme so I'd better reveal the

  • answer to the question I asked you earlier.

  • According to Guinness World Records,

  • the record for the most tattooed person

  • in the world goes to

  • Lucky Diamond Rich from New Zealand.

  • Did you know how much of his body is

  • covered by tattoos?

  • Sam: And I said 100%.

  • Rob: Well done, Sam. That is correct.

  • He has held the certified record

  • since 2006 of being

  • 100% tattooed. This includes

  • tattoos inside his eyelids,

  • mouth and ears.

  • Sam: Wow! I wonder who gets

  • to see those!

  • Rob: OK well, now it's time to recap the

  • vocabulary we've discussed

  • today starting with a parlour.

  • Sam: That's the name for a shop or room

  • where certain businesses carry out

  • their tradesuch as a tattoo parlour,

  • a massage parlour

  • or an ice cream parlour.

  • Rob: A creative person is someone

  • who uses imagination and

  • experiments with new ideas.

  • Sam: And when you express yourself,

  • it means you 'show outwardly

  • how you feel and what you're thinking'.

  • Rob: If something is big business it is

  • an activity that is currently popular

  • and making lots of money.

  • Sam: And something that is fashionable

  • is popular. And when something becomes

  • popular it can dilute its value

  • or uniquenessso

  • it becomes less strong or less valuable.

  • Rob: OK, thank you, Sam. That's all for

  • now but there's plenty more on our

  • website at bbclearningenglish.com.

  • If you can't remember the address,

  • why not tattoo it on your arm?!

  • You can also find us on social

  • media and on our app. Goodbye for now!

  • Sam: Bye!

Rob: Hello. This is 6 Minute English,

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