BBC Learnings · Section 8

The power of crying

Do you cry easily, Sam? I mean, when was the last time you cried?

Level: B2 · 94 sentences

Transcript

  1. Do you cry easily, Sam?
  2. I mean, when was the last time you cried?
  3. Let me think.
  4. Last week, watching a movie probably.
  5. I was watching a really dramatic film and in one scene the heroine gets separated from her children.
  6. I just burst out crying.
  7. How about you, Neil?
  8. When was the last time you cried?
  9. Oh, men don't cry, Sam.
  10. Oh, come on, Neil.
  11. That's a bit stereotypical, isn't it?
  12. The idea that men don't show their emotions and women cry all the time?
  13. Well, that's an interesting point, Sam,
  14. because in today's programme we're discussing crying.
  15. We'll be investigating the reasons why we cry and looking at some
  16. of the differences between men and women and between crying in public and in private.
  17. And of course, we'll be learning some related vocabulary along the way.
  18. I guess it's kind of true that women do cry more than men.
  19. People often think crying is only about painful feelings,
  20. but we also cry to show joy and when we're moved by something beautiful,
  21. like music or a painting.
  22. So maybe women are just more in touch with their feelings and that's why they cry more.
  23. Well, actually, Sam, that brings me to our quiz question.
  24. According to a study from 2017 conducted in the UK, on average...
  25. How many times a year do women cry?
  26. Is it a 52, b 72, or c 102?
  27. That's a tricky question, Neil.
  28. I mean, there's so many different reasons why people cry,
  29. and what makes me cry might make someone else laugh.
  30. I think some of my female friends probably cry around once a week,
  31. so I'll guess the answer is a 52.
  32. OK, Sam, we'll find out later if you were right.
  33. Now, while it may be true that men cry less often,
  34. it also seems that they feel less embarrassed about crying in public.
  35. This may be because of differences in how men and women think others will view their public displays of emotion.
  36. Here's BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour speaking to therapist Joanna Cross about the issue of crying at work.
  37. Let's take the workplace.
  38. If you've got somebody who seems to cry regularly,
  39. I think that's not helpful for the individual because then if they
  40. cry over something that really is important to them,
  41. they might not be taken so seriously or they get a label.
  42. But I do think crying is often a build-up of frustration
  43. and undealt-with situations and it's a bit of a final straw moment.
  44. So, people who regularly cry at work risk not being taken seriously.
  45. not being treated as deserving attention or respect.
  46. And they might even get a label,
  47. become thought of as having a particular character,
  48. whether that's true or not.
  49. Here's Joanna Cross again.
  50. You build up your resentments, your lack of boundaries,
  51. not being able to say no.
  52. And then somebody says, can you go make a cup of tea?
  53. And you suddenly find yourself weeping.
  54. And everybody says, what's wrong with her?
  55. You know, but actually that's often a backlog of situations.
  56. So, a common reason for crying at work seems to be a build-up of resentments feelings of anger
  57. when you think you've been treated unfairly or have been forced to accept something you don't like.
  58. When left undealt with, these feelings can create a backlog an accumulation
  59. of issues that you should have dealt with before, but didn't.
  60. Right.
  61. And then, like Joanna says,
  62. someone asks you to do something very simple and easy like make a cup of tea and you start weeping.
  63. Another word for crying.
  64. That's a good example of a final straw moment,
  65. a term which comes from the expression,
  66. the straw that broke the camel's back.
  67. The final straw means a further problem which itself might be insignificant,
  68. but which finally makes you want to give up.
  69. I hope this programme won't be the final straw for us, Sam.
  70. I doubt it, Neil.
  71. The only time I cry at work is when you used to bring in your onion sandwiches for lunch.
  72. In fact, I can feel a tear rolling down my cheek right now.
  73. So, that counts as one of your cries, Sam.
  74. Remember, I asked you on average how many times a year women in the UK cry and you said...
  75. I said a 52.
  76. Well, don't cry when I tell you that you were wrong.
  77. The actual answer was 72 times a year.
  78. Which on average is more than men,
  79. but less than parents of newborn babies, both mothers and fathers.
  80. They cry almost as much as their babies.
  81. Today we've been talking about crying, or weeping as it's sometimes called.
  82. People who often cry at work risk not being taken seriously not treated as deserving of attention or respect.
  83. This means they might get a label becoming known as someone with a particular kind of personality,
  84. even though that may not be true.
  85. But crying is also a healthy way of expressing emotions.
  86. It can help deal with resentments feelings of anger that you have been treated unfairly.
  87. If we don't deal with these feelings in some way,
  88. they can grow into a backlog an accumulation of unresolved issues that you now need to deal with.
  89. And if you don't deal with them,
  90. you might become a ticking bomb waiting to explode.
  91. Then anything someone says to you can become the final straw.
  92. the last small problem which makes you want to give up and maybe start crying.
  93. What's the matter, Neil?
  94. Was it something I said?