凤凰高职英语综合教程1课件Unit 9.pptVIP

2 On returning to Sydney, in early 2004, Mann had a miserable year in which his parents divorced and he found himself lonely and out of work. It was a depressing time. “I was alone. My family was elsewhere; my friends had all moved on. It was just me,” said the famous hugger, who goes by the name of Juan Mann (“one man”), but who keeps his true identity secret. 3 “I sat around for months doing nothing. I didn’t have a lot of contact with people. I was just on my own. Then I thought I would try to step out of that and do something different.” 4 And something different is exactly what he did! Mann went to one of Sydney’s main shopping districts holding a cardboard sign saying “FREE HUGS” – and waited. 5 For 15 minutes, people just stared right through him. Then, a woman approached and told him that her dog had died that morning and that it was also the first anniversary of the death of her daughter, and that she really needed a hug. Mann was happy to help! 6 His “Free Hugs” campaign continued quietly for a couple of years until a friend made a film of him and posted it on YouTube. Since then, it has been seen by over 14 million people and fans have started copying him. 7 Mann finds this funny because at school he was told that he did not have the social skills to do humanitarian work. Yet he now seems to be a therapist for a whole city’s problems. 8 “Every week a number of people will tell me their stories, how they have suffered, the mistakes they’ve made and the lessons they’ve learned,” he said. “I’m very fortunate in what I do because I learn from everyone else’s mistakes as well as my own.” 9 Mann claims many people need someone to listen to their problems – but are too embarrassed to call a help line or get professional help. 10 Mann is currently writing a book about his experiences and intends to carry on hugging people “until nobody wants me.” Until then, his message remains clear