2 . Google is my doctor

When illustrator Scott Adams lost his voice, his doctors were confused.     1     It turned out that Scott was suffering from spasmodic dysphonia-a neurological disorder affecting the muscles to voice. With the help of Google Alerts and advice from his doctors, Scott got in touch with an expert in the US and had special surgery on his throat to cure his problem. He is now a firm believer of using the Internet for self-diagnosis.

Adams is one of an increasing number of people who have started using the Internet to get health advice. The advantages are numerous, starting of course with the obvious convenience of getting a diagnosis from the comfort of your own home.     2     But the Internet can provide a vast number of specialized experts, and Googling can help you tap in to that.

Diagnosing minor medical problems from information on the Internet can also have an impact on society’s medical costs. You can compare insect bites with Internet pictures, ask what type they are and whether they are dangerous without wasting your busy doctor’s precious time.

However, it must be said that diagnosis is tricky, and comparing your rash(疹子) with an online photo may lead you down the wrong path.     3     Doctors also take into account your medical history, state of mind, etc. So no computerized symptoms checklist can equal a complete professional assessment.

In conclusion, the Internet is a good starting point in diagnosing your health problems, but you should always consult your doctor before acting on anything you find there.     4    .

3 . Miriam Glassman, a top image consultant, is standing in front of her client, Lucy. ‘Can you give me an idea of what you are looking for?’ she asks. ‘Something cool,’ says nine-year-old Lucy. Glassman gets some jackets and marches off to the changing room with Lucy. This is a growing trend and the _________ for it are obvious: we encourage our youth to be successful and success, as everyone knows, is partly down to having the right _________. But when nine-year-olds hi re image consultants, you have to wonder: could things have gone too far?

Some of those caring most about image are _________. They know that everything — clothes, posture, voice—influences what people think of you and _________ , has to be carefully managed. In the 1960 US presidential debate, those listening on the radio believed that Nixon won, while those watching on TV believed Kennedy was the _________. The difference was that Kennedy was wearing make-up but Nixon wasn’t, and the viewers were _________ by his appearance.

Celebrities seek help from wardrobe, hair stylists, make-up artists and more just to manage their profile, and these professionals don’t come _________. Mari a Moriati, stylist to some of Hollywood’s A-listers, is said to be paid $10,000-20,000 a time to choose the clothes for a celebrity on a press tour. She will pack each outfit including detailed _________(‘roll up the sleeves twice and undo the top button of the shirt’).

It’s not just them that need an image boost. The cities, too, try to give themselves the marketing _________ of a style makeover. They know that most of the tourists don’t have the time to think in detail about where they want to go on holiday and instead __________ a few simple preconceptions of what a place is like. Those preconceptions are easy to __________ on people with an advertising campaign or a catchy slogan.

So, perhaps we should step back from our __________ in image and focus on what is important. Ignore the gossip and the websites telling us to manage our online profile and instead depend on __________ rather than image to reach decisions. All these suggestions sound sensible, but are they __________? How much research will we really do before deciding which celebrity we like or where to go on our next holiday?

And going back to our image consultant, surely Glassman must have reservations about taking on such young clients? Apparently not. ‘I get so many calls from teens,’ she says. ‘School is a(n) __________ place and image is important. Lucy is just taking control of hers.’