VOA慢速英语 纹身人气激增

Who Doesn't Have a Tattoo¹? Body Ink Surges 纹身人气激增

Soccer star David Beckham, voted “Sexiest Man Alive” by People magazine, has more than 40 ofthem.

Actress Reese Witherspoon has an image of a star with blue swallows.  

Even the British Prime Minister’s wife, Samantha Cameron, has one decorating her ankle.

Tattoos² are no longer the sign of a sailor, soldier or criminal. They are wildly popular.  

In America today, lots of people are getting tattoos — especially younger people. Forty percent ofmen and women aged³ 26 to 40 have at least one tattoo, according to Astanza, a laser technologycompany.

As a result, the American tattoo business is booming. In 1960, there were only about 50professional tattoo artists in the United States, reported The Atlantic. By 1995, that number hadsoared to over 10,000. Today, IBISWorld reports there are almost 55,000 people working astattoo artists in the U.S.

In Britain, tattoos are also surging in popularity. The Guardian⁴ reported that a fifth of all Britishadults have been “inked” – another term for being tattooed⁵.

Celebrities⁶ have popularized tattoos. Actress Angelina Jolie had Thai tattoo master SompongKanphai ink a large image of a tiger on her back. David Beckham has several tattoos that aretributes to his wife and children. He told People that “Dream big, be unrealistic,” written on his rightknuckles, is one of his favorites.    

What’s driving the wild popularity of tattoos?

It could be a search for identity.

“Tattoos, recent research suggests, don’t just express identity, they help define it,” writes ChrisWeller in The Atlantic. In an era of rapid and unpredictable change, driven by technology, a tattoocan be a source of stability and permanence. This is particularly true for Millennials, who grew upwith the Internet, notes Weller. 

“Body art has taken on greater significance, and people want their ink to say something about whothey are,” he writes.   

The cost of tattoos varies widely. It depends on the size of the tattoo and the complexity¹⁰ of thedesign. Professional artisans usually charge $100 to $300 per hour, notes the website Tattoo-Models.net. A large tattoo can cost thousands of dollars. Tattoos are also more expensive in bigcities and cheaper in small towns.  

Butch Johnson is owner of Champion Tattoo Company in Washington, D.C., located near theCapitol. He’s been doing tattoos for over 20 years. His tattoos generally cost $80 to $200. He has a wide-ranging clientele and says many clients get multiple tattoos.

Johnson, who studied art in college, can do complex designs, using Japanese, Native American andCeltic designs.

Tattoos are made by using a needle or other sharp instrument to inject various colors of ink intothe skin. Modern tattoos have intricate patterns and use a wide range of colors.     

Decorating the body with tattoos is an ancient art that dates back to the Stone Age. 

Tattoos have been found in every part of the world. In many cultures, they are used fordecoration, rites⁹ of passage or signs of status.

In Russia, for example, a 2,500-year-old mummy of a Siberian princess was found about twodecades ago, sporting “remarkable¹¹ tattoos,” wrote The Siberian Times. Some depictedmythological animals, a snow leopard¹³, and a deer. They were strikingly similar to designs ofmodern tattoos.

Natalia Polosmak is a Russian scientist who discovered the Siberian princess, a member of thePazyryk people. “Tattoos were used as a means of personal identification,” said Polosmak.

The Pazyryks believed “tattoos would be helpful in another life, making it easy for the same familyand culture to find each other after death.”     

In the Mediterranean¹⁴ world of the 6th century, there were sacred tattoos to mark people asfollowers of “particular gods,” writes Mairin Odle in The Appendix. Soldiers were tattooed with thenumber of their unit, to prevent desertion. And slaves were tattooed as punishment formisbehavior.

Native Americans used tattoos for a variety of purposes, writes Odle. British trader James Adair,living among the Chickasaw tribe in the 1740s, noted¹⁵ that war heroes were decorated with tattoosto show their bravery.     

Temporary tattoos are an option for those who want to make a fashion statement, but don’t wantthe permanence or the expense of the real thing. For example, Tattify sells a twin rose tattoo or atiny elephant tattoo for just $2.99 each. You can also get a selection of strange animal tattoos for $9.99.

The tattoo removal business has grown along with the popularity of tattoos.

As many as half of all people who get tattoos later get them removed, reports the WashingtonInstitute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery. Dermatologists¹⁶ use laser treatments to get rid of tattoos,which range from $350 for a small tattoo, up to $1,000 or more for a large one.

Words in This Story

knuckles⁷ – n. any one of the thick, bony parts (called joints) in your fingers

stability – n. the quality or state of something that is not easily changed or likely to change

needle – n. a very thin, pointed¹⁷ steel tube that is pushed through the skin so that something(such as a drug) can be put into your body or so that blood or other fluids can be taken from it

decorate – v. to make (something) more attractive usually by putting something on it

rite⁸ of passage – noun phrase an act that is a symbol of an important change in someone's life

mummy – n. a dead body of a person or animal prepared for burial in the manner of the ancientEgyptians by treating it with oils and wrapping it in strips of cloth

princess – n. a female member of a royal family

remarkable – adj. unusual or surprising : likely to be noticed

mythological¹² – adj. based on the myths of a particular group or culture

leopard – n.  a large brownish-yellow cat with black spots that lives in Asia and Africa 

deer- n. a large wild animal that has four long thin legs, brown fur, and antlers if male

desertion – n. the act of leaving the military without permission and without intending to return

bravery – n. the quality that allows someone to do things that are dangerous or frightening 

1 tattoo   

n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于

参考例句：

• I've decided to get my tattoo removed.我已经决定去掉我身上的纹身。
• He had a tattoo on the back of his hand.他手背上刺有花纹。

2 tattoos   

n.文身( tattoo的名词复数 )；归营鼓；军队夜间表演操；连续有节奏的敲击声v.刺青，文身( tattoo的第三人称单数 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击

参考例句：

• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的胳膊上刺满了花纹。
• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的双臂刺满了纹身。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

4 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

5 tattooed   

v.刺青，文身( tattoo的过去式和过去分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击

参考例句：

• He had tattooed his wife's name on his upper arm. 他把妻子的名字刺在上臂上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sailor had a heart tattooed on his arm. 那水兵在手臂上刺上一颗心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

7 knuckles   

n.（指人）指关节( knuckle的名词复数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝

参考例句：

• He gripped the wheel until his knuckles whitened. 他紧紧握住方向盘，握得指关节都变白了。
• Her thin hands were twisted by swollen knuckles. 她那双纤手因肿大的指关节而变了形。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 rite   

n.典礼，惯例，习俗

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
• Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。

9 rites   

仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to administer the last rites to sb 给某人举行临终圣事
• He is interested in mystic rites and ceremonies. 他对神秘的仪式感兴趣。

10 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

11 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

12 mythological   

adj.神话的

参考例句：

• He is remembered for his historical and mythological works. 他以其带有历史感和神话色彩的作品而著称。
• But even so, the cumulative process had for most Americans a deep, almost mythological significance. 不过即使如此，移民渐增的过程，对于大部分美国人，还是意味深长的，几乎有不可思议的影响。

13 leopard   

n.豹

参考例句：

• I saw a man in a leopard skin yesterday.我昨天看见一个穿着豹皮的男人。
• The leopard's skin is marked with black spots.豹皮上有黑色斑点。

14 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

15 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

16 dermatologists   

n.皮肤病学家( dermatologist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Today dermatologists agree that the experiments were not conducted well. 今天，皮肤病学者承认，当时的实验操作上有误。 来自互联网
• Dermatologists consistently recommend the low-cost old favorites, but of good-quality. 皮肤学家一致推荐物美价廉的老品牌。 来自互联网

17 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。