VOA慢速英语2019 洗掉纹身的一些专业建议

No Longer Want That Tattoo¹? Some Advice

It is estimated that 30 percent of Americans have one or more tattoos²—permanent words or pictures on their skin.

据估计30%的美国人都有一个或多个永久性的文字或图案纹身。

Nearly one in four of them want their tattoos removed, one doctor says.

有医生称，其中近1/4的人士希望去掉他们的纹身。

Doctor Paul Freidman is a spokesman for the American Society for Dermatological Surgery. He also is director of the Dermatology & Laser Surgery Center in Houston and New York. The business provides laser operations to remove tattoos.

保罗·弗莱德曼是美国皮肤外科学会的发言人。他也是休斯敦和纽约皮肤病学和激光外科中心的主任。该公司提供激光去纹身手术。

Friedman told the Associated Press that people of all age groups are seeking to remove their tattoos. He has noted³ an increase in millennials: people who have entered adulthood⁴ since 2000.

弗莱德曼对美联社表示，各年龄层人士都在寻求去掉他们的纹身。他注意到千禧一代的人数有所增加，千禧一代是指2000年以后跨入成年的一代人。

Friedman’s group estimates its members performed 85,000 tattoo removal operations in 2017. That is the most recent year for which numbers are available.

弗雷德曼所在的组织估计自2017年以来，其成员已经进行了8.5万起去纹身手术。这是有数据记录的最近的一年。

Dermatologists⁶ say the latest equipment can remove most tattoos without permanently⁷ damaging the skin. But the process can be long and costly⁸. And health insurance generally does not pay for the removals.

皮肤科医生称，最新设备可以在去除大多数纹身的同时而不对皮肤造成永久损伤。但是这个过程非常漫长而且代价不菲。健康保险通常不会报销这种手术的费用。

There are three ways to remove the permanent ink writing of a tattoo. One method uses lasers -- devices that produce an intense beam of light. The laser sends light of different wavelengths⁹ for each color used in the tattoo. The short but powerful light beam damages skin cells causing the ink inside to break apart into small pieces. The body’s own immune system then gets rid of the remains¹⁰ of the ink. An anesthetic¹¹ drug is used to limit pain.

有三种方法可以去除纹身的永久性墨水。一种方法是使用激光器，这是一种可以产生强光束的装置。激光器对纹身中使用的每种颜色发出不同波长的光。这种短而强大的光束会损坏皮肤细胞，导致皮肤细胞里的墨水碎成小块。然后身体自身免疫系统会清除这些墨水残留。麻醉药用于止痛。

Laser removal requires several treatments; the exact number depends on the size of the tattoo. And the cost can be high -- from $450 to $1,000 for each treatment.

激光去除纹身需要进行多次手术。具体次数取决于纹身的大小。手术费用可能会很贵，每次手术费用在450美元到1000美元不等。

Another way to remove a tattoo is called dermabrasion. That means the top layer of skin is removed by rubbing a tool against it. Dr. Eric Bernstein of the Mainline Center for Laser Surgery in the state of Pennsylvania says this method can leave big scars, or marks on the skin.

另一种去除纹身的方法被称为磨皮术。这是指用工具磨去表层皮肤。宾夕法尼亚州激光外科手术中心的艾里克·伯恩斯坦表示，这种方法可能会在皮肤上留下大的伤疤或痕迹。

It also is possible to remove the skin by cutting away the top layers of skin in a medical operation. This can be done for small tattoos or to remove tattoos quickly because a person has had an allergic¹² reaction to the ink.

还可以通过医疗手术切除皮肤表层。这可以用于去掉小的纹身，或是有人对墨水过敏时快速去掉纹身。

Bernstein is president of the American Society of Laser Medicine & Surgery. He advises people seeking to remove tattoos to wait until they are ready to do it in the right way. He warns that low-cost methods can leave permanent scars.

伯恩斯坦是美国激光医学与外科学会的会长。他建议那些想要去掉纹身的人士要等到自己找到合适的方式。他警告说，便宜方法可能会留下永久性疤痕。

Ryan Tucker is a 39-year-old firefighter from Texas. He spent $6,000 on 10 laser treatments to remove the tattooed¹³ name of his former wife.

瑞恩·塔克是德克萨斯州一名39岁的消防员。他花了6000美元做了10次激光手术，以去掉刻着他前妻名字的纹身。

“I was young and stupid and thought it was a good way to show affection, which it’s not,” Tucker said. He added that the treatment was much less painful than the process of getting the tattoo.

塔克表示：“当时年少无知，以为这是一种表达情感的好方法，但是事实并非如此。”他还说，去掉纹身要比纹身过程痛苦得多。

Bernstein also advises people to find a dermatologist⁵ who is experienced and certified¹⁴ in laser medical operations.

伯恩斯坦还建议人们要找经验丰富并且获得激光手术认证的皮肤科医生。

He says to make sure that the doctor has the most recent lasers for tattoo removal. And, he says people should ask to see pictures that show the results of treatment on people with a similar skin color.

他说，要确保该医生有最新的去纹身激光器。他还说，人们应该要求看看那些显示对肤色相近人士治疗效果的照片。

He also advises people to follow all instructions in caring for your skin after each treatment.

他还建议人们在每次激光手术后遵照所有皮肤护理的规定。

Finally, do not try to finish the process too quickly. Waiting a few months between treatments can reduce the number needed and can reduce costs.

最后，不要试图太快完成这一过程。在手术之间等上几个月，这可以减少手术次数并且降低成本。

I’m Mario Ritter Jr.

Words in This Story

ink –n. a liquid used in pens for writing or printing

beam –n. a line of light come from a source

allergic –adj. related to a bad reaction to a substance or condition

certified –adj. having the official requirements needed to do a certain kind of work

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 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。

4 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

5 dermatologist   

n.皮肤科医师

参考例句：

• I think you should see a dermatologist first.我想你应当先看皮肤科大夫。
• The general practitioner referred her patient to a dermatologist.家庭医生把她的病人交给了皮肤科医生。

6 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

7 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

8 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

9 wavelengths   

n.波长( wavelength的名词复数 )；具有相同的/不同的思路；合拍；不合拍

参考例句：

• I find him difficult to talk to—we're on completely different wavelengths. 我没法和他谈话，因为我们俩完全不对路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Sunlight consists of different wavelengths of radiation. 阳光由几种不同波长的射线组成。 来自辞典例句

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 anesthetic   

n.麻醉剂，麻药；adj.麻醉的，失去知觉的

参考例句：

• He was given a general anesthetic.他被全身麻醉。
• He was still under the influence of the anesthetic.他仍处在麻醉状态。

12 allergic   

adj.过敏的，变态的

参考例句：

• Alice is allergic to the fur of cats.艾丽斯对猫的皮毛过敏。
• Many people are allergic to airborne pollutants such as pollen.许多人对空气传播的污染物过敏，比如花粉。

13 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》

14 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。