【英语时差8，16】痛苦的长高之路

 It's no secret that China's economy is growing at a rapid pace.   But it may surprise you to learn that some Chinese citizens are growing, too...taller, that is, thanks to the popularity of leg-lengthening¹ surgery. That's right: we're talking about a type of surgery that can make you at least two to three inches taller.

The details are pretty gruesome. First, the doctor breaks the tibia and fibula--the bones of the lower leg. Then, a device comprised of two metal rings connected by extendable rods--the fixator--is screwed into both ends of the broken bone through the skin. About a week later, the stretching begins. The surgeon lengthens² the fixator in small, two millimeter increments³. This slowly pulls the broken bones apart, allowing new bone to grow and fill in the gap.

If all goes well, the three month bone-lengthening period is followed by another three to six months of bone strengthening. During this phase the patient is confined to a wheelchair and must undergo physical therapy that's typically described on leg lengthening websites as "extremely painful." But, barring complications such as infection where the fixator is attached to the bones and nerve injury, after about a year you can be back up and walking around on newly lengthened⁴ legs.

The surgery was invented in Russia in the early 1950s to help dwarves⁵ and other abnormally short people who wanted to attain⁶ a more normal height. Recently, though, in places like China, leg lengthening surgery has become trendy for people convinced that being taller leads to better jobs and more money

1 lengthening   

（时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的现在分词 )； 加长

参考例句：

• The evening shadows were lengthening. 残阳下的影子越拉越长。
• The shadows are lengthening for me. 我的影子越来越长了。 来自演讲部分

2 lengthens   

（时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In summer, the daylight hour lengthens. 夏天，白天的时间长。
• Summer lengthens (out) into autumn. 夏去秋来。

3 increments   

n.增长( increment的名词复数 )；增量；增额；定期的加薪

参考例句：

• These increments were mixed and looked into the 5.56mm catridge case. 将各种药粒进行混和，装在5．56毫米的弹壳中。 来自辞典例句
• The Rankine scale has scale increments equal to the FahrenheIt'scale. 兰氏温标的温度间距与华氏温标的相同。 来自辞典例句

4 lengthened   

（时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The afternoon shadows lengthened. 下午影子渐渐变长了。
• He wanted to have his coat lengthened a bit. 他要把上衣放长一些。

5 dwarves   

n.矮子( dwarf的名词复数 )；有魔法的小矮人

参考例句：

• Everyone will try to claim it: Men, Dwarves, wizards. 每个种族都会争取它的拥有权：人类，矮人，巫师。 来自电影对白
• Have you learned nothing of the stubbornness of Dwarves? 难道你还不了解那个矮人的倔强吗？ 来自电影对白

6 attain   

vt.达到，获得，完成

参考例句：

• I used the scientific method to attain this end. 我用科学的方法来达到这一目的。
• His painstaking to attain his goal in life is praiseworthy. 他为实现人生目标所下的苦功是值得称赞的。