听说"豆芽花"发卡已席卷成都

 　　When it comes to fashion, just about anything goes. Citizens in Chengdu, the capital of south west China's Sichuan province have been spotted¹ sporting quirky antenna² hairpins³.

　　所谓时尚，只有你想不到的，没有做不到的。有人注意到，在中国西南部四川省的省会城市，成都市民玩起了新奇的“豆芽花”发卡。

　　Around 100 different designs are available for the unusual hair accessories, which have been worn by the young and old, reported People's Daily Online. Many of the hairpins are different varieties of plastic flowers. From afar, it looks like a plant has germinated⁴ from the top of a person's head. Upon closer inspection⁵, it looks more like an antenna.

　　据人民网报道，这款新奇发饰老少通吃，有近百种不同设计，其中不少都是塑料花，远看像从头顶上发芽长出的植物，近看更像天线。

　　According to reports, the antenna hairpins have appeared all over Chengdu recently. Initially⁶ they were restricted to touristy areas but have since spread to other parts of the city.

　　据报道，“豆芽花”发卡近日风靡成都的大街小巷，最初，这种发卡只出现在成都的旅游景点，之后流传到其他地方。

　　豆芽花

　　Many people are wearing them because they thought the hairpins made them look cute, and it's not just restricted to women or children. One man has told reporters: 'I saw them and thought they were interesting so I bought one. People look cute when wearing it.'

　　很多人都戴上了“豆芽花”发卡，因为他们认为这样很萌，而且戴的人已经不局限于女性、儿童了。一名男子告诉记者：“看到就买了一个，觉得很有意思，戴上去显得挺可爱。”

　　His views are not shared by everyone however. Another man thought the hair pieces were silly. He said: 'There are middle-aged⁷ men wearing the hairpins. They just look ridiculous.'

　　不过，也有人表示异议，一名男子认为这种发卡很幼稚，他说：“有的中年男子戴起，感觉不伦不类。”

　　People have also taken to the web to discuss this bizarre new trend. One said: 'Everyone is wearing it in Kuan Zhai Alley⁸. I saw someone wearing it on the underground today. It feels like they might be able to transmit WI-FI signals.'

　　还有人在网上讨论这种怪异新潮，一名网友评论：“宽窄巷子一条街全是，今天坐地铁还遇到一个，感觉可以感应WiFi。”

　　But street vendors¹⁰ are glad of the trend. They are sold for 5 yuan by vendors but can be found online for as little as 0.3 yuan. As a vendor⁹ can sell over a hundred of the hairpins each day, they stand to make hundreds of yuan.

　　不过，街头小贩倒是很高兴。网售最低3毛钱，街头小贩卖5元一个，一天卖上百个，也能挣个几百元。

　　Vocabulary

　　sport: 玩弄

　　antenna: 触角，天线

　　hairpin: 发卡

　　germinate: 发芽

1 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

2 antenna   

n.触角，触须；天线

参考例句：

• The workman fixed the antenna to the roof of the house.工人把天线固定在房顶上。
• In our village, there is an antenna on every roof for receiving TV signals.在我们村里，每家房顶上都有天线接收电视信号。

3 hairpins   

n.发夹( hairpin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The price of these hairpins are about the same. 这些发夹的价格大致相同。 来自互联网
• So the king gives a hundred hairpins to each of them. 所以国王送给她们每人一百个漂亮的发夹。 来自互联网

4 germinated   

v.（使）发芽( germinate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• First, the researchers germinated the seeds. 研究人员首先让种子发芽。 来自辞典例句
• In spring they are germinated and grown for a year in beds. 春季里，他们在苗床发芽并生长一年。 来自辞典例句

5 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

6 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

7 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

8 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

9 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

10 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓