VOA慢速英语 纹身人气激增（在线收听）

Who Doesn't Have a Tattoo? 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.

Tattoos 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 aged 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 Guardian reported that a fifth of all Britishadults have been “inked” – another term for being tattooed.

Celebrities 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 complexity 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, rites 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 “remarkable tattoos,” wrote The Siberian Times. Some depictedmythological animals, a snow leopard, 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 Mediterranean 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, noted 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. Dermatologists 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

knuckles – 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, pointed 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

rite 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

mythological – 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