VOA慢速英语2021 美国陆军放宽发型等军容规定（在线收听）

U.S. Army leaders have eased restrictions on a number of hairstyle and other personal appearance rules for soldiers.

美国陆军领导人放宽了对士兵发型和其他个人仪容规定的限制。

The changes are set to take effect in late February.

这些改革措施将于2月底生效。

One of the main differences is that women wearing combat clothing will now be permitted to wear their hair down. The old policy required them to wear their hair on top of their head in a style known as a bun.

其中一项重大改变是，现在穿作战服的女兵可以把头发放下来。先前的规定要求她们把头发梳在头顶，梳成发髻。

The new rules also will permit women soldiers to color their hair and wear it in styles such as braids and locks. They also will be permitted to wear earrings.

新规定还将允许女兵染发，扎马尾、梳辫子。她们还可以戴耳环。

The changes come after longstanding objections to the former Army rules. Some of the opposition came from women who said they wanted the ability to wear their hair in ways that are naturally an important part of their racial identity.

这些新规是在长期反对前军队统治规定后出台的。一些持反对意见的女兵表示，她们希望自己的发型能够自然成为她们种族身份的重要组成部分。

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper ordered an examination of the old rules last summer. The action was part of a wider order to expand diversity within the military and reduce discrimination.

去年夏天，前国防部长埃斯珀(Mark Esper)下令对旧军规进行审查。这一行动是扩大军队内部多样性和减少歧视的更广泛命令的一部分。

Army Sergeant Major Brian Sanders told reporters that the officials who approved the new rules examined many considerations in their decision, including cultural, health and safety issues.

陆军中士布莱恩·桑德斯（Brian Sanders）少校告诉记者，批准新规定的官员在做决定时考虑到许多因素，包括文化、健康和安全问题。

Sanders noted that the new rules – such as permitting women in combat uniforms to wear earrings with gold, silver and diamonds – can also let them "feel like a woman inside and outside of uniform."

桑德斯指出，新规定——比如允许穿着作战服的女兵佩戴金、银和钻石耳环——也能让她们感觉到“从内到外都像女性”。

Sanders said the old requirement for women's hair to be in a bun led to hair loss and other issues for some women. In addition, larger buns for thick or long hair can make combat hard hats fit poorly.

桑德斯表示，此前要求女兵把头发梳成发髻的要求导致了一些人面临脱发和其他问题。此外，如果头发较厚或较长，较大的发髻不便佩戴作战安全帽。

"These aren't about male and female," said Army Sergeant Major Michael Grinston, who presented the latest changes. "This is about an Army standard and how we move forward with the Army, and being a more diverse, inclusive team."

“这不是关于男兵和女兵的问题，”提出这一最新变革的陆军中士迈克尔·格林斯顿(Michael Grinston)说道。“这个问题关乎陆军的标准，以及我们如何与陆军一起前进，成为一个更多样化、更具包容性的团队。”

The Army announcement had been long-planned, but it came just days after the Pentagon's first Black defense secretary — Lloyd Austin — took over. Austin has promised to launch steps aimed at reducing racism and extremism in the military services.

虽然这份陆军声明筹划已久，但却在五角大楼首位黑人国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀(Lloyd Austin)上任几天后才得以落实。奥斯丁承诺将采取措施减少军队中的种族主义和极端主义。

In many cases, the changes will now let female soldiers wear jewelry or hairstyles that were already permitted in dress uniforms, but not permitted with their daily combat uniforms.

新规定将允许女兵在很多情况下佩戴珠宝或更换发型，这些条例原本只适用于制服规定，但不允许在穿日常作战服时这么做。

The new rules will permit women to wear their hair in a long ponytail or braid if it is put underneath their shirt. Army officials say this will give female soldiers in combat situations a greater ability to turn their head more quickly than if they were wearing buns.

如果需要将头发散下来，新规定将允许女兵扎长马尾或辫子。军方官员称，比起梳圆发髻，这方便女兵在战斗时更快速地转头。

For men, however, the longstanding request by many soldiers to permit beards was not approved. The Army does permit beards for some medical and religious reasons. Also, male soldiers are still not permitted to wear earrings.

然而，对于男兵来说，许多人一直要求留胡子的诉求没有得到批准。军队只允许因医疗需求和宗教原因的情况下留胡子。此外，不允许男兵戴耳环。

The rules do permit women to wear lipstick and both men and women to wear nail polish. For men, however, the nail polish must be clear. Women can wear colored nail polish, but some colors are not permitted. Among them are purple, blue, black and "fire engine" red.

新规允许女兵涂口红，男兵和女兵都可以涂指甲油。然而，男兵的指甲油必须是透明色。女兵可以涂彩色指甲油，但有些颜色例外。例如紫色、蓝色、黑色和“消防红”。

Men will also now be able to color their hair, but the colors for both sexes are limited to "natural" versions. Banned hair colors include blue, purple, pink, green and orange.

现在，男兵也可以染发，但仅限于“自然”色。不允许染蓝色、紫色、粉色、绿色和橙色等发色。

Words in This Story

hairstyle – n. the style in which a person's hair is cut and arranged

combat – n. a fight, especially during war

braids – n. an arrangement of hair made by weaving three sections together

locks – n. the natural gathering or "locking" of several strands of hair

earring – n. a piece of jewelry worn on the ear

diversity – n. a situation in which many different kinds of things or people are included in something

uniform – n. a set of clothes worn by members of the same organization or group of people

standard – n. a level of quality that is considered acceptable

ponytail – n. a hairstyle in which the hair is tied up high at the back of the head so that it hangs down like a horse's tail

beard – n. the hair that grows on a man's cheeks and chin

lipstick – n. a colored substance that women put on their lips

nail polish – n. a colored liquid that is painted on fingernails or toenails