VOA慢速英语2019--尼日利亚艺术家制作深色皮肤假肢

Nigerian Artist Makes Dark Skin Prosthetic Devices

Michael Sunday was very happy and a little surprised when he first saw his "new" right hand. It is a glove-like prosthetic device that covers his real right hand.

The device should help Sunday return to a normal life after he lost three fingers in a car accident a year ago.

The prosthetic feels like real skin and is dark in color. In fact, the color looks very much like that of Sunday's skin.

White prosthetics for dark-skinned people

Until now, most manmade body parts available in Nigeria have been white. Sometimes the manufacturers use wood. That also looks unrealistic.

Sunday lost the thumb and fourth and fifth fingers on his right hand in 2018. He was riding in a car with his parents when it hit another vehicle.

The 22-year-old student told the Reuters news agency he really likes the prosthetic device.

"Wow, this is lovely. Wow, finally, I have my fingers back. Wow! Amazing."

Uneasiness of amputees

John Amanam, a Nigerian artist, made the prosthetic hand. He once made special effects for movies. He became interested in prosthetics after a family member lost a limb in an accident.

Amanam said he noticed that people who have lost arms or legs often feel uneasy around others. One reason was manmade limbs that did not have the same skin color as those wearing them.

"I became emotional about amputees. They had this feeling of discomfort¹ whenever they were around normal people."

Amanam decided² to do what he could to make amputees feel better. Although he does not have any special training in making prosthetics, he did some sculpting³ as an art student.

He started making prosthetic fingers, hands, arms, legs and ears in 2017. It takes three weeks to two months to make one, depending on the size and complexity⁴ of the body part.

His company is called Immortal⁵ Cosmetic⁶ Art. It sells the pieces for at least 40,000 naira ($111).

An artist at work

To prepare Michael Sunday's hand, Amanam began as any artist would. He made a model and mixed paints, trying to find the right skin color. He says the result is lifelike.

"We have prostheses who are made with white skins. You rarely find people with black skin prosthetics, so I want the blacks, I want Africans, in particular, to have this need solved within Africa."

Sunday says that he is happy to have the lifelike prosthetic.

"It has really helped me, because I can go about my normal life without [people] looking at my hand, without hiding my hands or fear of discrimination or feel pity."

Words in This Story

prosthetic – n. an artificial device that replaces a missing or injured part of the body

glove – n. a covering for the hand that has separate parts for each finger

limb – n. an arm or leg

amputee – n. someone who has lost a body part, such as an arm or leg

sculpting – n. to make (something) by carving⁷ or shaping clay, wood, or stone

pity – n. a strong feeling of sadness or sympathy for someone or something

1 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 sculpting   

雕刻( sculpt的现在分词 )； 雕塑； 做（头发）； 梳（发式）

参考例句：

• The quality of the result is determined by a Craft( sculpting) check. 由手艺（刻）定决定结果质量如何。
• Another difficulty in the process of ice sculpting is time control. 冰雕过程中的另一项困难是时间的掌控。

4 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

5 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

6 cosmetic   

n.化妆品；adj.化妆用的；装门面的；装饰性的

参考例句：

• These changes are purely cosmetic.这些改变纯粹是装饰门面。
• Laughter is the best cosmetic,so grin and wear it!微笑是最好的化妆品，所以请尽情微笑吧！

7 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。