VOA慢速英语2020 越南老人整整80年未剪发

Coronavirus safety restrictions¹ have caused many men around the world to grow their hair longer than usual. But none of them compare with Nguyen Van Chien of Vietnam. He claims to have gone almost 80 years without cutting his hair.

由于新冠病毒的安全限制，世界各地许多男性的头发较平时更长。但再长也比不上越南的阮文谦（Nguyen Van Chien）。他声称自己已经80年没有剪过头发了。

The 92-year-old has hair that is around five meters long. His hair looks like a long rope.

这位92岁的老人的头发大约有5米长。他的头发看起来像一根长长的绳子。

Chien believes that what a person is born with should be left untouched. He spoke² to a reporter from Reuters news agency.

阮文谦认为，一个人与生俱来的东西不应该随意改变。他接受了路透社记者的采访。

"I believe if I cut my hair I will die. I dare not to change anything, not even combing it," he said. "I only nurture³ it, cover it in a scarf to keep it dry and clean and looking nice."

“我相信如果剪了头发，我会死的。我不敢改变任何东西，甚至从来没有梳理过头发，”他说。“我只做简单的护理，用围巾围着，保持干爽、清洁，让头发看起来很漂亮。”

Chien lives in a village about 80 kilometers west of Ho Chi Minh City. As a boy, he had to cut his hair when he was at school. But he left school after third grade. He said he decided⁴ never to cut, comb, or wash it again.

阮文谦住在胡志明市以西约80公里的一个村庄里。年少时，因为在学校念书他不得不剪头发。但他三年级后就辍学了。他说，自己决定再也不剪发、不梳头、不洗头发了。

"I remembered my hair was black, thick and strong," he said. "I combed it, untangled it to make it smooth. But when I heard the calling from the divine power, I knew immediately that I was chosen."

他说，“我记得（当时）我的头发乌黑、浓密、厚实。”“我梳理，解开了头发，让它变得通顺，光滑。但当我听到神的召唤时，立刻意识到了我是天选之人。”

He added, "I touched my hair and overnight it became really hard. It has attached to my head and became a thing of its own."

他补充说，“我摸了摸头发，一夜之间发质变得非常硬。头发覆盖在脑袋上，变成了脑袋的一部分。”

Nguyen Van Chien believes in nine powers and seven gods. He follows a very rare religion known as "Dua", or the coconut⁵ religion. The name comes from its founder⁶, who claimed he survived only on coconuts⁷. Dua is banned in Vietnam.

阮文谦信仰九神和七神。他信奉着一种非常罕见的名为“Dua”（椰子教）的宗教。这个名字来自该教的创始人，他声称只靠吃椰子为生。Dua宗教在越南是被禁止的。

Chien's fifth son, Luom, helps him with his hair. He, too, believes in the connection between hair and death. Luom says he has seen a man die after trying to re-attach his hair with string.

阮文谦的第五个儿子卢姆帮他打理头发。他也相信头发和死亡之间的联系。卢姆说，他见过一名男子在试图用绳子将头发重新接起来后死亡。

"These things look simple but they are sacred," said 62-year-old Luom.

62岁的卢姆说：“有些东西看似简单，实则很神圣。

Words in This Story

dare – v. to do something that is difficult or that people are usually afraid to do); to not be too afraid to do something

comb – v. to smooth, organize, or separate hair

nurture – v. to care for the development of something

scarf – n. a piece of cloth worn around the neck of head

grade - n. a level of quality or intensity⁸ in employment or a school

untangle – v. to separate things that are twisted together)

sacred – adj. highly valued and important; very holy

1 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 nurture   

n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持

参考例句：

• The tree grows well in his nurture.在他的培育下这棵树长得很好。
• The two sisters had received very different nurture.这俩个姊妹接受过极不同的教育。

4 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。

5 coconut   

n.椰子

参考例句：

• The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
• The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 coconuts   

n.椰子( coconut的名词复数 )；椰肉，椰果

参考例句：

• We found a bountiful supply of coconuts on the island. 我们发现岛上有充足的椰子供应。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Coconuts provide "meat", drink, oil, soap and fiber for fishing line. 椰子提供“肉类”，饮料、油脂、肥皂和做钓（鱼）丝的纤维。 来自百科语句

8 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。