Aimee Mullins 谁说残障不能当美女模特儿
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- 创建于 2010年5月31日
- 最后更新于 2024年5月25日
- 发布于 2012年4月30日
- 作者：Mike Lee
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A former Paralympics track star redefines physical disability 前残障奥运赛明星（译注：径赛指竞速、赛跑等项目）重新定义肢体残障
Aimee Mullins, 33, had both legs amputated just below the knee when she was 1 because she was born with fibular hemimelia (missing fibula bones).
三十三岁的艾美．慕林斯在一岁大时，就因为天生腓骨半肢畸形（缺少腓骨），使得双脚膝盖以下都被截肢。
Mullins, a New York-based model, speaker and actress, says she has benefited from the progressive change in prosthetic technology over the past three decades.
身兼纽约模特儿、演说家和女星的慕林斯表示，她从过去三十年来义肢科技的进步变革中获益匪浅。
By “progressive,” Mullins means her artificial legs – some of which flex at the ankle joint and bend at the knee. They are a far cry from the unbendable plastic and wooden limbs that required her to almost waddle as a child.
慕林斯口中的「进步」指的是她的人工义肢──有些能在踝关节屈曲，膝盖也能弯曲，而这些和害她儿时几乎只能蹒跚行走、无法弯曲的塑料和木质义肢相去甚远。
“Today they’re made of lightweight composites. They have bounce and spring to them, mimicking the natural steps,” Mullins says. “But this is about more than the technology. There really once was a stigma to having prosthetics that suggested you weren’t a complete person if you had to use them. I think they’ve now started able-bodied athletes scratching their heads, because I’ve raced and beat some of them, too.”
「如今义肢往往以轻盈的合成材料制成，模仿自然的步伐，戴上后能跳也能弹起，」慕林斯表示，「但重点远超出于科技，因为过去戴义肢真的会有种烙印，意味着如果必须使用义肢的话，就不是完整的人了。我认为，新义肢开始让体格健全的运动员百思不解起来，因为我曾和这些人比赛，而且还赢了。」
Surprising advantages 出人意外的优势
And athletes aren’t the only ones scratching their heads.
而运动员也并非唯一大惑不解的一批人。
Mullins recalls a Chanel fashion party she attended recently, at which she wore one of her longer sets of prosthetics that stretched the blond bombshell’s normally 5-foot, 8 inch frame to 6 feet, frustrating and angering another woman who pouted and accused Mullins of “having an unfair advantage.”
慕林斯还记得，她在最近参加的一场香奈儿时装派对中，戴上比较长的义肢，使这位平常身高五呎八吋的金发美女一下子就变成六呎高，让其他女性感到受挫且气愤不已，她们嘟着嘴，指控慕林斯「拥有不公平的优势。」
Her legs, she explains, are not just made for walking. They’re also a functional but optionally stylish fashion accessory, much like eyeglasses and contact lenses have become.
她解释说，她的腿不只是作为代步工具而已，它们同时也是具有功能性的时尚配件，而时髦的款式则是偶尔可以选择佩戴的，就像如今的眼镜和隐形眼镜一样。
“People once viewed the physically disabled as cute, and to be pitied. So yes, the technology has changed attitudes. I think we’re at the beginning of the end of that period when people who are missing natural limbs or have some other physical issue are automatically considered disabled. I’m certainly seeing less of that kind of attitude.”
「人们曾一度把肢体残障者视为可爱的、可堪怜悯的。所以，科技当然改变了这类态度。我认为，人们自动把失去天生肢体或身体上有问题的人冠上残障的时代已经划下句点，而我们正处于终点的起点。我很肯定现在更少看到那种态度了。」
−by James H. Burnett III
单词发音
More Information
amputate [ˋæmpjə͵tet] v.【医】切断；锯掉；截（肢） to cut off a part of the body
fibular [ˋfɪbjəlɚ] adj. 腓骨的
hemimelia [hemi'milɪə] n. 半肢畸形
fibula [ˋfɪbjələ] n. 腓骨
prosthetic [prɑsˋθɛtɪk] adj.【医】义肢的，假体的 relating to an artificial body part, such as arm, foot or tooth, which replaces a missing part
far cry from something 【口】与...大不相同 a thing that is very different from something else
limb [lɪm] n. 肢；臂
waddle [ˋwɑd!] v.（鸭、鹅般地）摇摇摆摆地走
composite [kəmˋpɑzɪt] n. 合成物；复合材料
bounce [baʊns] n. 弹跳；弹性
spring [sprɪŋ] n. 弹力
mimic [ˋmɪmɪk] v. 模仿，学……的样子
stigma [ˋstɪgmə] n. 耻辱，污名
able-bodied [ˋeb!ˋbɑdɪd] adj. 强壮的，健全的
bombshell [ˋbɑm͵ʃɛl] n. 性感尤物 an attractive girl or woman
pout [paʊt] v. 板脸，不高兴
stylish [ˋstaɪlɪʃ] adj. 时髦的
pity [ˋpɪtɪ] v. 怜悯；同情
单词发音
Vocabulary Focus
disability [dɪsəˋbɪlətɪ] n. 残疾，残障 an illness, injury or condition that makes it difficult for someone to do the things that other people do
progressive [prəˋgrɛsɪv] adj. 进步的；先进的；革新的 describes ideas or systems that are new and modern; gradually changing
flex [flɛks] v. 屈曲（四肢等）；使（肌肉）收缩 to bend a body part, especially a joint
scratch (one’s) head 迷惑不解; 费思量 to think hard about something; to have difficulty understanding something
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