Fashion and Clothes.
Ñáîðíèê àíãëèéñêèõ òåêñòîâ.
Modern Styles
Tattoos and Body Piercing
Fashion and Colour
Writing letters. Shopping
|
Tattoos and Body Piercing
Nowadays if you walk down the street in any big city, you'll see persons with a tattoo, or a ring in their ear or nose — or even in their eyebrow. Decorating your body with exotic designs seems to be more and more popular.
A tattoo is any indelible mark under the skin, which is made deliberately. The most common method is to prick the skin with a sharp instrument, like a needle. But it used to be done and can still be done with a bone or a shell. Originally tattooing was part of religious ceremonies in some cultures, but it goes back at least to the ancient Egyptians. The Japanese have been tattooing for centuries. And the American Indians used tattooing as a way of identifying themselves with certain tribes. For warriors in Africa it was a way of showing how brave you were. If you wanted to frighten your enemy, you'd have to get yourself tattooed first. Today in some societies if young girls arc not decorated with beautiful tattooing, they won't be allowed to get married. Maoris in New Zealand still tattoo their faces.
The fashion for tattoos and body piercing became more popular in recent years with teens.
In the modern world body piercing began in the 1970s in California. It became popular with punk rock in the 1980s as teenagers chose to express their rejection of conservative behaviour by piercing their noses, ears or eyebrows. It was a way of saying: "I am not like you: I am myself." It's a way to express person's individuality. But body piercing is not only a teenage trend, it goes deeper. Even middle-aged people are keen on body piercing. Some middle-aged persons used to be rebels when they were young. And body piercing reminds them that they were once young and revolutionary.
So a tattoo is certainly fashionable. A little red rose on your shoulder can seem like a good idea at the time. But be careful. There is a very real danger of getting a serious disease if you go to an unqualified tattoo artist.
Vocabulary
piercing — ïèðñèíã
eyebrow — áðîâü
exotic design — ýêçîòè÷åñêèé çíàê
indelible mark — íåñìûâàåìûé çíàê
deliberately — ñîçíàòåëüíî
to prick — ïðîêàëûâàòü
skin — êîæà
sharp — îñòðûé
needle — èãëà
bone — êîñòü
shell — ðàêóøêà
religious ceremony — ðåëèãèîçíàÿ öåðåìîíèÿ
to go back — îòíîñèòüñÿ
to identify — îïðåäåëÿòü, èäåíòèôèöèðîâàòü
tribe — ïëåìÿ
warrior — âîèí
to frighten — ïóãàòü
rejection — îòêàç, íåïðèÿòèå
conservative — êîíñåðâàòèâíûé
teenage trend — ïîäðîñòêîâàÿ òåíäåíöèÿ â ìîäå
middle-aged people — ëþäè ñðåäíåãî âîçðàñòà
to be keen on — óâëåêàòüñÿ
rebel — áóíòîâùèê
to remind — íàïîìèíàòü
disease — çàáîëåâàíèå
unqualified — íåêâàëèôèöèðîâàííûé
Questions
1. What do you think about tattoos and body piercing?
2. Do you think body piercing is a good idea to express a teen's individuality?
Why?
3. Why are grown-ups sometimes keen on body piercing?
4. To what times does tattooing go back?
5. What was tattooing originally in some cultures?
|
|
Teenage Clothes and Fashion
A Short History of Hair
The Style You Choose. School uniform.
|
