(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.
How far would you go for a perfect body? Many people these days are going as far as South Africa to get their version of perfection. People from across Africa and the world come for so-called surgery "safaris".
There are no animals to see on these safaris. The visitors look instead for smaller stomachs, firmer bottoms or perhaps a new eye, nose or chin. Businesses that provide medical safaris say they have seen a large increase in African customers.
VOA's Gillian Parker spoke with several cosmetic surgeons in Johannesburg for her report. South Africa is becoming the leading country in Africa for people seeking cosmetic surgery.
For years South Africa has appeal to medical tourists from Europe and the United States. But local cosmetic surgeons say now more clients from Africa's growing economies are interested in such operations.
Lorraine Melvill is a doctor with Surgeon and Safari. She has been performing cosmetic surgeries for nearly 16 years in Johannesburg. She says that more than 80 percent of her clients now come from sub-Saharan Africa. She says this is because Africa did not experience the economic problems that hit other parts of the world.
"When the West started having its economic downturn, it was almost a symbiotic change and the scales just tilted. And we know Africa wasn't as affected by the economic downturn. There is also a huge emerging African middle class that has come to the fore...for us, the growing market is the sub-Saharan African market... Africa is where we are looking to the future," Lorraine said.
Her clients are treated like movie stars. Assistants take them from the airport to a luxurious guesthouse. They explain in detail the medical operation to be done. Doctors operate the next day.
Clients can spend anywhere from $5,000 to $7,000 on a cosmetic treatment. They might spend an additional $2,000 on the cost of the hotel while they heal.
For many African women, less is more. Ms. Melvill says the most popular forms of cosmetic surgeries for African women are breast reduction and liposuction. Liposuction removes fat from the body. So-called tummy tucks are also common, this treatment removes fat from a person's middle.
South Korea is also a popular spot for cosmetic surgery. But the leading treatments there are operations to create larger eyes, thinner noses and pointier chins. A 2009 report from the research company Trend Monitor said one in five South Korean women has had plastic surgery. But South Africa is catching up.
I'm Anna Matteo.
文本来自51voa，译文属可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载。
词汇解释
1.cosmetic adj. 美容的；化妆用的 n. 化妆品；装饰品
It is a cosmetic measure which will do nothing to help the situation long term.
这是装点门面的措施，无益于局势的长期发展。
2.downturn n. 衰退（经济方面）；低迷时期
They predicted a severe economic downturn.
他们预言将会有一次严重的经济衰退。
3.liposuction n. 脂肪吸除手术；抽脂术
I think she's had liposuction and double eyelid surgery.
我想她做过吸脂手术和双眼皮手术。
内容解析
1.There is also a huge emerging African middle class that has come to the fore...for us, the growing market is the sub-Saharan African market...
come to the fore 涌现；崭露头角
At the championships more promising divers are expected to come to the fore.
在这次比赛中,估计将会涌现更多优秀的跳水运动员。
This factor will come increasingly to the fore as election day nears.
随着选举日的临近，这一因素将愈发重要。
参考译文
这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。
为了身体的完美你会走多远？如今很多人远赴南非去获得想要的完美，非洲和全世界各地的人都为所谓“手术之旅”而来。
这些旅程中看不到动物，游客们想要的是更小的胃，更结实的臀部，或全新的眼睛、鼻子或下巴。提供医疗之旅的商家发现，非洲客户大幅增加。
美国之音的吉琳·帕克为了报道，在约翰内斯堡采访了几位美容医生，南非正在成为人们做美容手术的首个非洲国家。
几年来，南非一直吸引着来自欧洲和美国的医疗旅游者。但当地美容外科医生说，现在非洲新兴经济体国家有越来越多客户对此感兴趣。
洛林·梅耳维尔是外科之旅的医生，她在约翰内斯堡做了近16年的美容外科医生，她说她的客户中有80%以上的人来自撒哈拉南部非洲。她说这是因为非洲并没有经历席卷世界其他地区的经济危机。
“西方经济开始下行，这是一种共生变化，天平开始倾斜。我们知道非洲没有怎么受到经济下行的影响。同时非洲出现庞大的新兴中产阶级，对我们来说，这一发展的市场就是撒哈拉南部非洲，我们在非洲寻找未来。”
她的客户们受到了电影明星的待遇，助手们将客户们从机场带到豪华酒店，详细解释即将做的医疗手术，医生第二天做手术。
做美容手术需要客户支付5000到7000美元，或许还会再花上2000美元支付酒店费用。
对很多非洲妇女来说，瘦就是美。梅耳维尔说最受非洲妇女欢迎的美容手术项目是缩胸和抽脂。抽脂是从身体里抽出脂肪，所谓的腹部整形术也很常见，这种手术从人体腹部抽去脂肪。
韩国也是美容手术的热点地区，但这里最主要的手术是将眼睛变大、鼻子变薄，下巴变尖。2009年趋势监测调查公司的报告称每5个韩国女性中就有一个做过整形手术，但南非也在赶上韩国。
我是安娜·马特奥。
