紋身是時下年青人凸現性格、展示自己、美化自己的一種方式。事實上，這股潮流已經流行了幾千年。從古代埃及人、古代歐洲人、非洲部落和印第安人等等都有紋身的傳統。那人們紋身是為了什么呢？下面這篇文章將為您解釋一下。
Whether
they are on arms, legs, ankles or buttocks, tattoos are painted all over our
bodies by injecting ink into our skin.
A needle attached to a hand-held tool injects ink into the cells of the
dermis---a section of our skin that keeps tattoos from fading and stretching.
The tool moves the needle up and down at a rate of several hundred vibrations
per minute and penetrates the skin by about one millimeter. The ink that is left
in the skin after the injection process is the tattoo.
Decorating our bodies with tattoos is a popular fad among many people.
The word tattoo originates from the Tahitian word tattau, which means "to
mark" and was first mentioned in explorer James Cook's records from his 1769
expedition to the South Pacific. However, some scientists believe that the
earliest known evidence of tattooing dates back to markings found on the skin of
the Iceman, a mummified human body that dates as far back as 3300 B.C.
More widely recognized are tattoos found on Egyptian and Nubian mummies
dating from about 2000 B.C. Classical authors mention the use of tattoos in
connection with Greeks, ancient Germans, Gauls, Thracians and ancient Britons.
Tattooing was rediscovered by Europeans when they came into contact with
Polynesians and American Indians through their explorations. Because tattoos
were considered so exotic in European and U.S. societies, tattooed Indians and
Polynesians amazed crowds at circuses and fairs during the 18th and 19th
centuries.
The practice of tattooing has different meanings to various cultures.
Decoration was the most common motive for tattooing and that still holds true
today.
In some cultures, tattoos served as identification of the wearer's rank or
status within a group. For instance, the early Romans tattooed slaves and
criminals. Tahitian tattoos served as rites of passage, telling the history of
the wearer's life.
dermis: 真皮
（來源：coolquiz.com 英語點津 Annabel 編輯）
