VOA慢速英语2020 Americans Trying New Looks, Staying Mostly Out of Sight

Jacob Kunthara's wife and three adult children had never seen him without the mustache he wore for 45 years. But the spread of COVID-19 and the restrictions¹ it brought to public life led to a change of face for Kunthara.

The family lives in Gilbert, Arizona, a town under a stay-at-home order. On a recent day at home, Kunthara secretly cut off all the hair on his face and covered his face with a cloth. Then, at dinner, he tore off the cloth, surprising his wife and children with his new hair-free face.

Fiona Riebeling of New Haven², Connecticut, took similar action to create a new look for herself, but worked with some unusual tools.

Riebeling watched a YouTube video on how to cut hair. After, she realized she had no haircutting equipment. So, she searched her home for substitutes. In the end, cooking tools, including a fork and skewers³, helped her go from long hair to short.

Across the United States, the COVID-19 "stay at home" order has moved many people to experiment with their hair. Online, the movement is called corona⁴ cuts or quarantine cuts.

The experimenters know they have several weeks at least before they will be seen in public. That is enough time for most to regrow a haircut that goes wrong.

"This is the most radical⁵ thing I've done ever," said Kunthara, a 62-year-old civil engineer. He acted just one week into the stay-at-home order.

He said, "I thought, ‘Maybe this is the best time to try something. I'm home, we cannot go anywhere.'"

Riebeling expressed the same idea. "Being in quarantine takes off a lot of the pressure that you normally might feel going out in public and worrying about your appearance," she said.

Reibeling cut her hair while on a video call with two friends also trapped in their homes.

"We're limited right now in our movement and what we can do," Riebeling said. She noted⁶ that such restrictions can cause fear.

"To find places where you can feel empowered and make decisions about yourself, your body, how you choose to be in the world is a great way of reminding yourself that you are in control of as much as you can be," Riebeling said.

Ed Maudlin⁷ is a call center employee now restricted to working at home in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Maudlin said he looked at his full, 30-year-old beard and thought, "I wonder what I look like under there?"

He told the Reuters news agency his office did not plan on reopening for at least a month. That meant it would be only his girlfriend who would see him in person for a while.

So Maudlin went for extreme change. He removed all the hair from his head and face for a very smooth look.

"I decided⁸ to go with the full all-over - nobody will know," said Maudlin. He expects his face and head hair will grow back by the time he is in the office.

"I figure I will come out of this looking like maybe I need a bit of a haircut rather than looking like Tom Hanks on the island," said Maudlin. He was speaking of the 2000 film Cast Away, in which Hanks stars as a man trapped for years alone on an island with no connection to humanity⁹.

Words in This Story

mustache -n. hair growing on a man's upper lip

quarantine -n. a restraint upon the activities or communication of persons or the transport of goods designed to prevent the spread of disease or pests

radical -adj. very different from the usual or traditional

remind -v. to make (someone) think about something again : to cause (someone) to remember something

beard -n. the hair that grows on a man's cheeks and chin

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 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

3 skewers   

n.串肉扦( skewer的名词复数 )；烤肉扦；棒v.（用串肉扦或类似物）串起，刺穿( skewer的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Damaged skewers and clogged bobbin holder. 木锭子破损，纱管支架底座阻塞。 来自互联网
• I heard you really like mutton skewers and that you can eat 50 at one time. 听说你特别爱吃羊肉串儿，一次能吃五十串儿。 来自互联网

4 corona   

n.日冕

参考例句：

• The corona gains and loses energy continuously.日冕总是不断地获得能量和损失能量。
• The corona is a brilliant,pearly white,filmy light,about as bright as the full moon.光环带是一种灿烂的珠白色朦胧光，几乎像满月一样明亮。

5 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 maudlin   

adj.感情脆弱的，爱哭的

参考例句：

• He always becomes maudlin after he's had a few drinks.他喝了几杯酒后总是变得多愁善感。
• She continued in the same rather maudlin tone.她继续用那种颇带几分伤感的语调说话。

8 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。

9 humanity   

n.人类，[总称]人(性)，人道[pl.]人文学科

参考例句：

• Such an act is a disgrace to humanity.这种行为是人类的耻辱。
• We should treat animals with humanity.我们应该以仁慈之心对待动物。