《指环王》粉丝将耳朵整形成精灵耳

A 23-year-old Canadian model knows something about "elf esteem" after having her ears surgically modified to look like the mythical creature's.
一位23岁的加拿大模特把自己的耳朵整形成了和神话里的精灵一样，如今她应该对所谓“精灵的尊严”有所认识了吧。
* elf esteem：原为self esteem（自尊），这里将self改成了elf（小精灵）。

In August, 2011, Melynda Moon decided to get an operation that would make her ears look like a character from her favorite book series, "Lord of the Rings."
2011年8月，梅兰达·莫恩决定做个手术，使自己的耳朵看起来像她最喜欢的书——《指环王》——里的某位人物一样。

"The elegance of the elf ear is something I adore," she explained on a YouTube video documenting the surgery.
“我非常喜欢精灵优美的耳朵”，她在记录了这次手术的YouTube视频里解释道。

Moon, who lives in Guelph, Ontario, said the decision to change her elf, er, herself, was a long time coming. She believes she was a fairy in a previous existence.
莫恩住在安大略湖的圭尔夫市，她说在决定做这次手术前，她已经考虑了很久。她坚信她前世是个仙女。

"I have always been very close to nature. Pointed ears are the most adorable thing, and I find the 'elven' attire is so elegant," she said, according to International Business Times. "I have always had fantasies about what it would be like to be something other than human, so I decided to change my appearance to looksupernatural."
“我一直都与大自然十分亲近。尖尖的耳朵最可爱了，而且我发现‘精灵族’的服装非常优雅”，国际财经时报上的报道中她如是说。“我一直很好奇，成为非人类的感觉是什么样子？所以我决定改变我的外表，让自己看起来像是一个超自然的生物。”

The doctors who performed the $408 surgery skinned the tops of her ear cartilage, then skinned and cut pieces from the tips to form points. These tips were stitched together and removed a few weeks later after the ear skin was allowed to fuse.
这次手术的费用为408美元。医生先剥离她耳软骨上端的皮，把软骨上端削尖。然后将末端的皮肤缝合起来，几周后当耳部皮肤愈合后再将缝合物移除。

Moon said the treatment left her "a bit uncomfortable the day after" and her ears "were really swollen and sore with a slight burning sensation."
莫恩说手术让她“在第二天有点难受”，她的耳朵“肿起来了，而且有点灼烧的痛感”。

But she said it's been worth it just for the reaction she gets from people.
但她说手术后其他人对她的看法令她觉得这点痛很值得。

"I have a handful of people assume I am dressed up because I have put on pointed ears," she said.
“有很多人认为我可能精心装扮过，因为我装了一对尖耳朵”，她说道。

"When I tell them they are real, they look pretty confused as if they are waiting for me to say 'just kidding' -- but I am not."
“当我告诉他们，这对耳朵是真的的时候，他们摆出一副疑惑的表情，好像等着我说‘开玩笑的啦’——但我说的是真话。”

Moon admits that some parents have used her to keep their kids on Santa's good side.
莫恩承认有些父母利用她来使孩子相信圣诞老人真的存在，让他们做好孩子。

"Some people like to tell their kids to stop being bad because they know an elf will tell Santa they're being bad," she said. "Then their children see my ears and realize their parents aren't joking."
“一些人告诉自己的孩子不要做坏事，因为他们知道有一个精灵会告诉圣诞老人他们不是好孩子”，她说道，“孩子们一看到我的耳朵，就会意识到爸爸妈妈并不是在开玩笑。”