凱莉·諾克斯：新生代獨臂“維納斯”

娛樂圈和時尚界最不缺的就是新面孔，問題的關鍵在于這些新人能否在人們心中留下深刻印記，從此一步步走出自己的天空。回首2008，有那么一個與眾不同的身影，讓人忍不住想起米羅的斷臂維納斯。“缺”不能為“美”？看看以下這個讓人有所觸動的故事吧——

t a studio in North London， an unusual photo shoot was unfolding. Rankin， one of the world’s leading photographers， was to produce a striking[令人吃驚的] image for Marie Claire’s 20th anniversary[周年] edition. His subject was not some superstar or supermodel， but a 24-year-old credit controller on her first modeling assignment[工作，任務]. Born without a left hand and lower arm， Kelly Knox won the title of UK’s top disabled model this year.

“I didn’t look down at my arm once， or even remember I was missing an arm. I’ve spent a lifetime ignoring it; it’s second nature to me.”

The remarkable story of the girl who refuses to say the word “disability” began in 1984， when Jackie Knox gave birth to her third child. The couple held their baby， digesting the implications[暗示] of a child who would grow up with no hand. Within half an hour， Jackie had made a vow[誓言] which would shape the girl’s future， “We will simply get on with life.”

From that moment on， the word “disability” was banned. So much so that the young girl was unaware for many years that she was any different.

“At the age of five， I was determined to ride a bike， and I forced myself to learn， resting my left arm on the handlebars[把手]. When I went to swimming lessons at school， it didn’t occur to[想到] me that I might find it harder than the other children – I just leapt into the water.”

A bright student， Knox left school with eight GCSEs注 at the age of 16， and later passed a

vocational diploma[職業文憑] in law. She worked for a short time in a lawyer’s office， before changing her mind to be a credit controller in a furniture company. Yet again， Knox craved[渴望] more.

“When I toasted in 2008 with my family and friends， I just shut my eyes and wished for something to happen.”Her wish was to be granted. In March， Knox found an advertisement on Facebook looking for disabled women who felt they could be models， to take part in an upcoming[即將來臨的] series， Britain’s Missing Top Model.

“I honestly didn’t believe I was going to win， and I felt as if I was in a film when they said my name. It has been so exciting， like breathing different air， and realizing there is a whole different world out there. I’m proof that if you don’t let the words ‘I can’t’ come into your head， you really can achieve anything.”

在一間位于北倫敦的工作室里，人們正在進行一次非同尋常的攝影活動。世界頂尖攝影師之一的蘭金將為《嘉人》雜志的20周年紀念版打造一個令人耳目一新的形象。他的拍攝對象不是什么巨星或者名模，而是一名年僅24歲的信用控制專員——這是她第一次擔任模特工作。天生缺了左手和左前臂的凱莉·諾克斯贏得了今年的“英國殘疾超模”稱號。

“我一次都沒有低下頭去看自己的手臂，甚至應該說，我根本不記得自己缺了一段手臂。我一生都沒有刻意留心這件事情；這幾乎成了我的第二天性。”

這個拒絕使用“殘障”一詞的女孩那令人感嘆的人生故事始于1984年，當時，杰基·諾克斯剛生下自己的第三個孩子。諾克斯夫婦抱著這個寶寶，慢慢消化一個殘酷的現實——這個孩子從小就缺了一只手。半小時以后，杰基說了一句影響女兒整個人生未來的話：“我們接受現實，只管生活下去吧。”

從那一刻起，“殘障”一詞便成了（諾克斯家的）禁語。這項禁令執行得非常徹底，以至于這個小女孩多年來根本不曾意識到自己的不同之處。……