Lesson 94 Future champions 未来的冠军

叶凝云

原文

    Experiments have proved that children can be instructed inswimming at a very early age. At a special swimming pool in LosAngeles, children become expert at holding their breath underwater even before they can walk. Babies of two months old do not appear to be reluctant to enterthe water. It is not long before they are so accustomed to swimming that they can pick up weightsfrom the floor of the pool. A game that is very popular with these young swimmers is theunderwater tricycle race. Tricycles are lined up on the floor of the pool seven feet under water. Thechildren compete against each other to reach the other end of the pool. Many pedal their tricycles,but most of them prefer to push or drag them. Some children can cover the whole length of thepool without coming up for breath even once. Whether they will ever become future Olympicchampions, only time will tell. Meanwhile, they should encourage those among us who cannot swimfive yards before they are gasping for air.

New words and expressions 生词和短语

instruct  v. 指导，传授
Los Angeles  洛杉矶
reluctant  adj. 勉强的，不愿意的
weight  n. 重物
underwater  adj. 水下的

tricycle  n. 三轮车
compete  v. 比赛，对抗
yard  n. 码
gasp  v. 喘气

参考译文

    实验证明，儿童在很小的时候就可以开始学习游泳。在洛杉矶的一个特设的游泳池里，孩子们甚至在还没有学会走路时就已经能熟练地在水下屏住呼吸了。两个月的婴儿并未显得不愿意入水。他们很快便适应了游泳，以致能捡起池底的物品。这些幼小的游泳运动员非常喜爱的一种游戏是水下三轮车比赛。三轮车并排放在7英尺深的游泳池底上。孩子们比赛看谁先到达游泳池的另一端。很多孩子用脚蹬车，但多数孩子更愿意推或是拉着三轮车。有些孩子能够跑完游泳池的全长而不用露出水面换气。他们将来是否能成为奥林匹克的冠军，这只能由时间来作出回答。与此同时，他们对我们中的那些游不了5码就已喘不过气来的人应该是种鼓舞。