美国国家公共电台 NPR A 63-Year-Old Lifeguard

A 63-Year-Old Lifeguard

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

This year's summer weather is broiling¹. And if you're off to the beach or pool to cool off, you might notice a different type of lifeguard on watch - seniors. And we're not talking about the high school variety. Lifeguarding is traditionally a teen job, but more and more retirees are getting in on the action. This includes Bill Bower². He's 63. This is his second season as a lifeguard at Stewart Beach in Galveston, Texas. And we caught him just before his shift started. Thanks for joining us.

BILL BOWER: Glad to be here, Lulu. Thanks for having me.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: So you're speaking to us from the beach, and I must say I'm jealous. How does it look out there?

BOWER: It looks beautiful. There's dozens of pelicans³ floating out in front of us, and we're expecting the dolphins to come by any minute.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Take me there. Take me with you. What did you do before you started lifeguarding?

BOWER: I was a math teacher, school administrator⁴ at The Kiski School in Saltsburg, Penn..

GARCIA-NAVARRO: So what pushed you to try this out?

BOWER: Well, I retired⁵ a little early at age 59, then I moved down to Galveston. And I was just relaxing on the beach, reading books, things like that. But I started to get a little bit bored. And I was looking for something to get involved in. I began with a group called The Wave Watchers. It's a citizen's group that helps lifeguards out. But quickly I got to know the people in the Galveston Beach Patrol, and I thought, that's a group I'd really like to be part of. And the rest is history.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Some of the physical requirements are pretty intense. You have to swim 500 meters in 10 minutes or less and other things. Were you nervous?

BOWER: I was very nervous when I showed up because it was all high school and college kids about one-fourth of my age to one-third of my age. And I had been swimming for a few months to try to get in shape, but I didn't know how I would stack up against them. Well, when we had the tryouts, I ended up being the fastest person.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Congratulations.

BOWER: Thank you. So that immediately gave me my street cred with the kids. So right away they knew that I was somebody that was really serious about being a lifeguard.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: So this does seem to be a trend across the country to hire more lifeguards in your age range. What do you think's going on?

BOWER: Well, there's a few things happening. One is that older Americans are staying in shaped more and we're seeing a lot more active. And the other thing is of course the shrinking applicant⁶ pool for the younger lifeguards. It seems like more young people are not working in the summers like they used to.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I have to ask you, do you get any strange reactions from the public when they see you're a lifeguard and so used to sort of seeing teenagers?

BOWER: I get lots of strange reactions - you know, the double take. If I'm running by into the water of course they're all yelling "Baywatch." But they'll come up and talk to me, and everybody's amazed, and they all try to guess my age. And thankfully they all guess too low.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah, we spoke⁷ to Chief Peter Davis, your boss, and he says you've become quite a confidant to your younger peers. Your co-workers are 16 and 17 years old. What's that dynamic like?

BOWER: You know, it was something that I was really afraid of when I started. I thought, oh, I was going to be the, you know, the creepy old guy that was trying to get in the group. But it wasn't like that at all. They immediately accepted me. They include me in all of their activities, you know. Are you coming to the football game this weekend? Those kinds of things. But it's been a great journey, and it's been very exciting.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Well, have a great summer. That's lifeguard Bill Bower in Galveston, Texas. Thank you so much.

BOWER: Thank you.

1 broiling   

adj.酷热的，炽热的，似烧的v.（用火）烤（焙、炙等）( broil的现在分词 )；使卷入争吵；使混乱；被烤（或炙）

参考例句：

• They lay broiling in the sun. 他们躺在太阳底下几乎要晒熟了。
• I'm broiling in this hot sun. 在太阳底下，我感到热极了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 bower   

n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽

参考例句：

• They sat under the leafy bower at the end of the garden and watched the sun set.他们坐在花园尽头由叶子搭成的凉棚下观看落日。
• Mrs. Quilp was pining in her bower.奎尔普太太正在她的闺房里度着愁苦的岁月。

3 pelicans   

n.鹈鹕( pelican的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Kurt watched the Pelicans fire their jets and scorch the grass. 库尔特看着鹈鹕运兵船点火，它们的喷焰把草烧焦。 来自互联网
• The Pelican Feeding Officers present an educational talk while feeding the pelicans. 那个正在喂鹈鹕的工作人员会边喂鹈鹕边给它上一节教育课。 来自互联网

4 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

5 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 applicant   

n.申请人，求职者，请求者

参考例句：

• He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
• In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。