VOA慢速英语2015 日本百岁女人游泳创记录（在线收听）

AS IT IS 2015-04-20 100-Year-Old Japanese Woman Sets Swimming Record 日本百岁女人游泳创记录

As we age, we often take longer to recover from injuries.

我们上年纪后，要花更长时间从伤痛中恢复。

That is, for some people.

那是针对一些人。

After a Japanese woman suffered a knee injury, she became a competitive swimmer – at age 88.

一位日本老太太膝盖受伤后，她成为88岁的一位颇具竞争力的游泳选手。

Nearing the age of 101 has not slowed down one Japanese woman.

这位日本老太太快100岁了，行动却不迟缓。

In fact, in the swimming pool -- she is only getting faster.

事实上，在游泳池里，她的速度越来越快。

Recently, a 100-year-old Japanese woman became the world's first centenarian to complete a 1,500-meter freestyle swimming competition in a 25-meter pool.

最近，一位百岁日本老妇成为世界上第一个完成1500米的短池(25米)自由泳比赛的百岁老人。

Her name is Mieko Nagaoka.

她名叫“长冈”。

Ms. Nagaoka set a world record for her age group at a recent Japan Masters Swimming Association event in the western city of Matsuyama.

长冈最近在松山西部城市“日本业余大师游泳协会"举办的一次活动中创下了她年龄组的世界纪录。

She swam the race in one hour, 15 minutes and 54 seconds.

她游完比赛只用了1小时15分54秒。

By comparison, the overall female world record holder completed the same distance in just under 15 and a half minutes.

相比之下，整个世界纪录女保持者游完相同的路程只要不到15分半的时间。

But that swimmer, Katie Ledecky, is only 17 years old.

但那个游泳选手姬蒂·雷德基只有17岁。

And Ms. Nagaoka was not competing against her.

而且长冈并不是在和她比赛。

In fact, Ms. Nagaoka was the only competitor in the 100-104 year old category.

实际上，长冈是惟一一位完成了100-104岁年龄组泳赛的选手。

Her race was not a race of speed but of endurance, or not giving up.

她比的不是速度，而是耐力或者说不放弃。

Many times a champion

她拿了很多次冠军。

Breaking swimming records is nothing new to Ms. Nagaoka.

打破世界游泳纪录于她并不新鲜。

So far she has broken 25 records.

目前为止她已经打破25项纪录。

But she began competing when she was much younger – at 88.

但是她早在88岁就开始参加比赛。

Ms. Nagaoka suffered a knee injury in her 80s, so she began swimming to help her body recover.

长冈80多岁时膝盖受伤，之后开始游泳来帮助身体恢复。

Since her first international swimming competition, she hasn't looked back, except maybe to see if her competition is catching up.

自第一次参加国际泳赛以来，她从未回头，一直往前冲，除了看看对手是否赶上来了。

In 2002, at a masters swim meet in New Zealand, Ms. Nagaoka took the bronze medal in the 50-meter backstroke.

2002年，在新西兰的一次大师泳赛上，长冈拿下了50米仰泳的铜牌。

In 2004, she won three silver medals at an Italian swim meet.

2004年，她在意大利一次游泳比赛上赢得3枚银牌。

Masters swimming is a special class of competitive swimming to promote health and friendship among participants.

大师泳赛是一项特殊的竞泳，旨在提高参赛者身体健康和增进参赛选手间的友情。

Swimmers compete within age groups of five years.

选手按年龄每5岁一组进行比赛。

Ms. Nagaoka says she is a serious swimmer and a serious competitor.

长冈说她游泳很认真，比赛也很认真。

An article from the Reuters news service quotes her profile on the international swimming website FINA, saying Ms. Nagaoka trains four times a week for two hours at a time.

路透社的一篇文章引用了她在国际泳联--一个国际游泳网站上的简介：长冈每周训练4次，每次2小时。

Does Japan have a secret?

日本有什么长寿秘诀吗？

Japan has a large number of people who live beyond 100 years old.

日本的很多民众都活到了100多岁。

Until she passed away this month, the oldest person in the world was also from Japan.

本月这位世界上寿命最长的日本人逝世了。

Misao Okawa was born in 1898.

长冈生于1898年。

She said her secrets for longevity, or long life, were good genes, regular sleep, sushi and exercise.

她说长寿的秘诀就是有良好的基因，有规律的睡眠，饮食和锻炼。

Words in This Story

centenarian – n. a person who is 100 years old or older

endurance – n. the ability to do something difficult for a long time

freestyle – adj. a competition (such as a swimming race) in which the competitors are allowed to use different styles or methods

category – n. a group of people or things that are similar in some way

backstroke – n. a way of swimming in which a person floats in the water facing upward while kicking the legs and rotating the arms; also : a race in which the swimmers do the backstroke