【一起听英语】游泳

游泳是一项生存技能也是一个锻炼身体的好方式.....

Rob: Hello, I'm Rob…

Callum: And I'm Callum.

Rob: And this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. Today we're talking

about swimming. Now, Callum, how old were you when you started to swim?

Callum: I suppose, before ten. Before I was ten, I think.

Rob: Quite young.

Callum: Yes.

Rob: Well, swimming is a very popular activity in the UK. According to a recent

survey, one in five adults in the UK cannot swim. What's more, millions of

children in the UK can't swim a length of a pool. I think most people recognise

that swimming is very important for safety and good for fitness¹. But maybe

some people weren't introduced to the water early enough and they don't have

the confidence to start swimming later in life. In a moment we'll hear from

some people who coach swimming for adults and children, but first I have this

week's question for you, Callum.

Callum: I thought you might.

Rob: In 2007, the Slovenian swimmer Martin Strel broke his own world record for

long-distance swimming. But what distance did he swim? 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

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Was it:

a) 3, 268 kilometres

b) 4, 268 kilometres

c) 5, 268 kilometres

Callum: 4, 268 kilometres. I say that. But I really don't know.

Rob: OK, well, we'll see if you're right at the end of the programme. First let's hear

from the BBC reporter Sophie van Brugen. She went to a swimming pool to

find out more about swimming classes for adults and children. Let's have a

listen to the clip²; how many children does she say have taken swimming

classes in the last year?

Sophie van Brugen, BBC

Not everybody's confident in the water, and many of us learn to swim later on in life. And in

fact experts now say that the best time to learn is when we're babies and children. And in the

last year alone, over 300,000 little ones have gone through classes.

Rob: She says that over 300,000 little ones have taken swimming classes.

Callum: By 'little ones' of course she means children or toddlers. Toddlers are children

who are just learning to walk – usually when they're about 2 years old.

Rob: That's right. And the best time to learn how to swim is when you're a baby.

Callum: That makes sense. I think a lot of babies are natural swimmers, so it's good for

them to be in the water from an early age.

Rob: As long as they've got the proper supervision³! 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

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Callum: Definitely! To supervise⁴ means to watch over something. The noun

supervision is when someone watches over someone else, like a parent

watching over, taking care of a child.

Rob: It really is natural for babies to be in the water. As long as they have the proper

supervision, babies as young as three months old can start swimming. We have

a clip from baby swimming teacher Jenni May. She says that if babies spend

time swimming from the earliest opportunity, it becomes second nature for

them to be in the water.

Callum: Second nature. This is when you do something so often that it becomes totally

natural to you. So when a child starts to swim very early on, swimming

becomes second nature to them.

Rob: OK, let's listen to the clip. Listen out for the phrase second nature, and see

how she uses it in context⁵.

Jenni May, swimming teacher

When they're under six months it's just almost a natural thing for them to be under the water.

And then it just becomes second nature to them so as they're older, they don't know any

different then being under the water and being wet.

Rob: So if a baby starts swimming early enough, it becomes second nature to them

and they don't know any different from being under water and being wet.

Callum: But what about people who don't learn to swim when they're young? The one

in five British adults who can't swim – what can they do? 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

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Rob: Ah, well there are a number of schemes to encourage people to swim,

including the BBC's 'Big Splash⁶' campaign, which celebrates swimming and

wants to get more people into the water, whether they're adults or children.

Callum: The Big Splash campaign. A splash is the sound that's made when something

hits water. You can hear the word making the same sound –Splaasssssh!

Rob: It's a great word. And there are lots of classes for adults to learn how to swim!

Vicki Carter, who teaches swimming to adults, told the BBC about some of the

techniques she uses to encourage people to swim.

She suggests diving down for bricks and going through hoops⁸ as two methods

to make swimming more fun.

Callum: To dive here means to go under the surface of the water. And it can also mean

to jump head-first into water. And a hoop⁷ is a circular band, usually made of

metal or plastic. So she suggests diving down for bricks or swimming through

hoops as a way to make swimming more interesting.

Rob: Right, it's time to go back to today's question, Callum. The Slovenian swimmer

Martin Strel broke the world record for long-distance swimming in 2007. But

what was his record-breaking distance? Was it:

d) 3, 268 kilometres

e) 4, 268 kilometres

f) 5, 268 kilometres

Callum: Well, I chose 4, 268 kilometres but it's just a guess. They are all extraordinary

long distances.

Rob: Well, he actually swam 5,268 kilometres along the length of the Amazon River

to break his own world record. Incredible⁹! OK, well we're almost at the end of 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

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the programme, so Callum could you remind us of some of the vocabulary

we've heard in today's programme?

Callum: Of course! We had:

Toddlers

To supervise

Supervision

Second nature

Splash

To dive

Hoops

Rob: Thanks, Callum. If you've enjoyed today's programme, why not write to us

about your favourite places to swim, or ways to make swimming more

interesting, for children and adults. See you next time!

Both: Bye! 

1 fitness   

n.适合，适当，健康，健身

参考例句：

• They're doing exercises to improve their fitness.他们为增强体质而做体操。
• No one questions her fitness for the job.没人怀疑她能胜任这项工作。

2 clip   

n.夹子，别针，弹夹，片断；vt.夹住，修剪

参考例句：

• May I clip out the report on my performance?我能把报道我的文章剪下来吗？
• She fastened the papers together with a paper clip.她用曲别针把文件别在一起。

3 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

4 supervise   

v.监督，管理，指导

参考例句：

• We must supervise and speed up the fulfilment of assigned tasks.已经布置了的工作，应当认真督促检查。
• Tomorrow he will supervise all the pupils taking the English examination.明天全体学生考英语，他将担任监考。

5 context   

n.背景，环境，上下文，语境

参考例句：

• You can always tell the meaning of a word from its context.你常可以从上下文中猜出词义来。
• This sentence does not seem to connect with the context.这个句子似乎与上下文脱节。

6 splash   

v.溅，泼；n.溅泼声，溅出的水等，斑点

参考例句：

• I fell into the water with a splash.我跌入水中，激起水花四溅。
• There's a splash of paint on the white wall.白墙上溅上了一片油漆。

7 hoop   

n.（篮球）篮圈，篮

参考例句：

• The child was rolling a hoop.那个孩子在滚铁环。
• The wooden tub is fitted with the iron hoop.木盆都用铁箍箍紧。

8 hoops   

n.箍( hoop的名词复数 )；（篮球）篮圈；（旧时儿童玩的）大环子；（两端埋在地里的）小铁弓

参考例句：

• a barrel bound with iron hoops 用铁箍箍紧的桶
• Hoops in Paris were wider this season and skirts were shorter. 在巴黎，这个季节的裙圈比较宽大，裙裾却短一些。 来自飘（部分）

9 incredible   

adj.难以置信的，不可信的，极好的，大量的

参考例句：

• Some planets run at incredible speed.某些星球以难以置信的速度运行着。
• Her answer showed the most incredible stupidity.她的回答显示出不可思议的愚蠢。