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炎炎夏日，瞧那蔚蓝浩瀚的大海，怎叫人不心动呢？泳池和大海总是清凉畅快的好去处。然而，学游泳总是困难重重。憋气的痛苦，四肢的不协调，甚至心理上对水的恐惧，都常常会让我们呛一大口水，再挣扎着沉入水底。但也许只有经过许多次畏畏缩缩的尝试和落荒而逃的失败，才能真正徜徉于阳光下的水面吧。所谓一通百通，正是学游泳的过程让作者明白了一点：锲而不舍定能战胜一切困难。

By Aaron Anthony Vessup

董翌佳注

“You be careful, you hear me?”

My mother had that worried look, creased forehead, and familiar warning voice.

My father just laughed moving from the sandy beach into the swirling waters.

I followed slowly behind him because he had promised to show me how swimming was done.

There was a lull in the active water around us. My father was in the ocean on his stomach like a huge brown whale.

“Come on. Get on my back. Now!”

I struggled to climb on his wet, slippery back with my desperate arms clinging around his neck.

Again my mother’s voice came from the distance.

“Be careful! Please be careful!”

We moved fast as my father’s strong long brown arms stroked the water in a synchronized rhythm. We surged as if an invisible magic engine propelled our bodies. Every now and then my tiny frame would separate from my father’s back lifting free with cold water between us. I struggled to grip the safety of the brown whale with my small short legs. The water was deep and black, I could not see the bottom. Suddenly a huge mountain of water slammed into us like a giant wet blanket. I was now free from my father and swallowing salt water in gulps.

“I told you to be careful out there didn’t I?”

Those words rang in my head as I my father dragged me from the jaws of angry waves that threatened to pull me back underwater.

“Come on boy. You’re supposed to hold on tighter. You want to try again?”

I nervously shook my head clutching the safe blanket on the sand near mother. Shivering with cold, I tried to stop my teeth from chattering. Learning how to swim that day was not in the cards.

A few summers later my older brother and I started going to Willow brook swimming pool, because most of our schoolmates were there. By now I had much practice holding my breath underwater in our bathtub at home. I hoped to show-off in a real pool. We had fun at the Willow brook pool when the lifeguard was not looking. On a dare I could sneak on the low diving board and try to do a “Jack-knife” dive. I was not afraid of deep water that did not move. Sometimes mean kids would splash water in your face when you came up for air, or suddenly pull you underwater just to see if you could actually swim. I was lucky because of my ability to hold my breath. Unfortunately, a boy accidently drowned at the Willow brook pool, and it was closed down. We were no longer allowed to go to any public pool. Mom wanted us to be careful.

After that early crisis an unnerving event occurred in the yard next to our own home. Melrose, our neighbor, was trying to help her own small son overcome fear of water. His challenge was far greater than mine. He would not even submerge his head in a small tub of water while kneeling on the grass. But his mother was a swimming life guard at the El Segondo pool. What greater parental care could there be for her to help her son erase his fear. However, this small boy could not bear the idea of his nose touching the water even though his was not inside the small tub of water. He would close his eyes, place his face a few inches from the warm water and let out a blood curdling scream like a wounded lion. This noise was a disturbance in our quiet neighborhood, and continued intermittently for almost one hour. Finally, to our relief his mother gave up her efforts.

Years later as a High School student, our gym class focus was on swimming. In this class I was happy to be a fish in the shallow area of the pool. Sometimes I would venture to a middle area that reached my nose, or stand on the tips of my toes bouncing up and down close to the semi-deep water. However, most of the time I was happy to snorkel under water at the shallow end. However, one day the gym teacher challenged the class. Anyone with nerves could try to swim across to the short side of the pool.

“Come on! I know you can do it. I’ve seen you swimming underwater. What’s the big deal? Come on give it a try!”

The coach blew his shrill whistle and along with the others I dove into the water of flailing arms and legs. I propelled myself across the short distance to the side of the pool. With the other swimmers I turned and proceeded to paddle back to the opposite side.

Suddenly, my body stopped and my wild swimming motions ceased. Soon I was sinking down to the bottom of the pool. As my feet touched the cement floor I looked up to see the water surface far above my head. Pushing frantically against the pool bottom launched my body upwards, and in seconds my head broke the water surface. This was long enough for me to gulp a mouthful of air. My lungs seemed at a point of bursting, I needed more air and I was still far from the safety of the pool’s edge. At this moment my body became a stone. I could not move, and I was sinking again. I doubted that I would be coming up again. At that moment one of my classmates jumped into the water and reached for one of my arms. With easy effort he towed me back to the side of the pool, and other students helped me out of the water. I lay on the ground gasping and panting like a wounded fish. I never returned to that swim class again.

When I was thirty years old and teaching a University speech class. Curiosity bugged me as to why I avoided pool chlorine smells and continued to fear deep water. One of my students claimed to have been a Summer Life Guard for a few years. While standing in the room wearing her full-piece bathing suit, which definitely riveted our attention, she illustrated the basic breathing techniques. The entire class of students, including myself, were impressed. She made swimming seem easy. The emphasis on relaxation of the body, and short practices of specific techniques, were points driven home .

I hurried to visit the local YMCA indoor swim pool. Learning to relax while practicing alone the step-by-step sequence inhaling and exhaling with proper head positions. I had to learn how to trust my own self. Soon I was able to swim several laps non-stop in a single pool lane. At the age of thirty one I had finally learned how to swim. My confidence in the water grew to the point where I was able to add at least four different swim strokes to my repertoire. I began to look forward to swimming as a way to exercise and meditate.

Learning how to swim has become a rewarding venture and hobby. Traveling around the world with swimming skills has afforded me opportunities for fun and adventures. I no longer fear ocean waves, or have a death-grip on edges of hotel swimming pools. For me, facing my fear of deep waters has been personally instructive and motivating. I have learned that critical information about techniques is vital to learning any skill. Also, attitude and persistence make a big difference in learning outcomes. Facing challenging is an important personal growth experience. Learning how to swim is more than simply “playing” in water. Yet, one must still remember to “be careful out there!”

Vocabulary

1. creased: 有皱纹的，有折痕的。

2. swirling: 打旋的，起旋涡的。

3. lull: 间歇，暂停，暂时平静。

4. synchronized: 同步的，协调的。

5. 我们在海面急速翻涌，仿佛有一个隐形的魔力引擎在推动着我们的身体。surge: 汹涌，涌动；propel: 推进，驱使。

6. frame: 身躯，身材。

7. slam: 使劲一推，猛劲一摔。

8. gulp: 一大口（尤指液体），吞咽。

9. 汹涌而狂暴的海浪几欲将我拖入海中，当父亲把我从这险象环生的虎口中拽出时，母亲的话语在我的脑海中回荡。jaw: 下颌，下巴，险境。

10. chatter: （因冷或害怕）打颤。

12. in the cards: 似乎会发生的。

13. bathtub: 浴缸，澡盆。

14. on a dare: （因某人鼓励而）鼓起勇气；“Jack-knife” dive: 屈体跳水。

15. mean: 卑鄙的，恶意的。

16. unnerve: 使紧张不安使害怕。

17. 他会闭上双眼，将头保持在离温水几英寸远的地方，发出恐惧而慌张的尖叫声，宛如一头受伤的狮子。curdle: 使凝结。此处的用法来自“make someone’s blood curdle”，指把某人吓得血液凝固，使极度恐慌。

18. intermittently: 间歇地。

19. snorkel: 使用水下呼吸管潜泳。

20. 有什么大不了的呢？

21. 教练吹响了尖锐的口哨声，我和其他人一起蜂拥着跳入水中，大家挥动着的四肢挤在一起胡乱碰撞着。shrill: 尖锐的，刺耳的；flail: 用力地胡乱挥动。

22. paddle: 划桨。

23. frantically: 疯狂似地，狂暴地。

24. gulp: 大口呼吸。

25. tow: 拖，拽，牵引。

26. pant: 大口喘气，喘粗气。

27. bug: 烦扰，纠缠；chlorine: 氯（常用于水的消毒）。

28. full-piece bathing suit: 连身泳衣，也叫one-piece bathing suit。

29. rivet: 牢牢吸引住。

30.drive home: 使人理解。

31. 我一边学着放松，一边独自按部就班地通过正确的头部姿势来练习连续换气。sequence: 一连串的动作；inhale: 吸气；exhale: 呼气。

32. 我的自信心随着游泳技能的进步不断增加着，毕竟现在我已经学会了至少四种新的泳姿。stroke: 游泳的姿势；repertoire: 全部技能，全部本领。

33. meditate: 冥想，沉思。

34. death-grip: 死亡之握，因为极度恐惧，常出现被淹者死死抓住救援者，导致两人同时丧命。

35. persistence: 坚持不懈，毅力。

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