播客168 – 在澳大利亚学习游泳

跟着罗布·麦科马克，一边学英语，一边了解澳大利亚的日常生活。

Learn English while learning about daily life in Australia with Rob McCormack.

第168期播客：在澳大利亚学游泳。

Podcast number 168, learning to swim in Australia.

你好。

Hi.

澳大利亚人特别喜欢在水里和水边玩乐。

Australians love to have fun in and around the water.

大多数澳大利亚人都住在沿海地区，天气暖和的时候，去本地海滩游泳是热门的休闲活动，尤其是对孩子和青少年来说。

Most Australians live near the coast, so swimming at the local beach is a major pastime activity in the warmer weather, especially for children and teenagers.

成年人也很喜欢出海划船、帆船，还有钓鱼。

Boating and sailing on the ocean are very popular with adults along with fishing.

我们这些不住在海边的人，也喜欢去当地的湖泊、河流，或者游泳池放松一下，找点乐子。

Those of us who live away from the coast also love to visit local lakes and rivers or the local swimming pool to relax and have fun.

正因为这样，在澳大利亚，会游泳是一项非常重要的技能。

All this makes the skill of swimming an important one to have in Australia.

在这期播客里，我想聊聊澳大利亚小学阶段的游泳培训项目，孩子一般到11岁就小学毕业了。

In this podcast, I would like to talk a little about our learn to swim programs up to the end of primary school when a child is normally 11 years of age.

我会以我居住的维多利亚州为例来介绍这些项目，其他州和领地的情况也差不多。

I will describe the programs in Victoria, where I live, although the other states and territories are similar.

虽然我现在已经七十多岁了，但小时候和青少年时期在西澳大利亚沿海小镇生活的记忆依然清晰如昨。

While I am now in my seventies, I still have vivid memories of my childhood and teenage years living in a coastal town in Western Australia.

我们家离海滩不远，每到周末或暑假，我常常走路或骑自行车去那儿，游泳、冲浪，看着海浪一波波涌上沙滩。

We lived not far from the beach, and I would often walk or ride my bike there on weekends and during the summer holidays to swim and surf the waves as they rolled up on the sand.

我之所以能安全地做这些，很大程度上是因为我会游泳。

One of the reasons I could do that in safety was because of my ability to swim.

这项技能是我小学时参加‘学游泳’项目学会的。

I gained this through the Learn to Swim program offered at my primary school.

我还记得，学校会安排校车，载着我们全班同学去当地的港湾海滩，那里有防波堤，不会受到大洋浪涛的冲击。

I can remember being taken by school bus, along with my classmates, to the local Harbour Beach, which was protected from the ocean waves.

在那里，我们学习了在水中保持安全的基本知识，以及如何游泳。

There, we were taught the basics of being safe in the water and learning to swim.

到我12岁小学毕业时，我已经能游50米左右，也掌握了水中安全的基本知识。

By the time I left primary school at the age of 12 years, I was able to swim around 50 meters and knew the basics of safety in the water.

教育部门还会在每年一月漫长的暑假期间组织假期游泳班，我记得每年都会参加这个课程，持续两周。

The education department also organized vacation swimming classes during the long summer school holidays in January, and I can remember attending this program for two weeks each year.

我每天早上都有一个四十五分钟的游泳课。

I recall having a forty five minute lesson each weekday morning.

我父母很乐意为这些课程付费，因为我觉得费用并不高。

My parents were happy to pay for these lessons as I think the cost was not expensive.

尤其是我妈妈，特别希望我能把游泳和救生技能练到很高的水平。

My mother, in particular, was very keen that I learn swimming and life saving skills to a high standard.

她自己小时候从来没学过游泳，所以对水特别谨慎，总是有点紧张。

She herself had never learned to swim as a child, so was especially cautious and always a little anxious when around water.

我觉得她不希望自己的孩子将来也为这事担心。

I think she wanted her children not to have to worry about that.

正是通过这些暑假期间的游泳课程，我不断改进泳技，也逐步掌握了基本的救生技能，一直持续到青春期初期。

It was through these vacation learn to swim programs held during the long summer holidays that I continued to improve my swimming and also to learn basic life saving skills until my early teen years.

顺带一提，我妈妈在六十多岁的时候，竟然勇敢地开始学游泳，定期上课，以那个年纪来说，这肯定挺让人紧张的。

As an aside, my mother also surprised us all when, in her 60s, she took the bold step of learning to swim, taking regular lessons which must have been quite daunting for her at that age.

她成功学会游泳后，确实非常自豪。

She was rightly very proud when she successfully learnt to swim through those lessons.

如今，针对小学生的游泳培训项目和我小时候的经历很相似，除了学期期间的课程，还有名为‘Vickswim暑期儿童班’的暑期项目，在一月连续进行三周。

Today, the Learn to Swim program for primary school children is very similar to my experience as a child, with lessons being offered during school terms as well as optional summer vacation programs called Vickswim summer kids program in Victoria held over a three week period in January.

在维多利亚州的小学，游泳和水上安全技能已经被纳入学校的整体课程体系。

In Victorian primary schools, the skills involved in swimming and safety around water are included as part of the overall school curriculum.

维多利亚州规定，小学生毕业时应达到的游泳和水上安全标准，都明确写在《维多利亚水上安全证书》里。

The basic swimming and water safety standards to be achieved by children at the end of primary school in Victoria are set out in the Victoria water safety certificate.

具体包括以下几个方面。

They include the following areas.

第一，水上安全知识：能说出在海滩或泳池等水域的安全规则。

One, water safety knowledge, being able to describe water safety rules around water, for example, at the beach or swimming pool.

第二，游泳能力：能不间断游满50米。

Two, swimming, being able to swim continuously for 50 meters.

三、水中潜泳：能够从水面潜入水中， underwater 游泳，并从深水区打捞物品。

Three, underwater, Being able to do a surface dive, swim underwater, and recover an object from deep water.

四、救生技能。

Four, life saving.

能够应对紧急情况，包括使用简单的检查清单评估现场状况。

Being able to respond to an emergency, including performing an assessment of the situation using a simple checklist.

五、救援能力。

Five, rescue.

能够使用非游泳方式施救，比如投掷救生圈。

Being able to rescue a person using non swimming techniques, such as throwing a life boy.

六、生存技能。

Six, survival.

能够穿着轻便衣物在深水中完成生存训练，包括连续漂浮两分钟、发出求救信号，并成功离开水域。

Being able to do a survival exercise in deep water wearing light clothing, including floating for two minutes, signaling for help, and leaving the water successfully.

你可以看到，掌握这些游泳技能，能让人在海滩、泳池、湖泊或河边都更加安全。

You can see that this level of swimming skill is a great start to allow someone to be safe around the water at a beach, pool, lake, or river.

很多家长会额外给孩子报名当地的游泳学校、游泳池或澳洲各郊区和城镇的私教课程，来补充学校提供的游泳培训。

Many parents choose to supplement the school's Learn to Swim program by sending their children for private lessons at local swim schools, at swimming pools, in city suburbs, and towns in Australia.

这些孩子中，很多人练就了出色的泳技，后来加入游泳俱乐部，甚至成为奥运级别的游泳冠军。

Many of these swimmers develop excellent swimming techniques and go on to join swimming clubs and become swimming champions, including at Olympic level.

正如我在第80期播客里提到的，澳大利亚在历届奥运会上的游泳表现一直非常出色。

Australia has always performed very well in the swimming at each Olympic games as I describe in podcast number 80.

和我小时候相比，现在最大的变化是，孩子从六个月大就开始学习水上安全技能，这真的很了不起。

The big change today compared to my experience as a child is that very young children can now start learning water safety skills from as young as six months, which is amazing.

我们的孙女从大约六个月大就开始参加这类课程了。

Our own granddaughter has been attending such lessons since she was around six months old.

我和妻子经常去游泳池看她练习，给她加油打气，看着她慢慢在水里变得自信。

My wife and I often go along to the swimming pool to watch and encourage her as she learns to become confident in the water.

看到她这么小就学会这些技能，真的很棒，这不仅能保障她的安全，也会让她一生都能尽情享受戏水的乐趣。

It's great to see her learning the skills so early, which will help keep her safe and give her the confidence to have a lot of fun in the water throughout her life.

如果你有任何问题或想法，欢迎在我的网站www.slowenglish.info的评论区留言，或者发邮件到rob@slowenglish。

If you have a question or comment to make, please leave it in the comments box on my website at www.slowenglish.info, or you can send me an email at rob at slowenglish.

更多信息。

Info.

我很想听听你的想法。

I would love to hear from you.

告诉我你住在哪儿，简单介绍一下你自己，还有你对我的Slow English播客有什么看法。

Tell me where you live, a little bit about yourself, and what you think of my slowenglish podcast.

我当然会用英语回复你。

I will write back to you in English, of course.

如果你想做个简短的小测验，看看有没有听懂这期播客，网站上也有。

If you would like to take a short quiz to see if you have understood this podcast, you will also find it on my website.

再见。

Goodbye.

我们下期再会。

Until next time.

Rob。

Rob.