他她話題:你學會游泳了嗎?

Rob Pace is excited to go swimming with his two kids on their upcoming vacation in Palm Beach, Fla. One problem: The 39-year-old never learned to swim.

羅布•佩斯(Rob Pace)家住紐約州東梅多(East Meadow)，在一家房地產公司擔任審計員。最近他要帶着兩個孩子到佛羅里達州的棕櫚灘(Palm Beach)度假，他很期待能跟孩子在那裏游泳嬉戲，唯一的問題是：現年39歲的佩斯還從沒學過游泳。

So twice a week before work, Mr. Pace sneaks out of the house for adult swim lessons at a pool in Manhattan's Financial District. After three weeks, he can now hold his breath under water and glide while kicking for about a lap. He is waiting until his vacation to surprise his kids with his new skills.

所以，不久前佩斯開始每週兩次，利用上班前的時間悄悄前往曼哈頓金融區的一家游泳館參加成人游泳課程。三週下來，他現在已經能在水下屏住呼吸、蹬着腿向前滑幾步了。他想等到度假時再展示這項新本領，好給孩子們一個驚喜。

'They're going to be absolutely stunned,' says Mr. Pace, who lives in East Meadow, N.Y., and is a controller at a real-estate company.

佩斯說，“他們肯定會大吃一驚的。”

An estimated 37% of U.S. adults can't swim 24 yards, the length of a typical recreation-center pool, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adults -- including those who are able to swim -- make up More than 70% of drowning deaths in the U.S. each year, according to the CDC.

據美國疾病控制與預防中心(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention，簡稱CDC)估計，大約有37%的成年美國人遊不了24碼遠。24碼是美國休閒中心遊泳池的普遍長度。CDC的數據還顯示，美國每年的溺亡者中有70%以上是成年人（包括會游泳的成年人）。

Adults may miss out on learning to swim if they come from a culture where swimming isn't widely popular, or they grow up in metropolitan areas without easy pool access. Others are simply afraid -- a fear sometimes fostered by overanxious parents or a terrifying incident early in life. Teaching late learners tends to take longer and requires different techniques than those used with children.

成年人不會游泳的原因有很多，可能是因爲生長的環境不鼓勵學習游泳，也可能是從小生活在游泳池較少的大都市。有些人則是純粹出於恐懼，這種恐懼可能源於父母的溺愛，也可能是源於早年遭遇重大事故留下的陰影。與教小孩學游泳相比，教成年人學習游泳需要花費更長的時間，教授方法也有所不同。

A growing number of swim clinics are specializing in adult lessons, partlybecause learning to swim later in life can be a little embarrassing.

於是，專門針對成年人的游泳培訓班應運而生，部分原因是成年人學游泳多少會有些尷尬。

Beth Davis, who operates her own swim clinic in Boulder, Colo., says the number of adults in her practice has nearly doubled in recent years, from 34 adult students in 2009 to 67 currently. Lori Pailet, a founder and director of AquaSkills, the Manhattan facility, says her adult clientele typically increases by 15% to 25% each year. Lessons there cost $100 to register and $1,200 for 10 private lessons.

貝絲•戴維斯(Beth Davis)在科羅拉多州博爾德(Boulder)開設了一個游泳培訓班。戴維斯表示，到她這裏參加游泳培訓的成年人的人數近幾年增長了將近一倍，2009年她只有34個成年學員，現在已經達到67個。曼哈頓游泳學校AquaSkills的創始人兼校長洛瑞•帕裏特(Lori Pailet)稱，在她這裏，成年學員每年一般會遞增15%-25%。參加AquaSkills的游泳培訓需要支付註冊費100美元，選擇10節私教課程的費用是1200美元。

Mr. Pace, who is taking lessons at AquaSkills, says his parents never knew how to swim and raised him in New York City, where he didn't have easy access to a pool. 'Most of my friends at the time didn't know how to swim, so it didn't seem like a big deal,' he says.

佩斯就在AquaSkills學游泳。他表示，他的父母一直不會游泳，他是在紐約市長大的，那裏很難找到一家游泳館。而且，他說，“那時候，我身邊大多數朋友都不會游泳，因此不會游泳好像也無所謂。”

Joseph Riggio, who lives in Brooklyn, also signed up for swim lessons at AquaSkills, where his biggest hurdle has been overcoming an intense fear of the water. He says his father believed the best way to protect his son was to make him afraid of the water. Mr. Riggio recalls a trip to Coney Island when he was about 7 years old in which his father pushed him under the water repeatedly.

家住布魯克林的約瑟夫•裏焦(Joseph Riggio)在曼哈頓經營着一家名爲“New York Pizza Suprema”的餐館，他也報名參加了AquaSkills的游泳課，而他面對的最大挑戰是要克服自己對水的強烈恐懼。裏焦說他這麼怕水是因爲在他小時候，他父親覺得讓他怕水是保護他的最好方式。裏焦還記得自己七歲到康尼島(Coney Island)旅遊時，父親曾不停地將他按到水裏。

'After he threw me into the water the third time, I stayed down, and then he pulled me up. I was choking and coughing up water,' says Mr. Riggio, owner of New York Pizza Suprema, a restaurant in Manhattan.

裏焦回憶道，“他第三次把我扔進水裏後，我開始下沉，然後他又把我拽上來。我差點窒息，還嗆到了水。”

From then on, learning to swim became a problem for Mr. Riggio. He tried taking lessons as both a child and adult but couldn't overcome his phobia.

從那以後，學游泳就成了裏焦的一個難題。他小時候和長大後都試着參加過游泳培訓，但總是無法克服對水的恐懼。

To ease Mr. Riggio's fear, Ms. Pailet spent the first few lessons simply talking and walking through the water with him.

爲了幫助裏焦克服緊張情緒，帕裏特在頭幾次上課時主要帶裏焦繞着游泳池，邊散步邊聊天。

'She asked about my family and children and teased me about my pizza business as we did exercises,' he says.

裏焦說，“在游泳訓練時，帕裏特會問問我的家庭和孩子的情況，還會拿我的匹薩店生意開開玩笑。”

Mr. Riggio had to unlearn all of his poor habits and commit proper technique to muscle memory. Now, he can do the arms, legs and breathing motions separately but has trouble syncing it all up. When he tries, often he just ends up splashing.

要學會游泳，裏焦必須改掉所有壞毛病，將正確的游泳姿勢化爲下意識的動作。現在，單獨做手部、腿部動作或者呼吸換氣他都沒有問題，但要配合起來還很難。一旦要手腳配合起來遊，他常常就只能在原地撲騰了。

'Yes, it's embarrassing, but I'm going to be more embarrassed if I'm not a good swimmer but my children are,' Mr. Riggio says.

裏焦說，“這可真尷尬，但如果我遊得連孩子們也不如，那會更口。”

The process of learning to swim can be slow and frustrating for adults who, unlike children, are 'very results focused,' says John Fitzpatrick, owner and head coach of a swim facility, Chicago Blue Dolphins.

芝加哥藍海豚游泳館(Chicago Blue Dolphins)的老闆兼首席教練約翰•菲茨帕特里克(John Fitzpatrick)表示，與小孩不同的是，成年人學游泳的過程可能很慢，有時會令人很是沮喪，因爲成年人非常“看重結果”。

Mr. Fitzpatrick first teaches adults how to float and glide by kicking off the side of the pool. 'These activities -- while fundamental and critical to them being successful -- do not seem to them like they're swimming,' he says. As a result, the adults tend to get frustrated with their seemingly slow progress.

菲茨帕特里克一般先教成年人如何漂浮和蹬邊滑行。他說，“這些動作是學好游泳的基本功，很關鍵，但成年學員認爲這根本不算游泳。”結果，他們很容易對自己貌似緩慢的學習進度感到沮喪。

In Manhattan, Ms. Pailet says one client wanted to skip the breathing and buoyancy basics and just 'get it over with.' At one point, she says, he became so frustrated, he began smacking the water with a foam noodle.

曼哈頓的帕裏特表示，有個學員想跳過基本的呼吸換氣和漂浮練習，迫不及待地想一口氣學完了事。結果，他一度泄氣得不行，拿個浮水條不停地擊打水面。

While learning the techniques are important, Ms. Davis, the Boulder instructor, also teaches adults how to play. 'Children don't need to be taught how to play, but adults are different creatures,' she says. 'They don't know how to respond to the water. It's this strange murky thing.'

雖然學會游泳技巧很重要，但博爾德的戴維斯也很注意教導成年學員如何享受玩水的樂趣。她說，“孩子們不用教就會玩，但成年人不同，他們不知道該如何面對水這種神祕莫測的東西。”

In a game called 'bottom to bottom,' students jump up in the water, then let themselves fall bottom-first to the floor of the pool. Sometimes in group lessons she will have adults compete in relays or swim in pairs, with one person doing the arm stroke while the other grips his partner's ankles and kicks. Ms. Davis calls her methods 'functional play.'

在一個名叫“底對底”(bottom to bottom)的遊戲中，戴維斯讓學員在水中跳起，然後以臀部下坐的姿勢落向池底。有時候，在有多人蔘加的成人培訓班上，戴維斯還會讓學員分組競技或者結對訓練，例如，一個人在練習手臂划水動作時，同伴抓住其腳踝並踢腿。戴維斯把她的這種訓練方法稱爲“功能遊戲”(functional play)。

'Adults work all day. I don't want them to view swimming in the same light,' she says.

她說，“成年人整天都要工作，我不希望他們到這裏來游泳也像工作一樣累。”

Frank Papania, who lives in Bellmore, N.Y., signed up one week after his co-worker, Mr. Pace. Now the two, who have been friends for 17 years, take lessons together.

家住紐約州貝爾摩(Bellmore)的弗蘭克•帕帕尼亞(Frank Papania)和佩斯是同事，更是相識了17年的老朋友。帕帕尼亞比佩斯晚一週也在AquaSkills報了名，現在，兩人一起上游泳課。

'We encourage each other more than anything else, but we will give helpful hints when we can,' says Mr. Papania, 40. 'We'll say things like, 'Hey, straighten your legs.' '

現年40歲的帕帕尼亞說，“我們一直相互鼓勁，有時候還能給對方一點有用的提示，比如會告訴對方‘把腿伸直’。”

The goal is to achieve 'water competency,' defined by the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council as being able to enter and exit the water, turn 360 degrees afloat, tread or float for one minute and move through the water for at least 25 yards.

游泳訓練的目的是要提高“水性”。根據美國紅十字會科學顧問委員會(American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council)的定義，良好的水性是指能夠自由出入水中、在水中360度轉向、踩水或在水面持續漂浮一分鐘，以及能夠在水中游動至少25碼的距離。

Jess White, who grew up landlocked in Kansas and now lives in Boulder, says she never felt confident in the water. In 2010, she signed up for lessons with Ms. Davis to become more comfortable and ultimately compete in triathlons.

傑西•懷特(Jess White)在堪薩斯州內陸地區長大，現在住在博爾德市。她說她以前下水總是戰戰兢兢的。2010年，她報名參加了戴維斯的培訓課程，慢慢變得自信起來，甚至還參加了鐵人三項全能比賽。

Learning to swim took longer than she thought, about five months. She didn't tell many people at first, hesitant to admit 'learning what seems like a childlike skill as an adult.' But her efforts show. Last summer, she swam 500 meters in a triathlon and plans to swim 1,500 meters in one this month. Ms. White, 27, is still taking lessons to refine her stroke.

懷特學了大約五個月，原來她根本沒想到自己學游泳要用那麼長時間。一開始她沒有到處張揚，因爲不願承認自己在學一個“小孩子都會的技能”。但她的努力得到了回報。去年夏天，她參加了一個鐵人三項賽，完成了500米距離的游泳。這個月她還準備參加一項1500米距離的游泳比賽。27歲的懷特至今仍在繼續接受培訓，以進一步提高自己的游泳技能。

'Pretty much everybody knows now,' she says. 'It became a point of pride for me when I could say, 'Look at me, I can swim.' '

懷特說，“現在大家基本都知道我會游泳了。能夠充滿信心地展示自己的水性，已經成爲讓我很自豪的一件事。”