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[来源]NPR（ 美国全国公共电台）
[地址]http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93478073
Weekend Edition Sunday, August 10, 2008 · Until Sunday, the Olympic "Water Cube" in Beijing was best known for being blue and bubbly and bright at night. Now the Olympic swimming pool inside may get more attention.
直到周日为止，北京奥运的“水立方”以它蔚蓝的色彩，气泡的造型以及夜晚的灯光闻名。现在，它内部的泳池可能会引起更多注意。
A dozen world and Olympic records fell at the pool Sunday, most in preliminary heats. American Michael Phelps started the record run with a new world mark in the 400-meter individual medley event. That won him his first gold medal of the 2008 games.
一打世界及奥运纪录在周日被打破，而且大部分是在热身赛。美国的Mickael Phelps在400米混合泳中创造了新的世界纪录，并赢得了他2008年奥运的第一块金牌。
Ten hours later, the U.S. men's 4-by-100 freestyle relay team also set a world record.
10小时以后，美国男子4x100自由泳接力也创造了新的世界纪录。
Records often fall at the Olympics, because athletes spend four years preparing and their performances often peak at the games. But the pool itself may deserve some credit.
世界纪录经常在奥运会被打破，因为运动员们用了四年时间准备，而且他们的状态经常在比赛时达到巅峰。但是这个用泳池本身也许也值得表扬。
"It's by far the fastest pool in the world," says Rowdy Gaines, an Olympic medalist and swimming commentator for Olympic broadcaster NBC. "If you step into this arena, you'll see a thing of beauty. ... It's really a thing of absolute beauty."
“这是目前为止世界上最快的游泳池，”Rowdy Gaines说，他是奥运奖牌获得者，也是NBC奥运游泳比赛的讲解员。“如果你走进这个运动场，你会看见它的美丽……它真得非常美。”
Gaines is not referring to the futuristic exterior. He focuses on the design of the pool, which discourages turbulence and encourages speed.
Gaines并不是在说它超前的外表。他说的是泳池的设计，它减小了水中的湍流，帮助提高速度。
"I'm talking about deep water," Gaines explains. "It's a perfect depth because if it's too deep, you lose your sense of vision and where you're at in the pool. But it's just deep enough to where the waves dissipate (and) the turbulence dissipates down to the bottom."
“我说的是深水，”Gaines解释说，“它的深度很完美，因为如果它太深了，那么你在水中会失去目力，也不知道自己的位置，但是它的深度刚好使得水波和湍流可以消散到底部。”
The Water Cube pool also has 10 lanes instead of eight. Waves churned up during races don't bounce back into the swimming lanes. Water that reaches the sides is siphoned off by perforated gutters.
水立方拥有10条泳道而不是8条（补充：靠边的两条不用。）。在比赛中被搅起的水波不会返回到使用的泳道中。冲向两边的水会被凿在两边的水槽吸收。
"It's physics and it's not sports, but it makes sense," says Christine Brennan, a veteran of 13 Olympics and an Olympics columnist for USA Today. "You make a deeper and a wider pool, and you ... give all of those waves and all of that splashing and all of that moving water a chance to move away from the swimmers and get out of their way, which makes them go faster. It's as simple as that."
“这是物理而不是体育，但是它很有意义。”Christin Brennan说，它是参与过13届奥运会的老选手以及USA Today的奥运专栏作家。“你建造一个更深和更宽的泳池，并且……使得所有的水波、溅起的水花以及水流都能够远离游泳选手，不档他们的路。这使他们可以游得更快，就是这么简单。”
The Water Cube pool is close to 10 feet deep. That's 3 feet deeper than the pools of the past. The lane lines that separate swimmers are called wave eaters because they dissipate turbulent water. The goal is to make the water as flat and clear as possible, despite the churning that swimmers create.
水立方大概深10英尺，比过去的泳池深3英尺。分隔泳道的隔离栏（就是那些一条条浮在水上的红白相间的东西，我也不知道确切的英文怎么说。）被称作波浪吞噬者，因为他们使得湍急的水流能够消散。主要的目的是即使当运动员搅起漩涡，也尽可能使水体平静无阻。
An indoor setting also helps, along with temperature, humidity and lighting control. Wide decks with seats sharply cascading back give swimmers an uncrowded sense of space. That can energize athletes, like American Dara Torres, who calls the pool "awesome."
室内的温度、湿度以及灯光等设置也有所帮助。宽阔的池岸以及大幅向后倾斜排布的座椅给与游泳选手宽敞的空间感，这使运动员更有精神，正如美国运动员Dara Torres赞这个泳池“太棒了”。
"Everything is just fantastic about this pool. I've never seen such a big facility in my life. And you get a great feeling walking into that facility, knowing that this is where the Olympic Games are (held)."
“这个泳池的一切都是那么美妙。在我一生中我从没见过如此庞大的设施。当你走进去的时候，你会觉得很棒，并且知道奥运会在这里举行。”
The technology used in the Water Cube pool is standard now for competitive pools. And it's hard to imagine them getting better, Gaines says.
在水立方中所采取的技术现在成了竞技用泳池的标准技术。而且Gaines说，很难想象还能变得更好了。
"Technology has really kind of tapped out as far as the building of these kinds of facilities," Gaines says. "I can't imagine them getting better."
“在这类设施中，技术已经达到了终极水准”，Gaines说，“我无法想象它们还能变更好。”
All that's left, Gaines suggests, is making the water faster, perhaps by changing its chemical composition. Competitive pools, for example, once contained salt water, which increased buoyancy and speed. But Gaines has his doubts about the concept.
Gaines说，剩下来的是使水变得更快，也许可以改变它的化学成分。比如竞技用泳池曾经使用过含盐分的水，它能增加浮力和速度。但是Gaines对这种可能表示怀疑。
"It's not like track and field, where the types of tracks ... just get faster and faster because, I guess, there is more spring to them," Gaines says. "But I don't know how you make fast water. It's just not possible."
“这和田径不同，那里的跑道类型……可以变得越来越快，我猜是因为他们得到更多弹力，”Gaines说，“但是我不知道你怎么让水变得更快。这就是不可能。”
In fact, new technology lately has focused on high-tech swimming suits that decrease resistance. Those suits and a fast pool and the intensely competitive atmosphere of the Olympics mean more records are likely to fall in Beijing.
实际上，最新的技术重点在于可以减少阻力的高科技泳衣。这样的泳衣、更快的泳池以及这里激烈的竞争氛围意味着在北京可能有更多的奥运纪录会被打破。 |
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狗仔卡
发表于 2008-8-11 11:51
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楼主
发表于 2008-8-12 16:45