老外在中國：我永遠不會告訴妻子的秘密

說到游泳池，許多人都會想起一股熟悉的味道。這種刺鼻的味道其實是漂白水、汗液、皮脂、尿液“混合發(fā)酵”的產(chǎn)物。沒錯，有尿。加拿大阿爾伯塔大學(xué)的李興芳教授通過研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，一個833立方米的水池含有大約0.08立方米的尿液。而為了讓我剛剛學(xué)會游泳的妻子可以安心的游泳，我決定保守這個秘密。

With the weather heating up in Beijing, my wife and I were happy to find a swimming pool not far from home. But it wasn't just the weather. Her heart's desire for years has been to learn how to swim.

北京的天越來越熱，我和妻子很高興在離家不遠的地方找到了一個游泳池。這不單單是因為天氣炎熱，還因為她多年來心心念念的就是學(xué)會游泳。

Good hubby that I am, I wanted to help.

作為一個好丈夫，我當然想要幫她實現(xiàn)愿望。

Learning to swim is a bit scary for anyone, regardless of age. My wife, who is in her 50s, was no exception. In the beginning, she thrashed around like a wet chicken and gulped water like a beer-swigging sailor on shore leave.

對任何年齡段的人來說，學(xué)習(xí)游泳都是一件有點可怕的事情。我妻子當然也不例外，她已經(jīng)50多歲了。一開始，她只能像一只落湯雞一樣在水里四處撲騰，大口大口地喝泳池里的水，就跟剛到岸的水手狂喝啤酒一樣。

I'm sympathetic, since she has low body fat and — unlike me — sinks like a stone. (In my youth I, too sank like a stone, but over the years I've become more … shall we say … buoyant.) But mostly her problem was panic.

跟我不同，她體脂太低，在水里就像石頭一樣，很容易沉下去，對此我深表同情。我年輕時，也曾像石頭一樣容易沉入水中，但這些年來我越來越……我們應(yīng)該說……浮力越來越大。但她最主要的問題是恐慌。

Two lessons from a Chinese instructor settled her down. On the deck, she practiced proper kicking technique: Crouch, spread, pull together. Crouch, spread, pull together. In the water, the instructor calmly taught her how to put her face down — and breathe only after coming out. The lessons did wonders.

隨后，在一位中國游泳教練的指導(dǎo)下上了兩堂課，她就平靜下來。在岸上，她練習(xí)了正確的打腿方式：收起、展開、一起劃水。在水中，教練耐心地教她如何把臉低下來，當臉浮出水面后再呼吸。課程很有效。

After that, I got her to swim underwater. Now she can breaststroke the length of the pool, kicking and breathing rhythmically, and only occasionally reverting to the chicken thrash.

隨后，我讓她下水練習(xí)游泳?，F(xiàn)在，她能夠采用蛙泳姿勢游完整個泳池，并且有節(jié)奏地打腿和換氣，偶爾才會在水里胡亂撲騰。

I have now pronounced her pool-safe. The amount of water she has ingested has decreased markedly over the last two weeks.

現(xiàn)在我認為泳池對她很安全。在過去的兩周里，她喝的水已經(jīng)明顯變少了。

But it's the swallowing that gets a swimmer to thinking: What's in this stuff?

但正是不斷從泳池中喝水的過程讓游泳者開始思考：游泳池的水里都有什么?

Swimming pool water has a distinctive odor, a chemical byproduct of chlorine interacting with body oils, sweat and urine. Yes, urine. Some bad-mannered people actually pee in pools around the world.

游泳池的水有一種獨特的氣味，它是由氯與人的油脂、汗水和尿液混合在一起所產(chǎn)生的化學(xué)物質(zhì)的濃烈味道。是的，這里面有尿液。實際上，世界各地的游泳池里都有低素質(zhì)的人在里面撒尿。

The amount of pee has been difficult to measure until now. Xing-Fang Li of the University of Alberta explained in February how her team did it. Instead of trying to measure pee directly, they measured the level of an artificial sweetener — acesulfame potassium, or Ace-K — which is carried in most people's urine, including in China. It's found in many foods, such as yogurt. It's not metabolized. In other words, it goes right through you, thereby providing a urine yardstick.

目前為止，尿液具體含量一直難以測量。今年2月，加拿大阿爾伯塔大學(xué)的李興芳教授向外界解釋了她的團隊如何測量泳池中的尿量。研究團隊沒有直接測量尿液，而是測量了一種名叫乙?；前匪徕?或者簡短地稱為Ace-K)的人造甜味劑含量。這種甜味劑在大多數(shù)人的尿液中存在，其中也包括中國人。它來源于許多食物，比如酸奶，但是它在人體內(nèi)不代謝。換句話說，它通過人體排入泳池，從而提供了一個尿液衡量標準。

Li's team collected water samples from public pools, hotel hot tubs and recreation venues and tested for Ace-K. Result: An 833-cubic-meter pool contains about 0.08 cubic meters of pee.

李興芳的團隊從公共泳池、酒店熱水浴缸和娛樂場所收集了液體樣本，并對其中的Ace-K含量進行了檢測。結(jié)果顯示，一個833立方米的水池含有大約0.08立方米的尿液。

Other products of the body pose a problem, too. Li advises a one-minute shower before entering a pool to remove much of the perspiration residue and oils that might react with chlorine to form the harmful byproducts.

人體的其他物質(zhì)也會對泳池水質(zhì)造成危害。李興芳建議，游泳者在進入游泳池前應(yīng)該先淋浴。即使在入水中前沖洗一分鐘，也可以清除大部分皮膚上殘留的能與氯反應(yīng)的汗液和油脂。

When I was a kid — long before the advent of artificial sweeteners — you'd get thrown out if you didn't shower first, but at the Beijing pool, I notice that many swimmers don't bother. Instead, they sit on the edge of the pool and perform a little ritual of splashing water on their bodies before plunging in. For them, it's literally bathing.

當我還是個孩子的時候，距人工甜味劑出現(xiàn)還早得很，如果游泳前不洗澡，就會被踢出泳池，但在北京的泳池里，我注意到很多游泳者完全不介意這個問題。相反地，他們在跳進水里之前，就坐在泳池邊緣往身上潑點水。對他們來說，這就是洗澡了。

I want my wife to continue swimming, so I'm not telling her any of this.

我希望我妻子能夠繼續(xù)游泳，所以我不會把這些事告訴她。

By Randy Wright