本文音频及原文摘自杂志The Economist 2016年第20期，Britain版块。

Leisure activities

The number of people swimming has taken a dip

May 14th 2016

PERHAPS surprisingly, in the land of cricket[板球] and Premier League football[英格兰足球超级联赛], swimming has long been the most popular sport. More than 2.5m English adults take the plunge[1] at least once a week, according to Sport England, the country's community sports body. That is more than football, cricket, hockey[曲棍球;冰球], netball[无挡板篮球(女子)] and both codes of rugby combined.

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[1]take the plunge：to make a decision to do something, especially after thinking about it for a long time （尤指经过长时间考虑后）决心行动，打定主意

They're finally taking the plunge and getting married.

他们终于打定主意要结婚了。

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But while many Britons make waves[1], few have come to rule them. Team GB have won just three Olympic gold medals in the past 30 years, and two of them went to Rebecca Adlington[丽贝卡·阿德林顿] in Beijing in 2008. Britain's athletics stars, by contrast, collected three gold medals in a single evening at the London games in 2012. And Chris Hoy[克里斯·霍伊] picked up three cycling golds on his own in Beijing. The contrasting fortunes[截然不同的命运] of the sports' elite athletes[优秀运动员] are reflected in participation levels. Inspired by Mo Farah[莫·法拉], a runner, Jessica Ennis-Hill[谢茜嘉·恩尼斯], a heptathlete[2], and Chris Froome[克里斯·弗罗梅] and Sir Bradley Wiggins[布拉德利·威金斯], two Tour de France[环法自行车赛] cycling champions, more Britons are running and cycling than ever before.

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[1]make waves：to be very active so that other people notice you, often in a way that intentionally causes trouble （故意）兴风作浪，挑起事端；引起轰动；制造纠纷

If a member of the Cabinet started making waves, the prime minister simply got rid of them.

如果内阁中有人兴风作浪，首相直接就将其解职。

[2]heptathlete 女子七项全能运动员

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Swimming, meanwhile, has taken a dive[1]. In England, 750,000 fewer people are getting their togs(衣服) on than a decade ago. The Amateur Swimming Association[英国业余游泳协会] says that one in five English adults cannot swim, and half of all primary schoolchildren are unable to paddle[划桨;戏水;涉水] 25 metres unaided[未受协助的;独立的], although it is a requirement in the national curriculum[2].

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[1]take a dive 突然下降;暴跌

[2]the national curriculum (英格兰和威尔士)全国性课程

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Some promising young swimmers are coming through the system now—Adam Peaty[亚当·佩蒂] and James Guy[詹姆斯·盖伊] both became world champions last year.Perhaps a big haul of[大量] gold medals at this summer's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro[里约热内卢] might tempt[诱惑;引起;使感兴趣] more Britons to dive in.

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以上言论不代表本人立场。

原文摘自The economist，仅外语学习之用。

其中生词解释来源于Cambridge Dictionaries

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