【双语精读】泳衣颜色与安全:你不知道的救命秘密

A fun swim at the beach or pool can quickly turn dangerous. Swim safety experts say most drownings are preventable. They recommend learning basic swimming skills, designating “water watchers” to supervise children, and never swimming alone or after drinking alcohol or using drugs.

在海滩或游泳池愉快地游泳可能很快变得危险。游泳安全专家表示，大多数溺水事故是可以预防的。他们建议学习基本的游泳技能，指定“水监护人”来监督儿童，且绝不要单独游泳或在饮酒或使用毒品后游泳。

But could your swimsuit color actually help prevent drowning? Experts say wearing the right color on your next beach day can boost your visibility and safety—especially for new swimmers and kids.

但是，你的泳衣颜色真的能帮助预防溺水吗？专家表示，下次去海滩时穿戴合适的颜色可以提高你的可见度和安全性——尤其是对新手游泳者和儿童来说。

So, what are the safest swimsuit colors?

那么，最安全的泳衣颜色有哪些呢？

Lisa Zarda, Executive Director of the U.S. Swim School Association, explains that bright, neon colors are easiest to spot in pools, lakes, and oceans. Blue, black, white, and gray suits tend to blend into the water.

美国游泳学校协会执行董事丽莎·扎尔达解释说，明亮的霓虹色在泳池、湖泊和海洋中最容易被发现。蓝色、黑色、白色和灰色的泳衣往往与水融合在一起。

“When the water moves and reflects sunlight, some colors just disappear underwater,” she said. “Especially in open water, which can be murky and hard to see: the brighter the color, the better.”

“当水流动并反射阳光时，有些颜色在水下会消失，”她说。“尤其是在开放水域，水可能浑浊且难以看清：颜色越明亮越好。”

Bright colors help lifeguards and safety personnel spot and rescue people in trouble. Vivid orange and highlighter yellow are two of the best choices.

明亮的颜色有助于救生员和安全人员发现并救助遇险的人。鲜艳的橙色和荧光黄是两个最佳选择。

“Think safety vests and traffic cones,” Zarda said. “Those colors are bright for a reason—to be easily seen.”

“想想安全背心和交通锥，”扎尔达说。“这些颜色之所以明亮是有原因的——为了容易被看见。”

An informal study by Alive Solutions, a public safety group, tested swimsuit visibility in three settings: a pool with a light-colored bottom, a pool with a dark bottom like the ocean, and an outdoor lake with brown-gray water.

公共安全组织Alive Solutions进行的一项非正式研究测试了泳衣在三种环境中的可见性：底色浅的泳池、底色深如海洋的泳池，以及水呈棕灰色的户外湖泊。

The study found neon orange was the easiest to see overall. Against a dark pool bottom, neon yellow, green, and orange stood out most. Brighter reds and pinks appeared darker, while both light and dark colors faded into the water. In a pool with a light bottom, most colors were visible, but light shades like white and light blue vanished almost immediately. In the lake, only neon colors remained visible; all others blended in quickly. Bottom line: choose a neon orange swimsuit if you want to be sure you’re seen.

研究发现霓虹橙色总体上最容易被看到。在黑色泳池底部，霓虹黄、绿和橙色最突出。较亮的红色和粉色看起来更暗，而浅色和深色都渐渐融入水中。在浅色池底的泳池，大多数颜色可见，但白色和浅蓝色几乎立即消失。在湖泊中，只有霓虹色保持可见，其他颜色很快融入水中。结论是：如果你想确保被看到，选择霓虹橙色泳衣。

What makes neon stand out?

是什么让霓虹色如此醒目？

All visible color comes from reflected light. A red apple, for example, absorbs many colors but reflects red light, which is why it appears red to us.

所有可见颜色都来自反射光。例如，红苹果吸收了许多颜色，但反射红光，这就是它看起来是红色的原因。

Regular colors reflect only the light they receive. Fluorescentpigments do more—they absorb invisible ultraviolet and some blue light, then re-emit part of that energy as very bright visible light. This makes fluorescent colors seem to glow.

普通颜色只反射它们接收到的光线。荧光颜料则更为特殊——它们吸收不可见的紫外线和部分蓝光，然后将部分能量重新发射为非常明亮的可见光。这使荧光颜色看起来像在发光。

Because of this strong contrast, traffic signs, safety gear, and rescue items like buoys often use neon materials. The same effect makes fluorescent swimsuits extra safe.

正因为这种强烈的对比，交通标志、安全装备和救援物品如浮标经常使用霓虹材料。相同的效果也使荧光泳衣更加安全。

Swim Safety for Kids

儿童游泳安全

Children are especially vulnerable to drowning. Kids ages one to four die from drowning more than any other cause. For children ages five to 14, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death.

儿童尤其容易溺水。1至4岁的儿童死于溺水的比例高于其他任何原因。对于5至14岁的儿童来说，溺水是非故意伤害死亡的第二大原因。

“Choosing the right swimsuit color doesn’t replace other crucial safety measures,” Zarda said. “Always have an undistracted adult watching, install a fence around your pool, and enroll your child in swim lessons so they learn how to swim and move safely in the water—those layers of protection remain essential.”

“选择合适的泳衣颜色不能替代其他关键的安全措施，”扎尔达说。“始终确保有专心的成年人看护，安装泳池围栏，并让你的孩子参加游泳课程，学习如何游泳及安全地在水中活动——这些保护层依然至关重要。”