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Swimming through fear
游越恐惧
I was on a tour of France with my friends when our car pulled to a stop at the beach and we saw the Mediterranean Sea. Massive waves surged against large rocks that formed a waterproof jetty. People said this beach was known for its notorious rip currents. I shivered with fear. Nothing scared me as much as water.
当时我和朋友正在法国旅行，我们把汽车停在海滩，眼前就是地中海。巨浪翻滚击打着构筑起防波堤的偌大岩石。人们说这里的海滩以其可怕的裂流而著称。恐惧让我不寒而栗。没有什么比水让我更害怕了。
Just the sight of the sea made me sick to my stomach.
只是看到了海就已经让我觉得反胃。
I'd always loved water and been a good swimmer until last summer, when I'd decided to climb up to the highest diving board at the pool. I'd hopped from that height and hit the water with an incredible impact. The air was ousted from my lungs and I blacked out. The next thing I knew, my brother was pulling my feeble body out of the pool. From then on, my fear wouldn't recede; I was absolutely terrified of water.
我曾经一直都是喜欢水的，并且直到去年夏天我都还是一名游泳好手。那时，我决定爬上游泳池边上最高的跳板来跳水。我从那么高的地方跳下，重重地撞击到水面上。我肺里的空气一下子全被挤出去了，马上不省人事。醒来时发现哥哥正把我虚弱的身体从游泳池里拖出来。从那时起，我对水的恐惧就没有消退过，我怕极了水。
"Jason, are you coming?" my friend, Matt, called.
“贾森，你要过来吗？”我的朋友马特朝我喊道。
"Yeah," I said. "Just enjoying the view," from dry land, I added silently, worried they might deem my fear pathetic if they knew.
我说：“好，就是欣赏一下景色”，又在心里默默加了一句——在岸上欣赏。担心如果他们知道我害怕水而可怜我。
Suddenly I heard shouting in French. A mob of people were running into the sea, fully clothed. That's odd, I thought.
突然，我听到有人用法语喊叫。接着看见一群人没脱衣服，就冲到海里。我心想，这真是太奇怪了。
I glimpsed something moving up and down amid the waves, past the end of the jetty. I gasped, realizing the catastrophe with horror. That's a little boy out there! The would-be rescuers fought against the tide, but the situation was bleak. With the water's tow, they'd never get to him in time.
我瞥见防波堤尽头的海浪中有个东西在上下浮动。我惊恐地意识到大事不妙，倒吸了一口凉气，那居然是个小男孩！前去救落水男童的人们搏击着海浪，但情况却不乐观。由于水的拉拽，他们根本不可能及时游到小男孩身边。
I looked back at the boy. His head popped up, then a wave crashed over him and he disappeared for a moment; I had to intervene.
我扭头看看那小男孩。他的头刚露出水面，然后一个浪头打过来，好一阵不见踪影——我不得不做点什么了。
I appraised the situation and realized - the jetty! The boy was close to it; maybe I could help from there. I raced down the beach, out onto the jetty, and it hit me: Water! My palms got sweaty and my stomach felt sick, symptoms of my fear. I stopped short.
我估计了当下的情形后注意到了——对，那防波堤！小男孩靠近那个地方，也许我可以从那儿帮忙。我冲下海滩，跑上防波堤，但突然我想起了什么——水！顿时有了恐惧的症状：我手心冒汗，胃里感觉不适。我一下子停下来。
The people in the water had underestimated the waves and weren't making any progress. I was the only one who saw that going out on the jetty was the fastest way to reach the drowning boy. Yet in the midst of this tragedy, I was extremely terrified. I tried to remember the lifeguard training I'd had as a teenager.
水里的那些人低估了海浪的威力，救援工作没有任何进展。只有我注意到了跑到防波堤上是到达溺水男童的最快的路径。然而在此性命攸关之际，我极度恐慌。我努力去回想十几岁时所接受的救生员训练。
I was paralyzed with fear, but I forced myself to move forward with this impromptu rescue. I don't want this. Surely someone else can save him before I have to.
我因恐惧而全身瘫软，但我强迫自己向前移动，展开这场突发的救援行动。我不想做这些，在我施救之前肯定会有别人救他吧。
