与“海象”冰海共舞|海象理财最新消息
时间：2018-12-27 03:31:15 来源：柠檬阅读网 本文已影响 人 
寒冷的12月，很多人都应该进入了“冬眠”或“半冬眠”状态，足不出户，舒舒服服地蜷缩在被窝里睡懒觉吧。但一些生活在北方的人偏要“唱反调”，在冰天雪地的户外进行传统的冬季运动――冬泳。这对长期生活在南方的Grace来说确实很不可思议。冬泳究竟有什么魅力，为什么能吸引这么多人参与呢？它对健康真的有那么多好处吗？想知道答案，一起看看本文作者在俄罗斯的冬泳经历。
Welcome to Russia, where temperatures regularly plunge1 below freezing for four months of the year. To survive the cold here, most people bundle up2, but some just strip3 down. They call themselves “morzhi,” or walruses4, and their passion is swimming…in subzero temperatures. At least every week, and as often as every day, they plunge into the icy depths of frozen lakes and rivers. Morzhi claim that there are enormous5 health benefits to ice swimming. They say it improves circulation, helps with arthritis6 and rheumatism7 pains and rids the system of toxins8. They also claim it can cure the heaviest of hangovers9. For the most part, morzhi are very health-conscious10. Most don’t drink or smoke and in some cases even have rules that forbid people from drinking before dunking11.
“It gives you vital12 energy and strength,” a devotee called Sasha told me on a chilly morning on the Moscow River. She was wearing nothing but a wet swimsuit as we chatted, and I asked her whether she was cold. “I am warm, I am warm,” she insisted. I told Sasha that I was planning to try dipping my toe in to see what it was all about. “The first time is horrific, but then it’s normal,” she assured me.
With some fear, I had decided to find out for myself whether these morzhi are enlightened13 or crazy. I bought a short-sleeve wetsuit14, partially so as not to frighten people with the sight of my white flesh after a Moscow winter, and partially because I was concerned that my internal15 organs might shut down upon contact with the water. I had spent the week reading horror stories on the Internet about hypothermic16 shock, panic attacks and the sensation17 of not being able to breathe properly.
Watching the men and women, old and young, fat and thin, jog18 casually into the water and splash19 around happily, I suddenly felt rather foolish for my fears. It looked almost fun. I walked into the water and waded20 forward. At first it felt like little needles pricking21 my legs. Then, as the water got higher, I felt something like dizziness. I realized that I was making slightly strange whooping22 noises and that I was by now almost skipping23 through the water just to keep moving. By the time the water was just above my navel, I decided that I had experienced enough of the icy waters for my first experience, and I rapidly went back to the changing room.
As soon as I was out of the water and felt the wind whipping24 against my frozen and numb extremities25, a feeling of warmth and lucidity26 spread through my body and mind. I felt refreshed and invigorated27 in a way I am not sure I have ever felt before. I was ready to take the world head-on, I was ready to run a marathon, write a novel, climb a mountain. I had heard morzhi say that ice swimming is also a cure for depression28 and I can understand why. It is not easy to find another activity that gives you such a high.
If you are looking for a revitalizing29 experience with a distinctly Russian flavor, ice swimming is for you. I like to think that next year I might give it another go, and this time try to get in all the way, and possibly without the aid of a wetsuit. In the meantime, however, I think I’ll leave swimming in the ice to the ducks…and the morzhi.
欢迎来到俄罗斯！在这里，一年中有四个月的时间气温低于零度。为了抵御严寒，大多数人把自己一层层裹起来，然而有些人则反其道而行之，宽衣解带。这些人自称“morzhi”，即“海象”，他们最爱游泳……而且是在零度以下的冰水之中畅泳。他们至少每周，甚至每天都会潜入冰封的河流和湖泊深处。
据“海象”们称，冬泳对健康大有裨益，比如冬泳能促进循环，缓解关节炎和风湿带来的疼痛，并有助身体系统排出毒素。他们还说冬泳能够解除最严重的宿醉。大多数情况下，“海象”们都十分注重健康。大部分“海象”既不喝酒也不抽烟，有时还设立禁止在下水前喝酒的规定。
“它能为你带来活力和力量，”在一个寒冷的早晨，一位名叫萨莎的冬泳爱好者在莫斯科河畔对我这样说道。我们交谈的时候，她身上只穿了一件湿泳衣，我问她冷不冷。“我很暖，很暖，”她坚持道。我告诉萨莎说我想伸个脚趾头进水里，试试看是什么感觉。“第一次是很可怕，但是以后就习惯了，”她向我担保。
我战战兢兢地决定亲身体验一下，看看这些“海象”们到底是确实有见地，还是发疯了。于是，我买了一件短袖湿式潜水服，一半是为了使人们不至于被我在莫斯科度过一冬之后的苍白肌肤所吓到，另一半则是因为担心我的内脏在接触冰水时可能会停止运作。我还花了一个星期的时间在网上读了不少可怕的故事，大多是关于体温过低、突然产生的恐慌以及感觉无法正常呼吸等内容。
看着男女老少、胖瘦各异的人们悠游慢步踱入冰水之中，快乐地击水，我突然觉得自己的担忧十分愚蠢。这看起来很好玩啊。于是我走入水中，涉水前进。起初的感觉就好像无数根小针扎着我的双腿；后来，随着水位越来越高，我开始感到头晕目眩。我意识到自己正在发出有点奇怪的喘息声，而且几乎是在水里跳着前进，仅仅是为了保持移动。当水淹到肚脐眼时，我认为对这种冰水的初次体验已经足够了，于是迅速回到更衣室。
我刚离水，寒风鞭打着我冻僵了的手脚，突然有一种温暖、透彻的感觉在全身心散发开来。我感到一种似乎从未有过的清爽，精神为之一振。在那一刻，我可以昂首面对整个世界，可以跑完一次马拉松，写一部小说，或者登上一座山峰。我曾听“海象”们说过冬泳可以治疗抑郁症，现在我终于明白个中缘由了。你很难找到另一种能给人带来此等快感的活动。
如果你正在寻找一种带有典型俄罗斯风味的充电体验，那么冬泳就是你的不二之选。我想明年可能会再体验一次，那时就要把冬泳体验进行到底，或许还不必依赖潜水服的帮助呢。不过，另一方面，现在我想还是把冬泳留给鸭子……还有“海象”们吧。
注释
1.plunge v.投入，跳进
2.bundle up 把……捆绑，使穿暖和
3.strip v.剥，剥去
4.walrus n.海象
5.enormous n.巨大的，庞大的
6.arthritis n.关节炎
7.rheumatism n.风湿炎
8.toxin n.毒素
9.hangover n.宿醉
10.conscious a.有意识的
11.dunk v.浸泡，下水
12.vital a.充满活力的
13.enlightened a.有见识的
14.wetsuit n.潜水服
15.internal organs 内脏
16.hypothermic a.体温过低的
17.sensation n.感（知）觉
18.jog v.蹒跚行进
19.splash v.泼
20.wade v.趟水，涉水
21.prick v.刺，扎
22.whoop v.高声呼叫，呐喊
23.skip v.跳，蹦
24.whip v.鞭打，抽打
25.extremity n.（复数形式）手足，四肢
26.lucidity n.神志清醒，清晰
27.invigorate v.使精力充沛，鼓舞
28.depression n.沮丧，消沉
29)revitalize v.使恢复元气，使有新的活力
