Lidos 户外游泳池

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John: Hi there, this is BBC Learning English. We're out On the Town again and today we're talking about lidos.

Feifei: Lidos? What's a lido?

John: It's a very special kind of open-air swimming pool. I'm John.

Feifei: And I'm Feifei. 在今天的《城市掠影》节目中我们要给大家介绍的是伦敦的户外游泳池，在英语中我们我们称它们为 lidos. Can I just check something out John?

A lido in London

John: Sure.

Feifei: Isn't a lido just another word for an open-air swimming pool?

John: Well, no, they are a little more special than that. A lido is normally large, a large pool, with generous seating and sunbathing areas around the pool itself, with changing rooms and perhaps a small café around the edge of the pool as well.

Feifei: OK, so lidos in London seem to follow the same format. 伦敦户外游泳池的格局大体都是一样的，首先游泳池本身会很大，it will be large, 游泳池的四周非常宽敞，会有很多座位和大面积用来晒太阳的区域。Generous, 这个词本身是大方的意思，这里我们用它就来表示很大。在游泳池的周围我们还可以看到更衣室和咖啡馆。

John: OK, let's hear from some people who have been to a lido. Listen to Amber, she goes to the lido at Parliament Hill in north London, she's a regular swimmer there. It's part of a large park in north London. Here's her explanation of what a lido is.

I think a lido is an outdoor swimming pool, usually huge and they are something that belonged to the past, perhaps the 1940s and 50s, I think of them, or 20s and 30s even.

Amber, lido visitor

Feifei: Right, Amber says pools at lidos are huge 巨大的，and they would be old 年代久远的。And there haven't been new lidos built since the 1940s and 50s or 20s and 30s. 40年代和50年代或20年代和30年代。What's the attraction of lidos today, though, John?

John: Well we caught up with another enthusiastic lido swimmer, Callum. Did he have an answer? What reason could he give? What is the attraction of a lido today?

I'm not quite sure what the attraction of lidos are, but they are incredibly popular. They are swarming with families, young children screaming and shouting, jumping and splashing in. It's slightly different from a swimming pool, in that people might take picnics there or whatever, so they are eating on the side, on the grass or on the concrete surround. It's a very different atmosphere because people aren't going there just to swim, they are going there for a relaxing afternoon, or to spend an afternoon in the sun and to have a chat with their friends, but there's also a swimming pool there.

Callum, lido visitor

Feifei: OK, so I'm getting the picture now. If you go to a lido in London, then you are probably going for the social experience as much as for the exercise and health. Sounds quite a noisy experience, John.

John: Yes, fairly, as Callum said, there's shouting, jumping, and splashing.

Feifei: 大声叫喊 shouting, jumping 蹦蹦跳跳，and splashing 水花四溅。

John: And there are some other social aspects, people often take picnics with them.

Feifei: Picnics 野餐。Now John, tell me, we've heard from some fans of lidos, but there must be some people who don't like them, not everyone can like them, surely.

John: Well, Feifei, you are right. Some of the lidos in London have had their funding cut. So the money they need to remain an attractive venue has been reduced for some of them. This means some of the lidos are a little run-down.

Feifei: OK, 下面我们要听另外一位游泳爱好者 Cath 是怎么评价她去过的两个户外游泳池。注意听这些词语 grubby 脏的，not terribly nice 不是非常好，not quite the reality 和现实有差异。

The reality in my experience is usually that the water is so cold that you can't stay in there for terribly long. Well, the two that I have been to, were a bit grubby, actually, so the changing rooms weren't terribly nice, round the swimming pool area itself wasn't terribly nice.

Cath, lido visitor

John: So sometimes the experience of going to a London lido isn't so good. We've run out of time though. Join us again next time when you can.

Feifei: Bye for now.

John: Bye.