The school holidays have started here in the UK and this weekend will see many families fly off to sunnier countries to catch some of those rays and to luxuriate in warm sea waters.
英国学校暑假已经开始了。本周末，许多家庭飞往阳光更为充足的国家，在温暖的海边尽情享受阳光。

Having just returned from an idyllic two weeks in Barbados with its white sandy beaches and turquoise blue waters, I can totally empathise with the excitement that will be felt across households as families pack their suitcases remembering to take with them their swimsuits – trunks for boys and men; bikinis, tankinis, one-piece swimsuits for girls and women; their beach towels; shorts; T-shirts; light summer dresses; sparkly sandals; flip flops; sunglasses (or shades) and many more items.
我刚刚在巴巴多斯度过了2周。那儿风景优美，白色沙滩，海水蔚蓝。我非常理解那些家庭在打包行李的时候所感受到的激动心情，带上泳装——男孩和男士的泳裤、比基尼、分体泳装、女式连体泳装、沙滩毛巾、短裤、T恤、轻薄的夏款裙装、亮闪闪的凉鞋、人字拖、墨镜，还有很多别的东西。

Of course, we mustn’t forget to take our suntan or sunscreen lotions with us. Years ago, people used to go on a beach holiday and not bother with sun protection. They would lie in the sun for hours on sun loungers and by the end of the day some of them would look like the colour of lobsters (bright red) or worse still, suffer from sunstroke. It’s good to know that with all the publicity about the real dangers of skin cancer, more people are using sun protection. Depending on the colour of your skin, you will decide on the level of protection (sun protection factor SPF) that you need. For example, SPF 50+ gives you maximum protection against the sun whilst SPF15+ the least protection. I remember years ago you could get SPF 4+ which in my opinion hardly gave you any protection.
当然，我们一定要记得带美黑霜或者是防晒霜。几年前，人们没做任何防护措施就去海滩度假。他们好几小时都躺在躺椅上晒太阳。一天下来，有些人看起来就像大龙虾那么红彤彤的。更糟的情况是，晒得中暑了。好在，有了关于皮肤癌的危害的宣传，越来越多的人开始使用防晒产品。根据你皮肤的颜色，你可以选择不同等级的防晒产品（防晒系数SPF）。比如，SPF50+防晒系数最高，SPF15+最低。我记得几年前还有SPF4+，我认为这几乎不起什么防晒作用。

So armed with sun protection, swimsuits, beach towels and all the right clothes for a beach holiday, what are you going to do?
有了防晒产品、泳衣、沙滩毛巾和沙滩度假合适的衣服，你要干什么呢？

Are you the sort of person who likes to lie by the beach on a sun lounger or towel soaking up the sunshine (sunbathing) whilst listening to music or reading the latest summer novel?
你喜欢躺在躺椅，或是坐在毛巾上，躺在沙滩上晒太阳（太阳浴），一边还听着音乐，或者是看最新的夏季小说吗？

Or are you the sporty kind who enjoys swimming, doing water sports like kayaking, windsurfing, sailing, boogie boarding, surfing, jet skiing?
或者你喜欢运动，享受游泳、划皮艇、风帆冲浪、划船、冲浪、水上摩托这类的水上运动。

I like a mixture of sunbathing and swimming. I will occasionally do some snorkelling. I normally borrow someone’s mask, snorkel and fins. I did some snorkelling in Barbados and got to see some of the most colourful fish I’d ever seen. We also bought some “noodles” which are a kind of floater that allowed us to float in the sea and enjoy being in the water whilst chatting. The floaters also made it a lot easier to stay in the water for longer as we didn’t have to keep swimming. It was heavenly.
我喜欢做太阳浴，也喜欢游泳。有时候也会潜水。通常我会借用别人的潜水镜、呼吸管和脚蹼。我在巴巴多斯潜过水，看到了一些五颜六色的鱼。我们也买了些“面条”，那是能让我们在海里一边漂浮一边聊天的浮板。它能让我们在水里待得更久，因为我们用不着游泳。这简直就是人间天堂。

Some people enjoy walking along the beach. I especially like sandy beaches. I am not so fond of pebbly or rocky beaches as it is much harder to walk on them. If I do have to walk on those beaches I use special swim shoes. What can I tell you, I have sensitive feet!
有些人喜欢在海滩上散步。我特别喜欢沙滩。我不喜欢砾石滩和岩石滩，因为很难走。如果我必须在这些海滩上散步，我会穿特殊的游泳的鞋子。我的脚特别敏感！

David, my husband, loves building sandcastles in the sand. He can spend hours creating such masterpieces as a giant hand, a dolphin, a racing car. He often gets an appreciative audience of young children looking on as he works. The children are often armed with their buckets and spades and always keen to give him a helping hand.
我的丈夫大卫喜欢用沙子建沙堡。他可以花上好几个小时，创造出伟大的作品，比如巨大的手、海豚、赛车。常常在他工作的时候，有小孩欣赏他的作品。他们总是带着桶和铲子，热心地想要帮他点忙。

One of the highlights of any beach holiday, though, must be sipping a cocktail (my favourite is a mojito /mohito/) at a beach bar whilst watching the sunset. Bliss.
每个海滩假日精彩之处一定是坐在海滩酒吧里，看着落日，抿上一口鸡尾酒。（我的最爱是莫吉托）太幸福了！

注：mojito莫吉托，百加得朗姆酒、薄荷叶汁、甘蔗糖浆和鲜青柠汁

That’s it; I’m booking my next beach holiday right now.
好了，我要去预定下一个海滩假日了。