Two-thirds of British people take two weeks of vacation during the summer months. Most of them go to the beach. But for hundreds of years, British people were not interested in going to the seaside.
每年夏天，三分之二的英国人都得到为期两周的假期。他们大多数人都前往海滩。但是在长达几百年的时间里，英国人对于前往海滨不感兴趣。
Then, in the mid-1700s, a doctor named Richard Russell said that drinking sea water cured disease (1). Suddenly, many people wanted to go to the sea to solve their health problems. New health resorts (2) and hotels were built. These places needed to entertain their new guests so they offered card games, performers (3), and puppet (4) shows. Soon, people stopped going to the ocean for the salt water, and went just for fun.
然而在十八世纪中期，一个名叫理查德-罗素的医生提出喝海水能够治疗疾病。忽然间，很多人想去海边解决自己的健康问题。人们在海边建造了新的疗养院和宾馆。为了满足新来的游客们的娱乐需求，这些场所还提供纸牌游戏、组织表演和木偶节目。不久之后，人们不再为了咸海水前往海边，他们去海边仅仅是为了找乐子。
Next, the invention of the railroad made it easier for people to go to the coast on short trips. British families and young people fell in love with the seaside. Children liked to play in the water and the adults liked to socialize (5) and walk along the promenades (6). The rich sailed on their yachts (7). At that time, British men and women were still very modest (8). They did not want other people to see them swimming. So “bathing machines” were invented. They were rooms on wheels pulled into the sea by horses. That way, people could swim in private (9).
接着，铁路的发明大大方便了人们到海边的短途旅行。英国家庭以及年轻人爱上了海滨胜地。孩子们喜欢在水里嬉戏，成年人喜欢在海边的公共散步场所开展社交或者四处走走。富人们驾驶着他们的游艇。那时，英国的男男女女仍然十分腼腆，他们不希望别人看见自己游泳。因此才有了“游泳机”的发明。游泳机就是带轮子的房间，由马拉到海里去。这样，人们可以单独游泳、不被别人看见。
By 1900, the coast of Britain had many towns and villages. People moved to the seaside to escape the crowded cities.
到了二十世纪，英国的海岸边有了许多城镇和村庄。人们到海边以摆脱拥挤的城市。
Brighton was the first major seaside town in England. It soon became Britain's most popular resort.
布莱顿是第一座重要的海滨城镇，很快这里就成为了英国最热门的度假胜地。
Word Key
1.cured disease (to cure disease) verb + object治疗疾病
2.resort noun 胜地，常去之地
3.performer noun 表演者
4.puppet noun 木偶
5.socialize verb (同他人)来往，交往，交际
6.promenade noun a public place for leisurely walking公共散步场所
7.yacht noun 游艇，快艇
8.modest adjective 腼腆的；朴素的
9. in private phrase not in public; secretly or confidentially私下地，无他人在场
