Thisafternoon,theweatherwasexceptionallyclear,withanendlessbluesky.MyfatherandmotheraretakingmetotheLimestoneDamHotSpringResortforaswim.
TheShihuibaHotSpringResortislocatedinthenorthwestofLufeng,the'hometownofdinosaurs',aboutsevenkilometersawayfromthecityofLufengCounty.Thegeographicallocationthereisveryspecial,andnexttoitisthesiteoftheancientapeman,whichisalsoatouristdestinationinLufeng.Therearemanypeoplevisiting,traveling,andplayingthere.
MyfatherrodeamotorcycletoshuttlemymotherandIonthebumpyruralroads.Wesometimesgouphill,sometimesgodownhill,sometimesgoflat,andourmotorcyclessometimesgofast,sometimesslow,sometimeswalk,andsometimesstop.Inthisway,wewalkedthroughtheturbulenceforhalfanhourandfinallyarrivedattheLimestoneDamHotSpringResort.(Thatwassixmonthsago,andnowithasbeenconvertedtoacementroad,whichonlytakesaboutfifteenminutestoarrive.)
WhenIarrivedattheLimeDamResort,Irealizedthattherewerealotofpeoplecomingtoswim.IreallywanttojumpofflikethiswhenIseetheclearhotspringsintheswimmingpool!Wewenttothedressingroomandchangedintoswimsuits.Iquicklyjumpedinwiththeswimmingringinmyhand.Ijustjumpedintothewaterandimmediatelybecameexcited.DadandMomalsojumpeddownwiththem.Ourfamilyisplayinginthewater,myfatherandmotherpushingmyswimmingcircleforawhileindeepwaterandawhileinshallowwater.Fromtimetotime,myfatherandmotherdiveintothewateragain,justliketwofishswimmingandswimming!Ialsotookofftheswimmingringandplayedaimlesslyintheshallowwater.
Timefliessofast,it'salmostseveno'clock.Dadandmomaskedmetogohome.Idarenotdisobeytheirwordsandreluctantlyleftthatclearspring.
Afewdaysago,myparentstookmetoHainan,whereIfinallylearnedhowtoswim.
TheweatherinHainanisverygoodandverysuitableforswimming.Beforeswimming,myfatherandIweredoingsomepreparationexercisesontheshorewhilerecallingthekeypointstaughtbyourcoach.Afterdiving,myfatherpulledmyhandsinfrontofmeandIsilentlysaidtomyself,"Don'tbenervous,don'tbenervous,Icandoit."Ifullyextendedmyhandsforwardandbegantorow,press,exhale,holdwater,andclosemylegs.
Atthesametime,myheadcameoutofthewatertobreathe.Whenmyheadreturnedtothewater,mylegskickedthewaterandquicklyclosed,whilemyhandswerefullyextendedforward,andmybodybecamestraightagain.Afteraseriesofmovements,Iwasabitconfused.Itookafewsipsofwater,butIcouldn'tovercomemyfearofchoking.Iwasveryscared,soIhuggedmyfather'sneckandshouted,"Nomore,nomore.
”Dadencouragedmetodoitagainnexttome,butIcouldn'thelpit.Icouldn'tgetontheshoreeither,soIhadtogritmyheadandsilentlyrecitetheessentialstocompleteanothersetofmovements.So,Ikeptswimming,andIdidn'tknowhowmanysetsofthesemovementsIhadcompleted.TherewereseveraltimeswhenIbreathedandmymovementsdidn'tcoordinatewell.Idrankwaterseveraltimes,butthistimeIovercamethepsychologicalbarrierandrelaxedandswamonce.
Myhandswerefullyextended,andIcouldn'timaginepaddlingorpressingwater.Ireachedtheoppositebankdownstreamundermyfather'sprotection.Myfatherreportedmetotheshore,andIthoughttomymotherontheotherside,shouting,"Mom,Ifinallylearnedtoswim."Wipingthewateroffmyface,itwasunclearwhetheritwastearsorpoolwater.Withthisexperience,Itookadvantageoftheheattoswimonmyownseveraltimes.Althoughmymovementswerenotstandard,Ifinallyovercamemypsychologicalbarriersandtookthefirststep.
Swimmingisnotonlyaphysicalexercise,butalsoaskillthatcansavelivesincriticalmoments.Iamgladtohavelearnedhowtoswimthroughmyownefforts!
TodayIwenttolearnswimming.
AssoonasIarrivedattheswimmingpool,Iwasveryhappybecausetheweatherwasquitehot.Thewaterinthepoolwouldbewarminthesun,soIwouldn'tfeelverycoldinthewater.
Idivedcrazilybeforethecoachcame.Ijumpedagainandagain,eachtimewithanewpattern.
Suddenly,Isawthecoach'sfigureandthoughttomyself,'Ohno,thecoachishere,andIhavetoundergopainfultrainingagain.'.
Atthismoment,CoachZhangaskedmetogotothethirdlane.Iimmediatelyswamtothethirdlaneusingbreaststroke.AssoonasIarrived,thecoachsaid,"ZouZiqiao,swimsixbreaststrokestrokesbackandforth,andturnbackat25meters.Remembertoopenyourlegsandstraightenyourhands,go!"Ihappilyagreed.
Afterswimmingbackandforth,Isawthattheclassmatesbehindmehadalreadyarrived.Ithinktheyturnedbackwithoutswimming25meters.Afterswimmingthesecondroundtrip,Inoticedthattwochildrenonlyswam10metersbeforeturningback.Thereisalsoamaleclassmatewhocanswimfasterthanme.
IwanttogotothebathroomwhenI'mplayingbreaststroke.Atthismoment,Irealizedthattherewasalsoachildwhowantedtousetherestroom,soIquicklyrushedtotherestroomwithher.
Aftergoingtothebathroomandreturning,Iwillcontinueswimmingfreestyle,butterfly,andbackstroke.Thecoachrequiresthatourswimmingstylebestandardized.Freestyleswimmingmademeexhausted,andthenIfoundachildalmostunabletoholdon.Ithoughttomyself,"SoI'mnotweak."Atthismoment,mymoodwasashappyasifaflowerhadbloomed.Whenswimmingbutterfly,mybodymovesupanddown,andIfeelreallyfun.Whenswimmingbackstroke,myheadshouldbefloatingonthewater,butitsanklikeanironball.Atthismoment,theteachercalledouttofinishclass,andIimmediatelylanded.
Ithinkthisswimmingwasreallyenjoyable.Itnotonlyhelpedmeexercise,butalsomademeunderstandthatIwillneverbebad.Aslongasyouworkhard,youcandefinitelysurpassothers!
Onasunnymorning,Ieagerlyrantotheswimmingpoolwithmymotherandbeganmyfirstexperienceoflearningtoswim.
Whatabigswimmingpool!Thepoolwaterisclearandthebottomisvisible,asifyoucanseethesandandstonesatthebottomofthepool.Ireallywanttobeasmallfish!Therewereseveralcoachesstandingbythepool,withaseriousexpressionontheirfaces.Myheartwaslikealittlerabbitpoundingwildly.
Mycoach'ssurnameisZhang,andheisatallandh2teacher.Atthebeginning,CoachZhangtaughtusthemethodoffloatingandpracticednon-stopforabouthalfanhour.
Next,thecoachhandedmeapaddleandsaid,"It'sofficiallystartingtopracticepaddling."Itookthepaddleand,accordingtothecoach'sinstructions,pushedmyfeethard.Afterawhile,Ifeltboredandwantedtotryswimmingwithoutapaddle.
Unexpectedly,assoonashisfootleftthesupportplate,itwaslikeabigstone,andsuddenlysanktothebottomofthewater.Thecoachglaredatmefiercelyandsaidsolemnly,"Youcan'tevenpushyourfeetattheback.Youonlyuseyourhandstoslidethere,ofcourseitsinks.I'llswimonceandyou'llwatch
Thecoachturnedaround,strokingwithhishands,kickingwithhisfeet,strokingagain,kickingagain,withgracefulmovements,likeadancinggoldfish,lookingextremelybeautiful.
Trygoingintothewater,"encouragedbythecoach,Ionceagaingainedthecouragetogointothewater."Oh!"Afterenteringthewater,myhandsandfeetworkedhardlikefrogsandbegantomove.Iclosedmyeyesanddidn'tdaretolookforward.Mynoseheldmybreathandjustpulled,feelinglikemybodywasslowlystartingtofloatupwards.Later,aftergoingthroughcountlesshardships,Ifinallylearnedtopedal.Quickly,Ilearnedtobreatheinthewateragain.Aftergoingbackandforthafewtimes,Iwasabletoswimfreelyinthewater,andIknewIhadfinallylearnedtoswim!
Ilearnedswimmingforthefirsttimeandwentthroughcountlesshardships,butIamveryhappybecauseIhavelearnednewskills.
Thetenseschoollifehascometoanend,andahappysummervacationhasarrived.WhatelsecanIdobesidescompletingsummerhomeworkeveryday?Oneday,Isawchildrenswimmingfreelyintheswimmingpool,andIwasveryenvious.Ithink:Idon'twanttobearollercoaster,Iwanttostrivetobecomeaskilledswimmer,andIalsowanttolearnhowtoswim!
Mymothersentmetolearnswimming.Assoonasweenteredtheswimmingpool,wesawmanyadultsandchildren,menandwomen,swimmingandfrolickinginthepool.Itwasverylively,andIwishedIcouldjumpintothepoolimmediately,butIcouldn'tdoit!Ican'tswim,I'mafraidofdanger,I'mafraidofdrowning.
Tolearnswimming,onemustfirstlearntoholdone'sbreathanddive.Ijumpedintotheswimmingpoolandthewaterenteredmynostrils.Mynosewassourandabitscared.Thecoachsaid,'IcanstilllearntoswimevenifI'mafraidofwater.'Imusteredupmycourage,heldmybreath,anddivedintothewater.Afterdivingmultipletimes,Iwasabletodoit.Icontinuedtolearnhowtodrawandcatchwater.Ipracticedandpracticed,andfinallywiththehelpofmycoach,Ilearnedhowtodrawandcatchwater.Thethirdstepwastolearnbreaststroke,swimminginthewaterlikeafrog,butIcouldn'tbreatheandcouldonlyholdmybreathtoswim.Icouldn'tswimfar.Thefourthstepistolearnhowtobreathe.First,standinthewater,takeabreathonthesurface,anddiveyourheadintothewatertoexhale.However,it'sdifficulttobreathewhileswimming.Ididn'tlearnhowtobreathethistime,butImustlearnnexttimeIcome.Isawsomechildrenswimmingwithswimmingcircles,anditwasreallyfun.Thecoachsaid,'It'sdifficulttolearnswimmingbyrelyingonaswimmingring.'Ithinkitmakessense,Ididn'tbuyaswimmingring.
Duringthesummervacation,Inotonlylearnedtoswim,butalsoexercisedmybodyandwillpower.MywholefamilywasveryhappyandsaidthatIhadgrownup!
Todayismyfirstdaylearningswimming.
Ichangedintomyswimsuitinthechangingroom,putonmyswimmingcapandgoggles,andfollowedmyfriendstotheswimmingpool.Lookingattheswimmingpool,Icouldn'thelpbutsay,"Thepoolisbig,butthewateristooturbid.Ifweaccidentallychokeonamouthfulofwater,wewouldn'thavebeenpoisonedbythewater!""Yes,yes,"agreedachubbygirl.Suddenly,awhistlecametomyear,andthecoachaskedthetwoclassmatesstandingtogethertohelpeachother.Ijoinedthechubbygirlandwentintothewatertolearnhowtoholdmybreath.Weputourheadsintothewatertogether,andIcameoutinjustonesecond,butshepersistedfor10seconds.Uponcloserinspection,shehadalreadypinchedhernosewithherhand,andthecoachsawthatmanyclassmatesdidn'tknowhowtodoit
Justsay,"First,inhalethroughyourmouthuntilyourstomachisquitefirm,andthenholdyourbreathinthewater."Ifollowedtheteacher'sinstructionsandtheeffectwasreallygood.Iheldmybreathfrom1secondto19secondsinonego.TheteachersawthatIwasdoingwellandaskedmetoholdmybreathwhilekicking.Ilistenedtotheteacher'swordsandtriedtoholdmybreath,butIdidn'tknowhowtokickanymore.Theteachersaidtome,"Youjustneedtorelaxandyoucandoit.Tryagain!"Itriedagain,andthistimeitwasmuchbetterthanthelasttime.Aftermyunremittingefforts,Ifinallysucceeded.Fiveminutesbeforeclassended,theteacherorganizedabreathholdingcompetitionforus,andIwonfirstplacewithanexcellentscoreof35seconds.Iwasextremelyhappy!
Thefirstdayoflearningswimminggavemealotofconfidence.IbelievethatIwilldefinitelylearnhowtoswim!
