Living life poolside
By Jean Chen



暑气渐长, 休闲场所何处觅? 尤其是长年劳作在办公桌前的白领一族更需要彻底放松. 厦门海景皇冠假日酒店于今夏特别推出全新装修的池畔酒廊, 设施齐全的健身馆, 惬意的烧烤大餐, 还可畅游碧波. 无论是休闲聚会还是商务活动, 池畔酒廊皆可带来全新体验.

One's mental and physical stability is essential to his/her business success. And that's why Crowne Plaza Harbourview Xiamen offers an array of facilities and supporting services to help guests become more acclimated to their surroundings, so that they can relax and have a more enjoyable time.

The hotel offers a variety of recreational facilities and supporting services, such as a fully equipped gym, an outdoor swimming pool, a relaxing SPA, massage treatments and beauty salon. All these recreational facilities are well arranged in the same area. Guests can make the best use of everything here without extra time on the way. Sports fans can work out with standard equipment before having a good swim outdoors.

The newly Fitness Center provides Yoga, billiards, sauna and so on. That is apparently a nice place for those white collar workers after a whole-day hard work. They can relax their body here while leaving away routine work temporally.

Highly recommended is the newly renovated poolside lounge. The gym is just next-door of the poolside lounge. What's more, there is a mini bar beside the swimming pool. Everything is convenient for guests.

The outdoor swimming pool has a unique S shape design. With a natural surrounding, swimmers can completely enjoy the happiness with fresh air and clean water. With such a wonderful environment, anyone will get to know that they have made the best choice for their entertainment.

Besides holding theme parties and get-togethers, it is definitely a good choice for team training, too. Obviously, the spacious and private room of the poolside lounge is what the training course greatly needs.

After intensive training, lots of R & R (rest and relaxation) are extremely easy to obtain. With the especially refreshingly prepared mixes with a variety of charcoal BBQ selections, anyone will feel free to enjoy themselves in a cozy environment, especially the cool wind surrounding. It is difficult not to be tempted for all in all. Furthermore, it is also quite cozy to hold a party at the poolside lounge during summer nights.

It is really cozy to hold a theme party at the poolside lounge.

Vocabulary
array 系列
acclimate 适应
recreational 消遣的
billiard 台球

编者按
"银祥杯"《我的健康生活》双语征文大赛开赛以来, 已有不少热心读者或邮寄或发email投稿, 希望大家继续踊跃投稿, 请电邮至commontalk@tom.com. 近期我们将陆续选登部分参赛作品, 并且将忠于原稿, 不进行修改.
Stories printed as part of the competition have not been altered.

Keep close to nature
By Jessie Wang

Living in a concrete jungle and leading a busy life as a business woman never obstructed me from keeping close to nature. For me, nature is where I've always found true happiness and touched the essence of life.

There are many ways for me to keep close to nature and traveling is the one I like most. Every chance I get, such as on a business trip or on the week-long holiday, I spend time in those beautiful mountains, forests, rivers, lakes, beaches, either alone or with my family, for either several hours or several days. Staying with nature not only enriches my knowledge and keeps me physically fit, but also comforts my soul and refreshes my spirit, especially when the world burdens me. Looking up at the blue sky, or looking down at reflections in water; strolling in a drizzle, or resting on a grass; watching the ebb and flow of the tide, or witnessing the exodus of winter and the arrival of spring, I discover the tranquility of nature and find peace in nature. All my little anxieties and perplexities vanish at that moment. In nature I see clearly the beauty of the world and feel no greater happiness in life.

Four years ago, I began to bring children closer to nature by establishing "Flying Birds Holiday Team"(翔鸟假日小队)which includes nine children. Under the support of some parents, I designed a series of programs to get children out to enjoy nature first-hand. We have left our footmarks in most surrounding areas these years. We touch the earth, identify types of trees, admire flowers, listen to birds and watch animals. We hike along mountain trails to experience wildlife, or take field trips to learn from farmers. The most unforgettable experience is watching the sunrise on the top of Gulang Island at 5:00 in the morning and observing a meteor shower(流星雨) in the suburb at night. It provides memories to last a lifetime. It benefits children a lot, and, it rejuvenates me.

Keeping close to nature doesn't necessarily mean going far away or high cost. For example, a morning walk is an easy way to do this. In the early morning of the weekend, heading out to take a walk along Yuandang Lake or on the beach is quite enjoyable. I can see the nature beauty best revealed in the early hours of the day and feel the sweet peace of the world. Sometimes when more families join us, the walk gets more fun, partly because I'm happy to see that more people move in the directions of a healthy life.

So I don't just talk about a fashionable lifestyle, in fact, I live it. Even at home, I try to simplify my daily life and live a "green life". The city seems to be an abode where I have to stay for the time being. Maybe someday I will choose to live with the real nature, like my favorite ancient pastoral poet, Taoyuanming(陶渊明)did. Yes, I hope I can.

最健康的自己
文/洪建福

从学生时代起, 我就开始在健康之路寻寻觅觅. 有一次, 体育课测试1500米, 尽管我拼尽全力, 却无可奈何跑了6分多钟, 在班上倒数有名. 于是我发奋锻炼跑步. 坚持了一年多后, 在又一次的1500米测试中, 我跑了5分35秒, 跃居班级中上水平. 由此豁然: 健康虽先天有别, 却后天可为; 只要坚持锻炼, 体质必有提高! 从那以后, 运动成了我生活中不可或缺的一部分.

二十年弹指一挥间. 现在, 我仍然坚持每三天跑一个3000米; 只要天气合适, 就步行上下班; 双休日则更加丰富多彩--海边驰足、山巅极目、场馆玩球......因时制宜, 酌情定夺. 虽然岁月易逝, 运动兴致却不减当年. 我底子薄, 危机感强, 由衷认识到非锻炼不可, 更为重要的是运动之乐趣实属无穷. 爬山时举家出动, 或呼朋唤友, 结伴而行; 与球友切磋技艺、交流感受; 甚至写诗著文讴歌运动、自娱自勉......

其实, 健康不仅局限于身体, 还包括心态、精神和情绪的健康. 因此, 我把健康的目标融入到生活的方方面面. 读书、学英语、撰文写稿, 诸多业余爱好既陶冶性情, 又令我激发灵感、发挥想像力来设计、创造属于自己的健康生活方式--上班时间尽心工作, 工作之余规律锻炼、饶有兴趣读读写写. 这三者合理搭配, 自然就每天好吃好睡. 于是我虽君子却不远庖厨, 时常犒赏自己的肚子, 而且每天一定给自己留下充分的时间睡觉, 以便最大程度获得充沛的精力去履行每天的职责, 也尽量多地享受生活的乐趣.

如果说, 健康是一场"生命不息, 锻炼不止"的游戏, 那我已经自己掌握了遥控器. 尽管与别人相比, 我未必占优势, 但与自己竞争, 和过去比赛, 我常常奇迹般地感觉到自己"荣获冠军"、"再次刷新纪录"......只要信念不变--坚持, 坚持, 再坚持; 只要热爱生活, 做生活的有心人; 只要抓住每个"今天", 迈着自己的步伐, 缓缓地, 但不断地向前挺进......

我以一份平常心为自己设定了一个既切实可行又无可比拟的健康目标--每天都当一回"最健康的自己".