Temperatures are soaring and that means hot summer is here at last. For many, this means it’s time to head to the beach for sun, sea and sand. If, however, you are unsure which style of swimsuit to choose, let 21st Century help you make the right choice to make a splash this summer.
气温飙升，酷暑终于降临。对于很多人来说，这意味着是时候去海滩享受阳光、海水和沙滩了。但如果你不确定该选择哪款泳衣，那就让《21世纪英文报》帮你做出正确选择吧，让你成为今夏焦点。

One piece
连体泳衣

This tight, form-fitting swimsuit style was born in the 1900s when women grew tired of the heavy wool dresses they’d been wearing to cover their bodies in public baths. The one-piece swimsuit, in revealing the arms and knees, allowed levels of public skin exposure unheard of since Roman times. When Australian actress and swimmer Annette Kellerman *sported a one-piece in Boston in 1907, the police arrested her for *indecency.
这种紧身合体的泳衣诞生于二十世纪初。那时，妇女们已厌倦了在公共澡堂裹着厚重的羊毛长裙来遮盖身体。连体泳衣让手臂和膝盖都裸露在外面，这种在公共场合的暴露尺度自罗马时代之后，便闻所未闻。1907年，澳大利亚演员兼游泳运动员安妮特•凯勒曼在波士顿惹人注目地身穿连体泳衣时，警方以不雅罪为由将其逮捕。

However, this didn’t stop the rise of the one-piece. It became the norm for women over the next 20 years and is still very much in fashion today.
然而，这却并没能阻止连体泳衣的流行。在接下来的20年间，连体泳衣已成为女性的标准着装，如今也依然很流行。

Bikini
比基尼

The bikini came as a *bombshell in 1946. It was devised by French fashion designer Louis Reard, who named the creation after the Pacific Ocean *atoll, where the American government *detonated the first postwar nuclear bomb.
1946年，比基尼引起了轰动，它是由法国时装设计师Louis Reard设计的。Louis Reard以太平洋的一个环状珊瑚岛为自己设计的这款泳衣命名，美国政府曾在该岛引爆了战后的第一枚原子弹。

The *skimpy, two-piece swimsuit is an aftereffect of fabric rationing during World War II, when the American government directed that the cloth used in women’s beachwear should be reduced by 10 percent to *conserve fabric.
这种小而暴露的分体式泳衣是二战期间纺织品定量供应的产物。当时，美国政府为节省纺织品，规定用于生产女士海滩装的布料需减少10%。

Claimed as the world’s smallest bathing suit on its launch, the bikini was initially banned in conservative Catholic countries. It didn’t rise in popularity until the 1950s, when screen icons, including French movie star Brigitte Bardot, were photographed in them.
比基尼刚刚面世时，号称是世界上最小的泳装，最初在保守的天主教国家遭禁。直到二十世纪五十年代，当包括法国电影明星碧姬•巴杜等在内的银幕明星们身穿比基尼拍摄影片时，比基尼才开始流行。

Speedo
泳裤

The word “speedo” now refers to any *brief-style *spandex swimwear for men. But the name comes from the Australian swimsuit maker Speedo.
“speedo”这个词现在用来指各种简洁风格的男士紧身弹性泳裤。不过，这是以澳大利亚泳装制造商Speedo的名字来命名的。

Speedos debuted in 1956 at the Melbourne Summer Olympics, where the Speedo-sponsored Australian men’s swim team won eight gold medals. This afforded Speedos worldwide attention.
在1956年墨尔本夏季奥林匹克运动会上，这种男士泳裤首次出现，由Speedo赞助的澳大利亚男子游泳队摘得了八枚金牌。这使Speedos受到举世瞩目。

Speedos have since become a controversial piece of swimwear. They have become the norm on the beaches of Europe, but American people would rather not have to look at them. According to a survey by travel website Tripadvisor, which questioned 3,800 American respondents, 35 percent said that men in tight-fitting speedos are “a violation of beach *etiquette”.
Speedos自此便成为颇受争议的泳装。Speedos在欧洲已成为海滩标准着装，但美国人却宁愿对此视而不见。据旅行网站Tripadvisor发起的一项由3800名美国人参与的问卷调查显示，有35%的人表示男士穿紧身泳裤违反了“沙滩礼仪”。