Students aiming to enter Tsinghua University this year had better be able to swim or be prepared to learn swimming and pass a swim test.
今年打算进入清华大学的学生最好会游泳，否则就得准备学游泳、通过游泳考试了。
Liu Bo, head of the university's sports science and physical education division, said last Monday that a proposal by university president Qiu Yong urging all undergraduate students to learn how to swim will be implemented at the start of the academic year.
清华大学体育部主任刘波上周一表示，自本学年开始，将实施该校校长邱勇提出的号召所有在校学生学习游泳的计划。
The university will organize a swimming test for all freshmen in September, and those who fail to swim at least 50 meters using any stroke will be required to take a mandatory course throughout their studies so that they are able to swim by the time they graduate, otherwise the university won't grant them a diploma, Liu said.
刘波称，该校将于9月组织针对所有新生的游泳测试，用任何泳姿都游不了50米的学生将被要求参加游泳必修课，在校期间修完，使他们到毕业时会游泳，否则该校不会授予他们毕业证书。

Exceptions will be allowed for students with special physical or mental conditions, if proved by medical staff.
患有特殊身体或心理疾病的学生，在得到医务人员证明的情况下可免修游泳课。
"Although Tsinghua has a long tradition of emphasizing sports participation, fewer students are exercising regularly," Liu said. "It's time to take compulsory action to urge students to exercise more to strengthen the sports culture on campus."
刘波表示：“虽然一直以来清华都有强调体育运动的传统，但经常锻炼的学生变少了。是时候采取强制措施敦促学生多做运动，从而加强校园体育文化。”
As to why the university is linking swimming ability with degrees, "as a requisite survival skill, swimming is beneficial for students in the long run, since swimming is helpful in improving students' endurance and doing less harm to joints and muscles as a water sport," said Liu Bo.
至于为什么清华要将游泳能力和学位联系在一起，刘波说道：“作为一项必要的生存技能，长期游泳对学生有益，因为游泳有助于提高学生的耐力。而作为一种水上运动，游泳对人体关节和肌肉的损伤更小一些。”
Many alumni of the prestigious university had to meet the swimming challenge.
这所杰出院校的许多校友都曾不得不面对游泳这个难题。
Renowned writer Liang Shih-chiu, entering Tsinghua University in 1915, failed the swimming test before his graduation, and he had to do his best at the make-up examination. Luckily his second endeavor got a pass from the head of the Division of Sports Science and Physical Education.
1915年，著名作家梁实秋进入清华，但他没有在毕业前通过游泳考试，因此不得不补考。幸运的是，他的第二次努力终于获得了运动科学和体育系主任的认可通过。