什麼是離岸流？
We all love going to the beach in summer: the sun, the sand and the surf. But having fun doesn't mean we can forget about safety.
Rip currents are strong, narrow channels of fast-moving water that flow away from the shore. They are common on beaches around the world. In the United States, for example, they are found along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and along the shores of the Great Lakes.
Rip currents can move at up to eight feet (about 2.4 meters) per second, which is faster than an Olympic swimmer. Swimmers who panic often try to fight a rip current by swimming straight back to shore. This puts them at risk of drowning, because they soon become exhausted.
Every year, lifeguards in the US rescue tens of thousands of people from rip currents, but it is estimated that around 100 people still die. If you are caught in a rip current, don't fight it! Swim parallel to the shore until you are out of the current, and then swim back to land at an angle.
The two terms are often mixed up, but rip currents are not the same as rip tides. A rip tide is a particular kind of current caused by tidal water rushing through narrow openings, such as the mouths of harbors, bays and estuaries.
我們都喜歡在夏天去海邊：陽光、沙灘，還有海浪。可是玩得開心，不代表可以忘了安全。
離岸流是一股股又窄又急、從岸邊流向大海的強勁水流，在世界各地的海灘上都很常見。以美國為例，大西洋和太平洋沿岸，以及五大湖的湖岸都有離岸流。
離岸流的速度可以達到每秒八英尺（約 2.4 公尺），比奧運游泳選手還快。驚慌的泳客常常想逆著離岸流直接游回岸邊，結果很快就筋疲力盡，有溺水的危險。
在美國，救生員每年要從離岸流中救起好幾萬人，但據估計，每年仍有約 100 人因此喪命。如果你被離岸流捲走，千萬不要跟它硬拚！先和海岸平行游，等離開離岸流之後，再斜斜地游回岸邊。
這兩個詞常常被搞混，但離岸流（rip current）和「rip tide」並不是同一件事。「rip tide」是一種特殊的水流，是潮水從港口、海灣、河口這類狹窄的出口急速衝過時形成的。