潛水強者

Coocoo

Some People Can Dive Deep

Most people can only stay underwater for a very short time. But the Bajau（巴瑤族）people from Asia can stay under much longer. They can hold their breath5 for thirteen minutes and dive6 as deep as 60 meters！ One reason they can do this is the size of their spleen（脾臟）. The spleen is a part of the body that holds7 blood.

The Bajau spend most of their time on the water. They dive very deep in order to catch fish. Scientists found that their spleens are 50% larger than most people （see picture）. Big spleens hold more blood. Blood has oxygen（氧氣）that the body can use when there is no air to breathe. This extra8 blood may help the Bajau stay under water for a long time.

潛水強者

普通人能夠在水下停留的時間非常有限，但來自亞洲的巴瑤族人具有強大的潛水能力。他們可以一口氣潛到60米深，在水下保持13分鐘！能夠做到這一點，是因為巴瑤族人的脾臟體積異于常人。脾臟為人體器官，能夠儲存血液。

巴瑤族為海上游牧民族，日常以潛海捕魚為生。研究人員發現，他們的脾臟體積比一般人大一半（見圖）。脾臟越大，儲血量則越大，在人憋氣時可以為身體提供氧氣。這也許正是巴瑤族人擁有更強潛水能力的原因。

Safety！

Diving too deep or holding your breath for too long is not safe. Even expert swimmers have died when they tried to stay underwater too long. Never try to do either one！

安全小知識

深潛或長時間憋氣會對身體造成一定損害。即使是專業潛水員，也曾殞命于水下。切勿輕易嘗試！