The Munich Oktoberfest（慕尼黑啤酒节）

    The Munich Oktoberfest is the biggest public festival in the world and will be held in 2003 for the 170th time. Each year, the Oktoberfest is attended by around 6 million visitors, who drink around 5 million liters of beer and consume over 200,000 pairs of pork sausages - mostly in the "beer tents" put up by the traditional Munich breweries¹（酿酒厂）.
    At the foot of the Bavaria statue, the huge Oktoberfest grounds also provide carousels³（喧闹的酒会）, roller coasters（过山车） and all the spectacular fun of the fair for the enjoyment⁴ and excitement of visitors of all ages.
    The festivities are accompanied by a program of events, including the Grand Entry of the Oktoberfest Landlords and Breweries and the Costume and Riflemen's Procession.
    The History of the Oktoberfest dates back to the 19th century. Crown Prince Ludwig, later to become King Ludwig I, was married to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on 12th October 1810. The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities held on the fields in front of the city gates to celebrate the happy royal event.
    Horse races in the presence of the Royal Family marked the close of the event that was celebrated⁵ as a festival for the whole of Bavaria. The decision to repeat the horse races in the subsequent year gave rise to the tradition of the Oktoberfest.
    In 1811 an added feature to the horse races was the first Agricultural Show, designed to boost Bavarian agricultureThe horse races, which were the oldest and the most popular event of the festival are no longer held today. But the Agricultural Show is still held every three years during the Oktoberfest on the southern part of the festival grounds.
    In the first few decades the choice of amusements was sparse⁶. The first carousel² and two swings were set up in 1818. Visitors were able to quench⁷ their thirst at small beer stands which grew rapidly in number. In 1896 the beer stands were replaced by the first beer tents and halls set up by enterprising landlords with the backing of the breweries.
    The remainder of the festival site was taken up by a fun-fair（游乐场）. The range of carousels etc. on offer was already increasing rapidly in the 1870s as the fairground（露天市场）trade continued to grow and develop in Germany.
    Today, the Oktoberfest is the largest festival in the world, with an international flavor characteristic of the 21th century: some 6 million visitors from all around the world converge⁸ on the Oktoberfest each year.

1 breweries   

酿造厂，啤酒厂( brewery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In some cases, this is desirable, but most breweries prefer lighter-type beers. 在一些情况下，这是很理想的，但是大多数啤酒厂更倾向于生产酒度较低的啤酒。
• Currently, there are 58 breweries producing Snow Beeracross the country. 目前，全国共有58个雪花啤酒厂。

2 carousel   

n.旋转式行李输送带

参考例句：

• Riding on a carousel makes you feel dizzy.乘旋转木马使你头晕。
• We looked like a bunch of awkward kids riding a slow-moving carousel.我们看起来就像一群骑在旋转木马上的笨拙的孩子。

3 carousels   

n.喧闹的酒会；旋转木马( carousel的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Object carousel and data carousel are both carousels. 对象轮和数据轮都是轮播方式，但是两者存在区别。 来自互联网
• Build dizzy carousels, unbelievable roller-coasters, Ferris wheels, fear halls and other thrilling andand thirsty. 建造眩目的回旋木马，难以置信的云霄飞车，摩天轮，恐怖木屋和其他令人毛骨悚然的设备。 来自互联网

4 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

5 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

6 sparse   

adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的

参考例句：

• The teacher's house is in the suburb where the houses are sparse.老师的家在郊区，那里稀稀拉拉有几处房子。
• The sparse vegetation will only feed a small population of animals.稀疏的植物只够喂养少量的动物。

7 quench   

vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制

参考例句：

• The firemen were unable to quench the fire.消防人员无法扑灭这场大火。
• Having a bottle of soft drink is not enough to quench my thirst.喝一瓶汽水不够解渴。

8 converge   

vi.会合；聚集，集中；(思想、观点等)趋近

参考例句：

• The results converge towards this truth.其结果趋近于这个真理。
• Parallel lines converge at infinity.平行线永不相交。