VOA标准英语2010年-Celebrations in Australia, Asia Ring I

Photo: AP
Fireworks flash over Sydney Opera House during New Year celebrations, 01 Jan 2010

 

Starting at the International Date line in the mid-Pacific and spreading from east to west, crowds around Asia led the world in ringing in the New Year.

One of the first major cities to celebrate the beginning of 2010 was Sydney, Australia. More than a million people gathered along the Sydney harbor to watch the city's annual fireworks show, set to booming rock music.

Hours before midnight people arrived at Harbor Bridge to stake out good seats for the 12-minute display. This year's show involved more than 5,000 kilograms of explosive devices.

Other cities around Asia and the Pacific region celebrated¹ with fireworks, such as Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong. In Auckland, New Zealand, thousands of partygoers took to the streets to watch as fireworks shot from the Sky Tower. In the capital of Taiwan, 22,000 fireworks were shot from different angles off the Taipei 101 skyscraper². President Ma Ying-jeou was on-hand for the countdown party.

In other places people marked the New Year without fireworks.

Millions in Japan prayed at shrines³ for good fortune in 2010. At Tokyo's Zojo-ji Buddhist⁴ temple, clear balloons were released into the air at midnight.

In Seoul, South Korea, a giant bell was rung.

In China's capital, signs around Beijing cautioned not to light fireworks within the heart of the city on New Year's Eve.

This did not seem to bother Beijing residents, who say the Lunar New Year is their traditional time to celebrate with fireworks.  This year that holiday is in mid-February.

Many young people were at bars and clubs in Beijing until the early hours of the morning. Still others had to work on New Year's Eve. As late-night revelers waited in the cold for a scarce cab, two men unloaded a truck at a bakery on Worker's Stadium Road. One of them, surnamed Wu, said he hoped for good health for his parents in the New Year. His coworker surnamed Zhang said he hoped to spend the Lunar New Year with family at his home in nearby Shandong province.
 

1 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。

2 skyscraper   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• The skyscraper towers into the clouds.那幢摩天大楼高耸入云。
• The skyscraper was wrapped in fog.摩天楼为雾所笼罩。

3 shrines   

圣地，圣坛，神圣场所( shrine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All three structures dated to the third century and were tentatively identified as shrines. 这3座建筑都建于3 世纪，并且初步鉴定为神庙。
• Their palaces and their shrines are tombs. 它们的宫殿和神殿成了墓穴。

4 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。