Metro English - 193 - Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta 阿尔伯克基气球节

World Festivals 

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta  阿尔伯克基国际气球节

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is a yearly hot air balloon festival that takes place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, during early October. The Balloon Fiesta is a nine-day event occurring in the first full week of October, and has over 500 hot air balloons each year. The event is the largest balloon festival in the world.

阿尔伯克基国际气球嘉年华是每年十月在新墨西哥阿尔伯克基举行的一次年度热气球节。热气球节是一个为期九天的活动，时间始于每年10月的第一个完整的一周，每年参加的有超过500个热气球。这是世界上最大的热气球节。 

The Balloon Fiesta began in 1972 as the highlight of a 50th birthday celebration for 770 KOB Radio. 这个气球节始于1972年，是770 KOB电台50岁生日庆祝活动的一个亮点。Radio station manager Dick McKee asked Sid Cutter, owner of Cutter Flying Service and the first person to own a hot air balloon in New Mexico, if KOB could use his new hot-air balloon as part of the festivities. KOB广播电台经理迪克 迈基向卡特飞行服务公司的老板和第一个在新墨西哥拥有热气球的人西德 卡特询问，是否可以使用他的新热气球作为电台庆祝活动的一部分。The two began discussing ballooning, along with conversation and help from Oscar Kratz, and McKee asked what the largest gathering of hot air balloons to date had been. 两人于是开始讨论气球，其间奥斯卡·克拉茨加入讨论并给予帮助，迈基问到迄今为止最大的热气球聚会是哪个。19 balloons in England, Cutter replied. Kratz asked "Can we get 19 here?" “英国有19个气球，”卡特回答说。克拉茨问：“我们能搞到19个到这里吗？” Cutter agreed to try. He got commitments from 21 pilots, but bad weather kept some of them from arriving in time. 卡特同意试一试。他之后得到了21名飞行员的承诺，但恶劣的天气使其中一些人未能及时到达。The first fiesta ended up as a gathering of 13 balloons on April 8, 1972, sponsored by KOB. 1972年4月8日，由KOB赞助的13个热气球的首次庆典顺利进行。The first event was located in the parking lot of the Coronado Center Shopping Mall with 20,000 spectators and with balloonists from Arizona, California, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada and Texas taking part. 第一场活动位于科罗纳多中心的购物中心的停车场，有20000名观众，参加者有来自亚利桑那州、加利福尼亚州、爱荷华州、密歇根州、明尼苏达州、内华达州和得克萨斯州的气球爱好者。McKee, Cutter, and Kratz are the three men who had originally started the balloon races. 迈基，卡特和克拉茨就是最初开创气球竞赛的三个人。The first fiesta incorporated a "Roadrunner-Coyote Balloon Race" (a "hare-and-hounds" race elsewhere in the world) with 1 balloon being the "Roadrunner" and the others being "Coyote" balloons (the "Roadrunner" balloon was actually emblazoned with likenesses of both Warner Bros. characters). 第一次的嘉年华举行了一个“走鹃及郊狼气球竞赛”（而在世界其他地方是“野兔和猎犬”竞赛），其中一个气球是“走鹃”，另外的是“郊狼”气球（实际上，“走鹃”气球上同时绘有华纳兄弟电影中的这两个角色。）。The winner of the race - the "Coyote" that landed closest to the Roadrunner - was Don Piccard。This race has continued as part of the Balloon Fiesta today. 比赛的获胜者是唐·皮卡德。这场比赛作为今天气球节的一部分继续进行。 

The next year Albuquerque hosted the first World Hot-Air Balloon Championships in February and the fiesta became an international event. 第二年2月，阿尔伯克基举办了首届世界热气球锦标赛，嘉年华也成为一项国际盛事。 In 1975 Albuquerque was looking at hosting the World Championships again, but the event was scheduled for October. 1975年，阿尔伯克基打算再次举办世锦赛，但赛事定于10月举行。So the fiesta was moved to correspond with the championships.  所以气球节也就被移到了与比赛相对应的时间。To maintain interest in Albuquerque's bid to host the championships, a balloon rally was held in February of that year. Autumn being a far better flying time than February, the event has remained in early October to the present day. 为了保持对阿尔伯克基申办热气球比赛的热情，同年2月举行了一次气球拉力赛。秋天是一个比二月好得多的飞行时间，因此这项活动至今一直保持在10月初举行。

The Balloon Fiesta grew each year for decades, and today is the largest balloon convention in the world. 几十年来，气球节每年都在扩大规模，如今已是世界上最大的气球大会。The number of registered balloons reached a peak of 1,019 in 2000, prompting the Balloon Fiesta Board to limit the number to 750 starting in 2001, citing a desire for "quality over quantity".  2000年，注册气球的数量达到了1019个的高峰，促使气球嘉年华委员会从2001年开始以“质量高于数量”为理由将数量限制在750个。The limit was changed to 600 in 2009 –; citing recent growth in the city and a loss of landing zones. 2009年，这一限制数量被改为600个，理由是该市最近不断地成长和着陆区的减少。On any given day during the festival, up to 100,000 spectators may be on the launch field where they are provided the rare opportunity to observe inflation and take off procedures. 在节日期间的任何一天，发射场上都可能有多达10万名观众，在那里他们可以有难得的机会观察气球充气和起飞过程。Countless more people gather at landing sites all over the city to watch incoming balloons. 越来越多的人也会聚集在全市各地的着陆点观看即将到来的气球。

Events  活动

The Dawn Patrol lifts off before sunrise to check wind conditions aloft, and hopefully find the Albuquerque box.

黎明巡逻队在日出前起飞，检查高空的风况，并且希望能找到阿尔伯克基盒子。 

Dawn Patrol  黎明游

The Dawn Patrol lifts off before sunrise to check wind conditions aloft, and hopefully find the Albuquerque box.

黎明游是指在日出前起飞，确认高空的风况，并且希望能找到阿尔伯克基盒子。 

The Dawn Patrol began at the Balloon Fiesta in 1978, when two California balloonists developed position lighting systems that allowed them to fly at night. Dawn Patrol pilots take off before sunrise and fly until it is light enough to see landing sites. Fellow balloonists appreciate the Dawn Patrol because they can watch the balloons and get an early idea of wind speeds and directions at different altitudes.

黎明巡逻始于1978年的气球嘉年华，当时两名加州气球手开发了位置照明系统，允许他们在夜间飞行。黎明巡查的飞行员在日出前起飞，一直飞到天亮后可以看到着陆地点为止。同行的气球爱好者很感谢黎明巡逻队，因为他们既可以观看气球升空，又可以早些掌握不同高度风速和风向。

Mass Ascensions  大批升空

One of the biggest events of the fiesta, where all participating balloons launch in two waves, filling the sky with hundreds of balloons at once. Launch directors, also known as “zebras” because of their black-and-white-striped outfits, serve as “traffic cops,” coordinating the launch so balloons leave the field in a safe and coordinated manner.

这是嘉年华最大的活动之一，所有参加活动的气球通过两拨升空，一次将数百个气球填满天空。升空指挥，也被称为“斑马”，因为他们有黑白条纹外观，他们充当“交通警察”，协调发射，使气球安全有序地离开地面。

Special Shape Rodeo  异形气球竞技

Many non-traditional, uniquely shaped balloons are launched at the same time. Some of the most famous shapes include a milk cow, a wagon coach, twin bees, and many others like soda pop cans and animals. This is the most popular part of the event as families can see how balloons can be all different in shapes and sizes.

许多非传统的，独特的形状的气球在同一时间发射。其中一些最著名的形状包括奶牛、马车、双蜜蜂和许多其他的汽水瓶和动物形状。这是最受欢迎的家庭活动之一，因为可以看到气球在形状和尺寸上是如何不同的。

Balloon Glows  发光气球之夜

Large numbers of balloons are illuminated at night by their propane burners. They stand static and do not take off during these events. The "Glowdeo" is a night glow for the special shapes balloons.

大量的气球在夜间被丙烷燃烧器照亮。它们静止不动，在这一活动中不会起飞。“发光体”是特殊形状气球夜间发光的活动。

The success of the Fiesta depends in part on the cool Albuquerque morning temperatures in October and the Albuquerque box. 嘉年华的成功在一定程度上取决于阿尔伯克基早晨清凉的气温，以及这个被称为阿尔伯克基盒子的东西。 The "box" is a set of predictable wind patterns that can be exploited to navigate the balloons. 所谓这个盒子其实就是一组可以被预测的风向的模型，而这个风的走势有助于控制气球的飞行方向。At low elevations the winds tend to be northerly (from the north), but at higher elevations they tend to be southerly. 在低海拔地带，风来自北方，但是在高海拔地带，风则来自南边。Balloonists use these winds to navigate in a vertical box 而这些热气球字可以利用这些风在这个纵向的盒子里盘旋上升: they ascend slightly from the launch park, move south, ascend further, move north, descend, and repeat the box or land back in the launch park or quite nearby. 它们从发射场略微上升，向南行进，再向上升，向北飞，然后下降，再重复这样的行进路线，或回到原来起飞的地方，或者接近出发地点。

Fiesta  节日

patrol 巡逻、闲逛

exploit  利用

elevation 高度；海拔

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十月份，Metro English的主题是The Festivals in the world you don't want to miss 那些你不能错过的节日。我们一起走遍世界，看看那些令人痴迷的、让人们向往的节日背后的文化，以及它们所承载的人类的期望。讲讲世界上每天都在发生的、值得庆祝的时刻，让我们不虚此生，过好每一个当下。