New Year Celebrated Around the World
VOA News
January 01, 2014
Major cities across the world celebrated the beginning of 2014 with fireworks and music, ringing in the new year with record setting celebrations and good spirit.
About a million New York City revelers braved frigid temperatures and high security, waiting hours in Times Square for a giant Waterford crystal ball to drop at the stroke of midnight.
With neither the current nor the incoming New York City mayor present to push the button to start the ball drop, the honors were performed by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a New York native.
The city of Nashville, Tennessee dropped a giant music note at midnight, while the city of Vincennes, Indiana dropped 14 watermelons in tribute to 2014. From space, the crew of the International Space Station -- two Americans and a Japanese crew member -- sent their greetings to Times Square and the rest of the world via a video from NASA.
In Pasadena, California, people celebrated the stroke of midnight while camped out on the street along the route for the annual Rose Parade. The parade is followed Wednesday by the Rose Bowl, one of several post-season college football games played on New Year.
Elsewhere, crowds gathered in public spaces around the world to ring in the new year, massing in Moscow, Dubai, London, New York and other major cities ahead of their midnight celebrations.
London's partiers were treated to edible banana-flavored confetti as they watched fireworks over Trafalgar Square.
Dubai created what it called the world's fireworks show, igniting 400,000 fireworks that aimed to set a new world record, besting last year's record of 77,000 in Kuwait.
Fireworks erupted from Auckland's Sky Tower as people danced in the streets of New Zealand's biggest city.
In Sydney, Australia, more than a million people watched fireworks launched for the first time in more than a decade from the sails of the city's famed waterfront opera house. Billowing fireworks soared over Hong Kong's skyscrapers.
In Japan, some celebrated by eating noodles and seafood -- thought to bring good luck in 2014 -- and offering prayers at Buddhist shrines and temples.
Celebrations were somewhat muted in the Philippines, where officials say about 260 people were injured by fireworks or stray bullets in the days leading up to New Year's Eve.
The mood also was somber in areas still recovering from Haiyan, a November typhoon that killed thousands of people.
Cape Town, South Africa, had a particularly poignant celebration, which included a tribute to anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela, who died December 5.
Language Notes 
ring in the new year (phr) 慶賀新年
record setting (phr) 創紀錄的
brave (v) 勇敢地面對；不把...放在眼裡
at the stroke of midnight (phr) 在半夜十二點整點
in tribute to (prep phr) 做. . .為致意；向. . .致敬 XXXXX*常搭配動詞 “pay”：pay tribute to，「向 . . . 致意；向 . . . 致敬」
約有一百萬歡樂的群眾(reveler
)不畏(brave)冷冽低溫(frigid temperatures)與高度的維安措施，在紐約的時報廣場(Times Square)等待午夜十二點整(at the stroke of midnight)的水晶球下降儀式。
做為對2014年的示意 (in tribute to. . .)，田納西州的納什維爾(Nashville, Tennessee)在半夜降下一個巨大的音樂音符(music note)，而印第安納州的溫森斯(Vincennes, Indiana)則是降下了十四顆的西瓜。國際太空站的成員也透過美國航太總署(NASA)的影片，從太空中(from space)將他們的祝賀(greetings)送到時報廣場與世界各地(the rest of the world)。 (編按：在美國各地，跨年時「降下(drop)」具各地特色的象徵物已經是種傳統了。Wikipedia有一詞條專門介紹美國各地新年drop的東西：List of objects dropped on New Year's Eve。)
ahead of (prep phr) 在. . .之前
edible (adj) 可食用的
confetti (n) (慶典時使用的)碎紙片XXXXX*本字是不可數名詞，需注意發音：
ignite (v) 點燃，使燃燒XXXXX*注意發音，重音在第二音節：
billow (v) (巨浪)翻騰；如浪滾的前進
世界各大城市(major cities)在午夜慶祝儀式之前(ahead of their midnight celebrations)都有群眾聚集在公眾場所(public spaces)。在倫敦觀賞特拉法加廣場(Trafalgar Square)上煙火施放的歡慶群眾，有能食用的(edible)香蕉口味紙花碎片(confetti)。杜拜製造了所謂的世界的煙火秀，為創下新的世界紀錄，點燃了(ignite)四十萬枚的煙火，打敗了(best)去年科威特的七萬七千枚紀錄。(編按：這句的 ”best” 當動詞用，是「打敗、贏過」的意思。本句的主詞是 Dubai，主要動詞是 “created”，同一句中有另外兩個動詞都改寫成分詞的形式 “igniting”、 “besting” ，是分詞構句的寫法。)
澳洲有超過一百萬人在赫赫有名(famed)、水岸旁的(waterfront)雪梨歌劇院觀賞煙火。這是歌劇院間隔十年後，首度再施放煙火。煙火是從劇院的風帆造型(sails)處施放。在香港則有海浪般(billowing) 的煙火，一波波飛躍過摩天大樓(skyscrapers)之上。
stray bullet (n phr) 流彈
lead up to (v phr) 在. . .之前所發生；作為...的準備(或先導)
somber (adj) 憂鬱的；悶悶不樂的
poignant (adj) 傷感的；令人感到心酸的XXXXX*注意發音：
跨年的歡慶聲在菲律賓則安靜(muted)了些。根據菲律賓官方說法，在跨年夜前的數日間，約有260人被煙火或流彈(stray bullets)所傷，而十一月的海燕颱風才奪走了數千人命，這些地區還在復原中，氣氛也是肅穆的(somber)。
南非的開普敦舉行了一場感傷的(poignant)慶典，其中有向反種族隔離(anti-apartheid)領袖曼德拉致意的儀式(a tribute to . . .)。曼德拉於十二月五日辭世。
Check your vocabulary!
Fill in the blanks with a word or phrase from the list above. Make necessary changes. After you finish, select the text below to reveal the hidden answers.
1. We are planning a big party to ring in the new year.
2. All you have said leads up to the fact that the man is an idiot.
3. It is especially poignant that he died on the day before the wedding.
4. Coleridge was far ahead of his time in his understanding of the unconscious.
5. These white mushrooms are edible.
6. His expression was somber as he listened to the report of the accident.
7. The gas is ignited by an electrical spark.
Source：http://www.voanews.com/content/new-years-ball-drops-in-times-square/1821205.html
編譯：簡嘉呈
館藏介紹
英語宅急便 
