欧美人文风情第5篇:一段烟火的历史

 I love fireworks! 我爱烟火!

They are awesome¹! 它们超棒的!

And they go "BOOM." 而且它们会“砰”地爆开。

Even after thousands of years, fireworks still captivate, amaze, and terrify spectators around the globe. 即便过了几千年，烟火仍吸引、惊艳、且震慑着世界各地的观众。

Fireworks date back to ancient China before the invention of gunpowder². 烟火起源于火药发明前的古代中国。

Over the centuries, the desire for bigger and better explosions has fueled much experimentation³. 几世纪来，对于更壮观、更精彩爆炸的渴望激发了许多实验。

Fireworks made their way to Europe when Italian explorer, Marko Polo, brought them from the Orient in 1292. 在意大利探险家－－马可波罗－－于 1292 年将它们从东方带回时，烟火得以前进到欧洲。

During the Renaissance⁴ in Europe, the Italians developed fireworks displays into a true art form. 在欧洲文艺复兴期间，意大利人将烟火秀发展成一种真正的艺术形式。

And when they came to America, they brought their fireworks with them. 而当他们来到美国时，他们带着他们的烟火一起。

One such man was Vincenzo Sorgi, who came to America in 1899. In 1902, he started the American Fireworks company. 这样的一个人是 Vincenzo Sorgi，他在1899 年来到美国。在1902 年，他创立了美国烟火公司。

Today, the Sorgi family continues his legacy⁵, bringing smiles to another generation of Americans. 如今，Sorgi 家族延续他的留下的产业，将欢笑带给另一代的美国人民。

Eric Stewart is the company's lead technician. Eric Stewart 是公司的首席技师。

That is uh... Right now, I have the crew, basically running the guns out to build the show. 那是，唉...现在，我要工作人员，基本上是要把抱筒运出去打造这场秀。

On this day, his crew is hard at work in the town of Colonial Beach, Virginia. 这天，他的组员在维吉尼亚州殖民海滩的小镇里努力工作着。

The set-up for a spectacular fireworks display not only takes muscle but teamwork. 一场精彩烟火表演的搭建不只花费力气还要团队合作。

After all, these pyrotechnicians are handling explosives, and enjoying every bit of it. 毕竟，这些烟火专家正在处理的是爆裂物，并且享受其中的一点一滴。

At first, of course you get the jitters⁶, but then that all works out. And now, it's show time. 起初，当然你会有些紧张不安，但然后那一切都顺利进行。而现在，好戏上场了。

Eric said that in his 10-plus years of experience with pyrotechnics,  Eric 表示，在他十多年来的烟火经验中，

fireworks displays choreographed⁷ with music are hands down the favorite with Americans. 加上音乐编排的烟火表演毫无疑问是美国人的最爱。

While pyrotechnic crews will at times still light the shells by hand, most of them are ignited electronically, which makes them safer. 尽管烟火技术员们有时仍会手动点燃抱弹，但大多数抱弹是电子引燃的，那使它们更加安全。

Like the Colonial Beach show, it's all done by switch panel. 像殖民海滩这场表演，一切就是经开关控制板完成的。

What makes a perfect show would be when the show goes off flawlessly, and the crowd goes crazy at the very end of the show. 成就一场完美演出的，会是当表演完美无瑕地进行，然后群众在演出的最后一刻陷入疯狂之时。

Today, we celebrate our country's independence, and we'll end our celebration with this spectacular fireworks display, 今天，我们庆祝我们国家的独立，而我们会用这场壮观的烟火演出为我们的庆祝结尾，

just as those early patriots⁸ did over 200 years ago. 就像超过两百年前那群早期的爱国者们做的一样。

 

1 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

2 gunpowder   

n.火药

参考例句：

• Gunpowder was introduced into Europe during the first half of the 14th century.在14世纪上半叶，火药传入欧洲。
• This statement has a strong smell of gunpowder.这是一篇充满火药味的声明。

3 experimentation   

n.实验，试验，实验法

参考例句：

• Many people object to experimentation on animals.许多人反对用动物做实验。
• Study and analysis are likely to be far cheaper than experimentation.研究和分析的费用可能要比实验少得多。

4 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

5 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

6 jitters   

n.pl.紧张(通常前面要有the)

参考例句：

• I always get the jitters before exams. 我考试前总是很紧张。
• The whole city had the jitters from the bombing. 全城居民都为轰炸而心神不宁。

7 choreographed   

v.设计舞蹈动作( choreograph的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• There was some carefully choreographed flag-waving as the President drove by. 总统的车经过时，人们按精心编排的动作挥舞着旗帜。
• Achim had choreographed the dance in Act II himself. 阿希姆自己设计了第2幕的舞蹈动作。 来自辞典例句

8 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。