Christmas in London（在线收听）

Christmas in London

So what’s the secret to a truly fantastic holiday season? First, take the world’s most ¹⁾glamorous capital, add carols sung by candlelight, thousands of fairy lights, familiar faces and some very twenty-first century ²⁾perspectives and you’ve got…Christmas in London. Join us, as we reveal the secrets behind the ³⁾glamour and the ⁴⁾glitz.

London Eye and Christmas Lights

Since the 1950’s the great shopping districts of ⁵⁾London’s West End have been dressing up for Christmas. Today millions of fairy lights light up the streets and squares of London and up to 20 million people each year come to stop and stare.

“The lights themselves are just—they’re, they’re beautiful—they’re shining all over the street, it’s wonderful.”

“That’s why I’m really here for, to see the really nice lights.” 

“I’ve never seen anything like it. I’m from a small town in ⁶⁾Georgia and we don’t have lights like this, we have my Christmas tree.”

The best way to see the lights is not to look up, but to look down.

Climb aboard the British Airway’s “London Eye” and once you’ve reached the top, the birds eye view of the lights has visitors ⁷⁾transfixed.

“I thought I’d be nervous because I don’t like heights but no problem at all, and, I’m going again tomorrow.”

“It’s a really pretty view, it’s ⁸⁾gorgeous.”

“All the lights over London, all the sites, it’s just something to see.”

“It was absolutely fantastic!”

Located on the south bank of the river Thames, the 450-foot-high London Eye is the tallest observation wheel in the world. It was built to celebrate the millennium and has quickly become one of the UK’s number one tourist attractions with its half hour of flight, or orbit.

David Sharpe (General Manager, BA London Eye): The British Airways London Eye has now become what we see as the symbol for new modern London. On nights like this where it’s crystal clear and very cold you can see all the Christmas lights over London and Christmas in London is a fantastic place for the shops and this is a ⁹⁾terrific place to start before you do your Christmas shopping.

Christmas Parade

The official start of Christmas at Harrods comes early—it’s the first weekend in November when Santa arrives in the Christmas ¹⁰⁾parade. It’s only nine a.m. but that doesn’t deter the crowds.

“It’s just fantastic for the children, I think it’s amazing!”

“There’s been lots of entertainment, clowns and ¹¹⁾jugglers and costume Teddy Bears and things like that, so it’s been a lot of fun and kids have been happy.”

“We didn’t expect it to be so good, it was really good!”

The Christmas parade was the brainchild of Mohamed Al Fayed. It’s been running since 1988 and it’s free. One of the secrets of the parade’s success is a very special kind of snow.

Mark Briggs (Visual Merchandise Director): The actual snow that we use is like a ¹²⁾shredded paper—it’s obviously ¹³⁾biodegradable—once it hits the air and hits any kind of ¹⁴⁾moisture, it will ¹⁵⁾disintegrate, as real snow would, so you get a wonderful effect that’s pumped out of at least 10 windows across the top of the store making the whole street look like it’s been snowing.

After the parade Santa heads for his ¹⁶⁾grotto, over the next six weeks 160 thousand families will queue for up to eight hours for their 10 minutes with him. 

Christmas Pudding Race

This is one of the market’s (¹⁷⁾Covent Garden) more unusual Christmas offerings. Every December celebrities and individuals compete in a rather unusual relay race around one of the ¹⁸⁾piazzas, it’s the “Christmas Pudding Race” all done to raise money for ¹⁹⁾charity.

Steve Melzak (Christmas Pudding Race Organiser): Christmas Pudding Race began because I started a cancer research committee following my young cousin, who was nineteen, she died of a brain ²⁰⁾tumor—it’s ironic that, sort-of, from my cousin’s death we’ve actually produced a very fun, wonderful activity that has sort-of ²¹⁾taken the Covent Garden market by storm for the last few years.

Here’s how it works—teams of six ²²⁾negotiate their way through a number of ²³⁾inflatable ²⁴⁾obstacles while getting sprayed with foam and water. And that’s not all…in order to qualify the teams must not drop the tray with the Christmas pudding on.

“It was over in an instant! It seemed I’d hardly started running before we were all at the end.” 

Somerset House Ice ²⁵⁾Rink

Somerset House is one of London’s most ²⁶⁾magnificent structures, originally built as a ²⁷⁾naval ²⁸)HQ—a 99 million dollar ²⁹⁾restoration program has recently turned it into a ³⁰⁾stunning home for restaurants, museums, and art exhibitions. But at Christmas it’s quite a different attraction that draws in the crowds.

“Really nice way to spend the run-up to Christmas.”

“Yah, it’s really Christmassy, ³¹⁾brilliant.”

“It’s like such a ³²⁾diversity of people, like people in suits, three-piece suits and office wear skating around—where else do you see that in the world?”

Skating hasn’t flourished in the heart of London since the 19^th century when the River Thames regularly froze beneath London Bridge. Somerset House decided it was time the capital put its skates back on.

Jenny Waldman (Public Events, Somerset House): When Somerset House Trust was formed, the trustees were thinking of things that would bring the building alive and one of the things that they very much wanted to do was to create a temporary ice rink in the winter.

Ice skating at Somerset House will ³³⁾set you back eleven dollars for one hour, and that includes your skate-hire. Our tip is to book in advance and come late in the evening when the rink is ³⁴⁾illuminated with flaming torches and special architectural lighting.

London is a pretty special city at any time of the year. At Christmas it’s unique—nowhere else do old traditions blend with 21^st century ³⁵⁾sophistication with quite so much ³⁶⁾panache. Happy holidays! 

注释：

1) glamorous [5^lAmErEs] a. 迷人的

2) perspective [pE5spektiv] n. 景色, 前景

3) glamour [5^lAmE] n. 魅力，魔力

4) glitz [glits] n. 闪光，炫目

5) London’s West End 伦敦西区；英国伦敦中心区的西部，以时髦的街区与商店、剧院而著名。

6) Georgia [5dVC:dVjE] n. 乔治亚州[美国东南的一个州]

7) transfix [trAns5fiks] v. 使吓呆；使发愣

8) gorgeous [5^C:dVEs] a. 眩目艳丽的, 极好的

9) terrific [tE5rifik] a. 极好的, 惊人的

10) parade [pE5reid] n. 游行

11) juggler [5dVQ^lE] n. 玩杂耍的；变戏法者

12) shred [Fred] n. 细条；细片

13) biodegradable [baiEudi5^reidEbl] a. 能进行生物递降分解的

14) moisture [5mCistFE] n. 湿气；水分

15) disintegrate [dis5inti^reit] v. 使分解, 使分化

16) grotto [5^rRtEu] n.（人造）洞穴

17) Covent Garden 考文特花园，伦敦中部一个蔬菜花卉市场

18) piazza [pi5AtsE] n. 广场, [英]连拱廊

19) charity [5tFAriti] n. 慈善机构；慈善事业

20) tumor [5tju:mE] n. 肿瘤

21) take…by storm 使神魂颠倒；完全征服（观众等）

22) negotiate [ni5^EuFieit] v. [口]通过

23) inflatable [in5fleitEbl] a. 充气式的

24) obstacle [5RbstEkl] n. 障碍，障碍物

25) rink [riNk] n. 溜冰场

26) magnificent [mA^5nifisEnt] a. 壮丽的；宽宏的

27) naval [5neivl] a. 海军的

28) HQ =headquarters; 总部，指挥部

29) restoration [restE5reiFEn] n. 重建, 翻修

30) stunning [5stQniN5] a. 极吸引人的，令人晕倒的

31) brilliant [5briljEnt] a. 光辉的；辉煌的

32) diversity [dai5vE:siti] n. 多样；不同

33) set back [口]使(某人)花费

34) illuminate [i5lu:mineit] v. 照亮

35) sophistication [sE5fistikeiFEn] n. (技术、产品等的)复杂性，精密性

36) panache [pE5nAF] n. 华丽, 神韵