新奇事件簿 日本打破堆雪人记录（在线收听）

Residents of a Japanese town have broken the world speed record for building snowmen. Citizens at the Iiyama Snow Festival in Nagano made 1,585 of the snowy fellows in one hour to set the new mark. Around 630 people took part in the record attempt. The previous record was 1,279 snowmen, set in Utah, USA in 2011. The event in Iiyama Town coincided with the opening of a new train station for Japan's famous bullet train. Justin Patterson, the adjudicator from the official Guinness World Records organisation, said the event had been a wonderful occasion. He said: "Despite Iiyama being buried in snow, it is wonderful that the residents came out to tackle the challenge together in a positive light."

一处日本城镇的居民打破了建造雪人的最快速度。在长野的饭山冰雪节中，居民在一小时内制作了1585个雪人，这也打破了世界纪录。大约有630参与到了这一活动之中。2011年在美国的犹他州，这一记录是制作1279个雪人。饭山城的这一活动正好赶上了日本开通新火车站。来自吉尼斯世界纪录组织的裁判员贾斯丁·帕特森说这一事件真是赶上了好时候。他说：“尽管饭山白雪皑皑，但是看到民众能够一同发起挑战，这非常好。”

There were strict rules to be met for the record to be broken. One was that each snowman had to be at least 80 cm tall. In addition the snowmen had to be made of three separate snowballs, with eyes, a nose and arms. People used only their hands in the record-breaking endeavour. Committee member Jiro Kobayashi told Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper that the event was fitting for the opening of the bullet train station. He said: "We were able to achieve the record thanks to the cooperation of many people. We believe the feat will boost [the celebratory atmosphere of] the opening of the Shinkansen's Iiyama Station." Ichika Oguchi, 8,said: "It was tough because the snow didn't stick together, but I had fun."

人们对打破记录有着严格的规则。其中之一就是每个雪人必须在80厘米或以上。此外，雪人必须由三个不同的雪球组成，并有眼睛、鼻子和胳臂。在这个过程中，人们只能用手。委员会成员Jiro Kobayashi向朝日新闻说这一活动的举办特别适宜在开通火车站时举办。他说：“破纪录我们要感谢人们的通力合作。我们相信这一活动将促进饭山新干线的开通”。八岁的Ichika Oguchi说：“雪无法聚拢在一起，这非常难，但是我感到非常高兴。”