| The first winter I spent here, we hastened to the market to buy the biggest firework I could carry. We fixed on one about the size of a small washing machine, and my wife haggled the price down to about twenty quid. With our booty on my shoulders, I staggered off in search of a taxi, and we made our way to my in-laws. They live in an industrial area on the outskirts of the city, and the local children don't get to see a lot of the fireworks in the centre. We made great merry with my prize, which fired off a couple of dozen charges that would not have disgraced the Edinburgh Festival. |
我在吉林度过的第一个冬天，我们急急忙忙地去市场购买我能拿得动的最大的焰火。我们看中了一个有小型洗衣机那么大的，我妻子把价钱砍到两英镑左右。我把我们的战利品扛在肩膀上，踉踉跄跄地走开来去找出租车。最终我们回到了我岳父母的家里。他们住在市郊的工业区，当地的孩子看不到市中心燃放的焰火。我的战利品给大伙带来了极大的欢乐，它一连喷出了几十发焰火，即使拿到爱丁堡艺术节上燃放也毫不逊色。 |
| Chinese New Year's Day in Jilin is extraordinary. From dawn until dusk, then all through the night until dawn again, there is never a moment when there is not the sound of fireworks or firecrackers exploding somewhere within earshot. |
在吉林过正月初一真是棒极了。从黎明到黄昏，再到深夜直至第二天拂晓，耳边烟花爆竹的爆炸声从未停息过。 |
| At midnight I go up to the roof of our apartment building on near the center of town, and climb up the telephone mast. All around me in every direction and as far as I can see, the sky is filled with fireworks and the air is filled with the sound of crackers. |
那天午夜时分，我登上位于市中心附近的公寓屋顶，爬上了电话塔。四面八方，目光所及之处，焰火铺满夜空，耳中充斥着爆竹的声音。 |
| Lantern Festival is the fifteenth day of the Chinese New Year, and the last day of the celebrations. In the streets you can buy a paper lantern attached to a lump of solid paraffin. Write a message of love, hope or luck on the paper, then light the paraffin, and the lantern will float off into the void to bring you your wishes. |
元宵节是中国春节的第十五天，也是庆典的最后一日。你可以在街上买个纸灯笼，下面带着一小团石蜡。在纸上写下充满爱意、希望或祝福的话，然后点燃石蜡，灯笼就会冉冉升入虚空，实现你的心愿。 |
| The city provides a firework display for the Lantern Festival. Two wide boulevards line the riverbanks. Hundreds of thousands of people crowd the streets on the city center side, and the fireworks are fired off from the opposite bank. At the climax of the display there is a huge explosion. You look up into the sky. Three giant willow trees hang in the sky, silvered with Jilin Rime. The effect last for perhaps thirty seconds, and disappears. |
吉林市在元宵节那天举行了焰火晚会。沿着河岸有两条大街。成千上万的人聚集在靠近市中心这边的街道上，观看河对岸的焰火腾空而起。当晚会达到最高潮时，进行了一次大规模的燃放。仰望夜空，三棵巨大的挂满银色的雾凇的垂柳纵贯天际。这美景持续了大约30秒钟，而后消失。 |
| The spectators give a great cheer for their city, then drift off into the night. |
观众们为自己的城市放声欢呼，然后在黑夜中渐渐散去。
（China.org.cn 李潇 译）
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![Wu Song – Jilin Rime. Ethereal beauty at dawn. [Jilin City Government] 吉林雾凇](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20091116/000cf1a48b7f0c6aec0b03.jpg "Wu Song – Jilin Rime. Ethereal beauty at dawn. [Jilin City Government] 吉林雾凇")
