Japanese Snow Festival Begins
日本雪节开始

本新闻影音出处：新!唐!人:电视台英语新闻
https://english.d3b4tr6pftdrkw.cloudfront.net/ntdtv_en/ns_life/2010-02-05/462545114282.html

【新闻关键字】
1. kick off : v.phr. 揭幕
2. firebomb: n.燃烧弹
3. overwhelm: vt. 击溃；压倒
4. skillfully: adv.巧妙地;精巧地
5. dazzling: adj. 眩目的
6. humble: adj.卑微的

Japan's famous open-air snow festival kicked off in Sapporo on Thursday, with 290 ice sculptures on display made from thousands of tons of snow.
日本著名的户外雪季星期四在札幌市展开，有290项冰雕展示品以数千吨的白雪所雕刻而成。

Some of the sculptures are as high as fifteen meters, while others impress locals and visitors because they look so close to the real thing.
有些雕塑品高达15公尺，而给当地人民及游客留下深刻的印象，是因为他们看起来栩栩如生。

Like this icy model of Frauenkirche, a Lutheran church in Dresden, Germany, which was destroyed in the firebombing during World War II.
就像Frauenkirche雪雕模型，这个在德国德勒斯登的马丁路德教堂，于第二次世界大战中被燃烧弹所损毁。

"They are really great. I was quite overwhelmed."
“它们真的太棒了，我真的难以表达。”

"They are very skillfully created."
他们是非常巧妙的创作。

Once the sun went down, the sculptures took on a whole new look, with colored lights bringing the designs to life.
一旦太阳下山，雕塑品会呈现一个全新面貌，五颜六色的光线赋予了作品生命。

Preparations for the week-long festival began around a month ago.
为了这为期一周的活动，准备工作一个月前就开始了。

And despite today's dazzling displays, the festival had humble origins, beginning in 1950 when a group of high school students built six snow statues in a park.
虽然今日已是令人眩目的展示，这个节日的起源却很卑微，是在1950年，当一群高中生在公园里建造6个雪雕开始。
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