時(shí)代廣場(chǎng)倒計(jì)時(shí)前夕

People from around the world waited in New York's Times Square to welcome 2010.

The last day of 2009 started with snow and very tight security. But tourist Diane Drano wasn't deterred:"We're from El Paso Texas, and I've been waiting here since about 7:30 this morning!!!"

Rebelto Cruise is visiting from Puerto Rico:"New York is the center of the universe. It's such an, like I say, once in a while, once in a life time to do that."

Up to one million people are expected to be here when the famous ball drops, and over a billion people worldwide are expected to watch the bash on television and online.

4:00pm：狂歡者聚集

新年夜下午，狂歡的人潮從四方涌來(lái)，集結(jié)在曼哈頓，而到4點(diǎn)左右，時(shí)代廣場(chǎng)“領(lǐng)結(jié)”地區(qū)（第42街至第47 街，百老匯大道與第七大道間的區(qū)域）將變身為一片歡樂的海洋。在紐約警察的指引下，人群會(huì)被分散至各個(gè)不同的觀賞點(diǎn)，當(dāng)夜幕降臨，狂歡者的歡笑聲將布滿整 個(gè)時(shí)代廣場(chǎng)并隨百老匯大道及第七大道一路向北延伸至中央公園。

6:00-6:03pm：亮燈并升起水晶球

伴隨閃亮著璀璨光芒的水晶球徐徐升至?xí)r代廣場(chǎng)的至高點(diǎn)，新年夜狂歡慶典拉開序幕。

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時(shí)代廣場(chǎng)新水晶球

For 2010 Waterford Crystal has designed a new sparkling "Let There Be Courage" triangle. The crystals feature a unique interlocking ribbon pattern woven into the Celtic knot. The triangles, each about 3/8" thick and 6.8 ounces in weight are custom made and built to exacting standards to withstand the stresses of high winds, precipitation and temperature fluctuation that exist over 400 feet above Times Square.

今年順應(yīng)著節(jié)能的勢(shì)頭，水晶大球也被換成了LED燈，直徑3.66米，上面鑲有2668顆水晶。燈面上有連結(jié)絲帶的圖樣，象征著今年的主題：“勇氣（Let There Be Courage）”。

水晶球倒計(jì)時(shí)歷史

Revelers began celebrating New Year's Eve in Times Square as early as 1904, but it was in 1907 that the New Year's Eve Ball made its maiden descent from the flagpole atop One Times Square.

早在1904年，狂歡者就開始在時(shí)代廣場(chǎng)慶祝新年的到來(lái)了，但是第一次有水晶球從通過旗桿從時(shí)代廣場(chǎng)上方落下是在1907年。

The first New Year's Eve Ball, made of iron and wood and adorned with one hundred 25-watt light bulbs, was 5 feet in diameter and weighed 700 pounds. It was built by a young immigrant metalworker named Jacob Starr, and for most of the twentieth century the company he founded, sign maker Artkraft Strauss, was responsible for lowering the ball.??

第一個(gè)跨年球是由鐵和木頭制作的，里面安裝了一個(gè)25瓦的燈泡，直徑5英尺，重達(dá)700磅。這個(gè)跨年球是由一位名為Jacob Starr年輕移民金屬工人制作的。而在20世紀(jì)的大部分時(shí)間中，這位移民所創(chuàng)建的公司，Artkraft Strauss標(biāo)牌制作公司，一直負(fù)責(zé)水晶球的降落活動(dòng)。

As part of the 1907-1908 festivities, waiters in the fabled "lobster palaces" and other deluxe eateries in hotels surrounding Times Square were supplied with battery-powered top hats emblazoned with the numbers "1908" fashioned of tiny light bulbs. At the stroke of midnight, they all "flipped their lids" and the year on their foreheads lit up in conjunction with the numbers "1908" on the parapet of the Times Tower lighting up to signal the arrival of the new year.

作為1907-1908慶?；顒?dòng)的一部分，著名的“龍蝦宮（lobster palaces）”和時(shí)代廣場(chǎng)周圍其他豪華餐館的服務(wù)生都紛紛戴上裝飾有1908字樣小燈泡的裝有電池的帽子。在午夜敲響鐘聲的那一刻，他們都紛紛“打開 帽子開關(guān)”，他們額頭上的小燈和時(shí)代塔（Times Tower）欄桿上點(diǎn)亮的1908字樣交相呼應(yīng)，迎接著到來(lái)的新的一年。

The Ball has been lowered every year since 1907, with the exceptions of 1942 and 1943, when the ceremony was suspended due to the wartime "dimout" of lights in New York City. Nevertheless, the crowds still gathered in Times Square in those years and greeted the New Year with a minute of silence followed by the ringing of chimes from sound trucks parked at the base of the tower - a harkening-back to the earlier celebrations at Trinity Church, where crowds would gather to "ring out the old, ring in the new."

從1907年開始，每年都會(huì)舉辦水晶球降落的活動(dòng)，只有1942和1943年由于戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)原因在紐約實(shí)行“半燈光管制”時(shí)例外。不過，在那些年中，人群仍然在 時(shí)代廣場(chǎng)聚集，靜默片刻，接著在塔基部停著的一輛廣播車發(fā)出教堂內(nèi)諧音鐘的聲音。這和早期時(shí)的三位一體教堂慶祝方式不謀而合，在早期的教堂中，人們也是這 樣聚集起來(lái)“用鐘聲辭舊迎新。”

One Times Square: 時(shí)代廣場(chǎng)一座——時(shí)代廣場(chǎng)最高的一棟摩天大樓。

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歷史水晶球

In 1920, a 400 pound ball made entirely of wrought iron replaced the original. In 1955, the iron ball was replaced with an aluminum ball weighing a mere 200 pounds. This aluminum Ball remained unchanged until the 1980s, when red light bulbs and the addition of a green stem converted the Ball into an apple for the "I Love New York" marketing campaign from 1981 until 1988. After seven years, the traditional glowing white Ball with white light bulbs and without the green stem returned to brightly light the sky above Times Square. In 1995, the Ball was upgraded with aluminum skin, rhinestones, strobes, and computer controls, but the aluminum ball was lowered for the last time in 1998.

1920年時(shí)，原始材料的水晶球被一個(gè)重達(dá)400磅，完全由鍛鐵制成的新型水晶球取代。1955年，鐵球由重量只有200磅的鋁球代替。這個(gè)鋁球一 直用到1980年代，當(dāng)時(shí)這個(gè)主要由紅色燈裝飾，其中還點(diǎn)綴有綠色燈做成大蘋果的形狀，從1981年到1988年一直為“我愛紐約”活動(dòng)助陣。7年后，紐 約時(shí)代廣場(chǎng)的夜空中又恢復(fù)了傳統(tǒng)的白色水晶球。1995年，水晶球又進(jìn)行了更新?lián)Q代，加了鋁制表面，水鉆，頻閃燈，還有計(jì)算機(jī)控制，但是到了1998年就 不再使用鋁球了。

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For Times Square 2000, the millennium celebration at the Crossroads of the World, the New Year's Eve Ball was completely redesigned by Waterford Crystal. The new crystal Ball combined the latest in technology with the most traditional of materials, reminding us of our past as we gazed into the future and the beginning of a new millenium.

2000年，在時(shí)代廣場(chǎng)這個(gè)世界的十字路口，跨年球被沃特福德水晶東西重新設(shè)計(jì)。新的水晶球結(jié)合了最新的科技和最傳統(tǒng)的材料，提醒人們?cè)谟有虑陼r(shí)，回顧歷史，放眼未來(lái)。

2000-2007的水晶球

The 2000-2007 version of the Times Square New Year's Eve Ball, designed by Waterford Crystal, made its first descent during the last minute of the 20th century, at the Times Square 2000 Celebration.

2000-2007的紐約時(shí)代廣場(chǎng)跨年水晶球是由沃特福德水晶公司設(shè)計(jì)，在20世紀(jì)的最后一分鐘，在時(shí)代廣場(chǎng)的2000慶?；钪惺状蜗侣?。

The Ball was a geodesic sphere, six feet in diameter, and weighed approximately 1,070 pounds. It was covered with a total of 504 Waterford crystal triangles that varied in size and ranged in length from 4.75 inches to 5.75 inches per side.

這個(gè)球是一個(gè)網(wǎng)格球，直徑6英尺，重約1070磅。表面裝飾有504顆形狀大小各不相同（水晶每面長(zhǎng)度為4.7英寸到5.75英寸不等）的沃特福德水晶三角形。

For the 2007 New Year's Eve celebration, 72 of the crystal triangles featured the new "Hope for Peace" design, consisting of three dove-like patterns symbolizing messengers of peace. The remaining 432 triangles featured Waterford designs from previous years, including the Hope for Fellowship, Hope for Wisdom, Hope for Unity, Hope for Courage, Hope for Healing, Hope for Abundance, and Star of Hope triangles. These crystal triangles were bolted to 168 translucent triangular lexan panels which were attached to the aluminum frame of the Ball. The exterior of the Ball was illuminated by 168 Philips Halogená Brilliant Crystal light bulbs, exclusively engineered for the New Year's Eve Ball to enhance the Waterford crystal. The interior of the Ball was illuminated by 432 Philips Light Bulbs (208 clear, 56 red, 56 blue, 56 green, and 56 yellow), and 96 high-intensity strobe lights, which together create bright bubbling bursts of color. The exterior of the Ball featured 90 rotating pyramid mirrors that reflect light back into the audience at Times Square.

2007 年的跨年活動(dòng)中，72個(gè)水晶三角形代表了新的“和平之希望（Hope for Peace）”的設(shè)計(jì)。保留的432個(gè)三角形代表了沃特福德前幾年的設(shè)計(jì)，包括友誼之希望，團(tuán)結(jié)之希望，勇氣之希望，恢復(fù)之希望，豐裕之希望，以及希望之 星三角。水晶球的內(nèi)部裝有432盞飛利浦鹵素燦爛水晶燈炮（208盞透明燈，56盞紅色燈，56盞藍(lán)色燈，56盞綠燈，56盞黃燈組成），特別為加強(qiáng)沃特 福德水晶而設(shè)計(jì)，此外還有96盞高密度閃光燈，更能制造出夢(mèng)幻色彩。水晶球表滿有90個(gè)旋鏡組成，能將光反射到時(shí)代廣場(chǎng)中，讓觀眾欣賞。

All 696 lights and 90 rotating pyramid mirrors were computer controlled, enabling the Ball to produce a state-of-the-art light show of eye-dazzling color patterns and a spectacular kaleidoscope effect atop One Times Square. The now-retired 2000-2007 New Year's Eve Ball is the property of the building owners of One Times Square.

所有696盞燈和90 個(gè)旋鏡都是由計(jì)算機(jī)控制的，能夠讓水晶球產(chǎn)生藝術(shù)美感的色彩和圖案。這顆退役的2000到2007年跨年水晶球現(xiàn)在由One Times Square Plaza的大樓業(yè)主所有。

2008年水晶球

The new Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball is a 12 foot geodesic sphere, double the size of previous Balls, and weighs 11,875 pounds.? Covered in 2,668 Waterford Crystals and powered by 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDS, the new Ball is capable of creating a palette of more than 16 million vibrant colors and billions of patterns producing a spectacular kaleidoscope effect atop One Times Square.

新的時(shí)代廣場(chǎng)跨年水晶球是高12英尺的網(wǎng)格球體，是2007年水晶球高度的兩倍，重約11,875磅。新水晶球覆蓋著2,668顆沃特福德水晶，采用飛利浦公司的Luxeon Rebel LED背光源燈，能夠在時(shí)代廣場(chǎng)上空發(fā)出1600萬(wàn)種醒目的顏色，變幻出數(shù)十億種瞬息萬(wàn)變的顏色，如萬(wàn)花筒般絢麗多彩。

60秒倒計(jì)時(shí)

11:59pm：60秒倒數(shù)計(jì)時(shí)

紐約市市長(zhǎng)彭博（Michael R. Bloomberg）和參與時(shí)代廣場(chǎng)2010新年慶典的特邀嘉賓將按下啟動(dòng)水晶球降落的沃特福德水晶按鈕，在杜菲廣場(chǎng)（Duffy Square）的新年倒計(jì)時(shí)舞臺(tái)上，帶領(lǐng)大家一同歡呼60秒倒計(jì)時(shí)。

2010新年到

午夜：歡慶2010年到來(lái)

2009年12月31日午夜，美國(guó)紐約市時(shí)報(bào)廣場(chǎng)如往年一樣迎來(lái)數(shù)以萬(wàn)計(jì)民眾。

定格2009年12月31日23時(shí)59分(北京時(shí)間2010年1月1日12時(shí)59分)，當(dāng)午夜鐘聲響起的時(shí)候，雨雪紛飛，難減人潮狂歡激情；水晶球降落，音樂伴煙花點(diǎn)亮新年，閃亮的“2010”照徹整個(gè)時(shí)代廣場(chǎng)。