时光的脚步轻盈又坚定，我们挥别满载故事的2025，迎来2026年元旦的第一缕晨光。
辞旧迎新的时刻，回望里的温暖感动、并肩坚守，都化作了照亮前路的星光。崭新的开始，值得我们满怀期待，用心奔赴。
当2026年元旦的钟声敲响之际，让我们跟随翻译2503班王姝含同学的脚步，在这份喜悦与期盼中，珍藏过往沉淀，拥抱全新可能，汲取前行的力量。
蒲公“英”说书人
大家好，我是来自翻译2503班的王姝含，喜欢旅游看书。
New Year's Day
10...9...8... The lighted ball in New York's Times Square starts picking up speed 7...6...5... It's almost time. 4...3...2... Everyone holds their breath for the last few seconds. We're about to jump that seemingly large but invisible gap that separates the years. 1...0... Happy New Year!
We made it. The old year, for better or worse, is gone for good. The new year has begun with fresh promise. Here's our chance to start again, to do it right this time, to have another shot at success...at glory...at just accomplishing what we resolve to. It's time to shed that baggage from the year long gone and celebrate what can be in the 365 untouched days to come. Happy New Year!
We can trace the origins of a new year's celebration back to the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians, at least 4,000 years ago. In Egypt, the Nile river signaled a new beginning for the farmers of the Nile as it flooded their land and enriched it with the silt needed to grow crops for the next year. This happened near the end of September.
The Babylonians held their festival in the spring, on March 23, to kick off the next cycle of planting and harvest. Symbolically, the king was stripped of his robes and sent away for a few days while the people whooped it up. He then returned in all his finery for a grand parade, and the normal activities of life would return for the new year.
So how did we get to January 1 as the start of the year? That date was picked by the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar when he established his own calendar in 46 BC. The Roman Senate had actually tried to make January 1 New Year's Day in 153 BC, but it wasn't until Caesar stretched out 47 BC for 445 days that the date we're familiar with was synchronized with the sun. We've been on the Julian calendar ever since.
There must be something inside of us that needs to unload the accumulated results of fate and our own decisions and start anew. The Romans knew this. The month of January was named for their god, Janus, who is pictured with two heads. One looks forward, the other back, symbolizing a break between the old and new. The Greeks paraded a baby in a basket to represent the spirit of fertility. Christians adopted this symbol as the birth of the baby Jesus and continued what started as a pagan ritual. Today our New Year's symbols are a newborn baby starting the next year and an old man winding up the last year.
Around the world, different cultures have their own traditions for welcoming the new year. The Japanese hang a rope of straw across the front of their houses to keep out evil spirits and bring happiness and good luck. They also have a good laugh as the year begins to get things started on a lucky note.
In West Bengal, in northern India, the people like to wear pink, red, purple and white flowers. Women favor yellow, the color of spring. Hindus（印度人）also leave shrines next to their beds so they can see beautiful objects when they wake up to the new year.
In Vancouver, British Columbia, Canadians enjoy the traditional polar bear swim. People of all ages don their swim suits and take the plunge, an event that is sure to get you started in the new year with eyes wide open.
A fairly new tradition that is starting to spread worldwide is a community celebration of the visual and performing arts on New Year's Eve. Started in Boston in 1976, an organization called First Night promotes alcohol-free festivals in 186 American cities, 16 in Canada, plus Hastings, New Zealand and Greenwich, England. Typical experiences include ice sculptures, dancing, storytelling, theater, poetry, films and, at the stroke of midnight, an elaborate fireworks display.
Best wishes to you and your loved ones for a happy and prosperous New Year!
本文摘录自CHINADAILY 2003-12-30
元旦
10……9……8……纽约时代广场的发光球开始加快速度。7……6……5……差不多到时候了。4……3……2……在最后几秒，每个人都屏住了呼吸。我们即将跨越那个看似巨大却又无形的年度鸿沟。1……0……新年快乐！
我们做到了。旧的一年，无论好坏，都已一去不复返。新的一年带着全新的希望开启了。这是我们重新开始的机会，这一次要把事情做好，再次争取成功……争取荣耀……争取实现我们所决心要做的一切。是时候放下那些早已过去的一年里的包袱，为未来365个崭新的日子里可能发生的一切而庆祝了。新年快乐！
我们可以将新年庆祝活动的起源追溯到至少4000年前的古埃及人和巴比伦人。在埃及，尼罗河的泛滥为尼罗河沿岸的农民带来了新的开始，洪水淹没了他们的土地，并为其带来了来年种植作物所需的淤泥。这种情况发生在九月底前后。
巴比伦人在春季的3月23日举行他们的节日，以此开启下一个种植和收获周期。具有象征意义的是，国王会被剥去长袍，送走几天，而民众则尽情庆祝。之后，他身着华丽服饰归来，参加盛大的游行，新的一年里，日常生活的各项活动也随之恢复。
那么我们是如何将1月1日定为一年的开始的呢？这个日期是罗马皇帝尤利乌斯·凯撒在公元前46年制定自己的历法时选定的。实际上，罗马元老院曾在公元前153年试图将1月1日定为元旦，但直到凯撒将公元前47年延长至445天，我们如今熟悉的这个日期才与太阳运行同步。从那以后，我们就一直使用儒略历。
我们内心一定有某种东西，需要卸下命运和自身决定所累积的结果，重新开始。罗马人深谙此道。一月（January）是以他们的神雅努斯（Janus）命名的，这位神被描绘成有两个头，一个向前看，一个向后看，象征着新旧之间的分界。希腊人会抬着一个篮子里的婴儿游行，以此代表生育的精神。基督徒将这一象征改为婴儿耶稣的诞生，并延续了这一起源于异教仪式的传统。如今，我们的新年象征是一个新生儿开启新的一年，以及一位老人结束过去的一年。
在世界各地，不同的文化都有自己迎接新年的传统。日本人会在屋前悬挂稻草绳，以驱邪避凶，带来幸福与好运。他们还会在新年伊始开怀大笑，希望为新的一年开个好兆头。
在印度北部的西孟加拉邦，人们喜欢佩戴粉色、红色、紫色和白色的花朵。女性偏爱黄色，那是春天的颜色。印度教徒还会在床边摆放神龛，这样他们在新年醒来时就能看到美好的事物。
在不列颠哥伦比亚省的温哥华，加拿大人会享受传统的北极熊游泳活动。各个年龄段的人们都穿上泳衣纵身跳入水中，这项活动无疑会让你在新的一年里精神抖擞地开始。
一种相当新颖且正开始在全球范围内传播的传统，是在新年前夜举办一场社区性的视觉与表演艺术庆典。这项传统始于1976年的波士顿，一个名为“第一夜”的组织在186个美国城市、16个加拿大城市，以及新西兰的黑斯廷斯和英国的格林尼治推广无酒精节日活动。典型的活动体验包括冰雕展、舞蹈表演、讲故事、戏剧演出、诗歌朗诵、电影放映，而在午夜钟声敲响时，还会有一场精心制作的烟花表演。
祝您和您的亲人新年快乐，万事如意！
四六级关键词，接住啦
Invisible无形的
Resolve决心
Synchronize使同步
Accumulate积累
Symbolize象征
Ritual仪式
Fertility肥沃
Elaborate精心制作的
Parade 游行
四六级暴击，小试牛刀
Question 1: When did the celebration of New Year's Day on January 1st officially begin?
A. 4,000 years ago in ancient Egypt.
B. In 153 BC by the Roman Senate.
C. In 46 BC by Julius Caesar.
D. In 1976 in Boston, USA.
Answer：C
解析：答案对应原文第4段。该段明确提到 “That date was picked by the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar when he established his own calendar in 46 BC.”，直接说明了是罗马皇帝尤利乌斯·凯撒在公元前46年确立了1月1日为新年。A选项是古埃及的新年时间，B选项是罗马元老院的一次尝试但未成功，D选项是“第一夜”艺术节的起始时间，均不符合原文描述，故排除。
Question 2: What is the significance of the Roman god Janus in relation to New Year's Day?
A. He is the god of harvest and agriculture.
B. He is the god of fertility and new life.
C. He is the god with two faces, symbolizing the transition between the old and new.
D. He is the god of time and the keeper of calendars.
Answer：C
解析：答案对应原文第5段。该段提到 “The month of January was named for their god, Janus, who is pictured with two heads. One looks forward, the other back, symbolizing a break between the old and new.”，清晰解释了门神雅努斯（Janus）的双面形象象征着新旧交替。A、B、D选项均为对其他神祇或概念的描述，与原文不符，故排除。
Question 3: Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a New Year's tradition in the article?
A. Wearing colorful flowers in West Bengal, India.
B. Holding a community arts festival called First Night.
C. Exchanging gifts and cards with family and friends.
D. Taking a polar bear swim in Vancouver, Canada.
Answer：C
解析：答案需要综合原文第6至第9段的内容进行判断。A选项对应印度西孟加拉邦的传统（第7段），B选项对应“第一夜”艺术节（第9段），D选项对应加拿大温哥华的“北极熊冬泳”（第8段），均在文中被提及。C选项“与家人朋友交换礼物和卡片”是一个非常普遍的新年习俗，但在本文中并未被提及，因此是正确答案。
