上周，一场世界上最大的街头派对席卷了伦敦，大约有100万人涌上街头，整个伦敦都沉浸在一片音乐、歌声和欢声笑语的海洋中。
The Notting Hill Carnival, which took place Aug 28-29, is recognized as the largest street party in Europe, seeing *hordes from across the globe join together every summer to celebrate the many cultures of England’s capital.
8月28-29日期间举办的这场诺丁山狂欢节被认为是欧洲最大的街头派对。每年夏天，世界各地的人们都会来到这里，共同庆祝这座英格兰首都中的多元文化。
But in these troubled times – with terrorist attacks, murder and religious tension being almost daily front page fixtures –is it appropriate to be spending the weekend dancing in the streets with wild abandon?
但是，在如今这个动荡的时期——每天的报纸头条几乎都是恐怖袭击、谋杀和宗教冲突——周末依然在街头上狂野地跳舞，是否真的合适呢？
“Against adversity, people must stand up for themselves,” says Patrick Bullock, 53, an artist who builds floats for the parade each year.
“面对逆境，人人都应该站起来，”现年53岁的艺术家，帕特里克•布洛克说道。每年，他都为狂欢节的游行制作花车。
“The smiles and dancing do not stop all weekend – the spirit of the carnival can’t be crushed.”
“欢笑和舞蹈会持续整个周末——狂欢节精神不能够被摧毁。”
The festival, now in its 50th year, made its debut in 1966, *albeit on a much smaller scale – around 1,000 people attended – and began as a way to encourage unity between the various groups who called London’s Notting Hill their home.
诺丁山狂欢节始于1966年，到今年，它已经走过了第50个年头。尽管刚开始的时候规模较小，大约只有1000人参加，但它却促进了伦敦诺丁山地区不同群体之间的团结。
Creator Rhaune Laslett, herself half Native-American, half Russian, *formulated the first gathering in 1966, after being inspired by a vision. “I could see the streets thronged with people in brightly colored costumes, they were dancing and following bands and they were happy,” she told the Caribbean Times in 1989.“Men, women, children, black, white, brown, all laughing.”
狂欢节的创始人，Rhaune Laslett 是美国印第安和俄罗斯的混血。受到一次幻想的启发，她在1966年策划了第一届狂欢节。“我可以看见，人们身着鲜艳亮丽的服饰涌上街头，他们随着乐队起舞，无比快乐，”1989年，她在接受《加勒比时报》采访时表示。“不论男人、女人、小孩、黑人、白人、棕色人种，都在尽情欢笑。”
During what was then a period of racial tension, Laslett believed that music and laughter were what was needed to unite the melting pot of nationalities in her west London neighborhood.
当时的社会正处于种族关系紧张之中，而Laslett 相信，唯有音乐和笑声能够使伦敦西区不同民族的大熔炉团结在一起。
“We felt that although West Indians, Africans, Irish and many other nationalities all live in a very *congested area, there is very little communication between us,” she explained in an interview in 1966, shortly after the first carnival took place.
“我们感觉到，尽管印第安人、非洲人、爱尔兰人和许多其他民族都生活在一个非常拥挤的地区，但他们彼此之间却鲜有交流，”她在1966年第一届狂欢节举办后的一个采访中说道。
Over the years, the party grew into its modern day form and now sees the streets swell with the sound of Caribbean steel drums, the aroma of *exotic street food, and the dancing of hundreds of thousands of diverse partygoers in fabulously *flamboyant costumes.
这些年来，这场派对也逐渐发展成了它现在的规模。如今，街道上充盈着加勒比钢鼓声，异国街头小吃的香味。成千上万的派对参与者从世界各地赶来，他们身着艳丽服饰，在街头尽情跳舞。
“Our participants find themselves in a space of music, color and creativity which brings
“我们的参与者们会发现，自己正身处于一个充满音乐、色彩和创造力的空间。它带给了人们欢乐，鼓励人们肆意地表达自己。”狂欢节的创意总监Debora Allenyne De Gazon 说道。
However, not everyone is queuing up to join in the festivities, despite the carnival’s all-inclusive *ethos.
尽管诺丁山狂欢节希望能做到包罗万象，但并不是所有人都想要参加这个活动。
“I can’t go out from my door on that day with all the rubbish around,” Fortuoso Cruz, a local resident, tells a London newspaper. “Last year I had to throw some women out who trampled my garden to *wee in there.”
“那一天垃圾遍地，我甚至都不能走出家门，”当地居民Fortuoso Cruz在接受伦敦的一家报纸采访时表示。“去年还有一些女的踩踏我家的花园，随地小便，我不得不将她们都轰出去。”
But when a million people can come together for one weekend of eating, laughter and music – forgetting
但是，当100万人齐聚一堂，共同享受一个充满了美食、欢笑和音乐的周末时——在这48小时中，将生活的一切烦恼抛诸脑后——弄脏几处草坪似乎也是一件值得的事。
