[E219]Up, up and away: 500 hot air balloons take to the skies

Up, up and away: 500 hot air balloons take to the skies

Tens of thousands of spectators[观众；旁观者] swarmed[挤满；成群浮游；云集] the launch field Saturday for the first mass ascension[上升] of the 44th annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta[国际热气球节 ]. The nine-day event kicked off[拉开帷幕,拉开序幕] at dawn[拂晓；天一亮]. More than 500 balloons representing dozens of states and nearly 20 different countries registered for the event this year. Among them were character balloons such as one depicting[描绘] the head of “Star Wars” villain[坏人，恶棍；戏剧、小说中的反派角色；顽童；罪犯] Darth Vader[黑武士；达斯·维德], which inevitably[不可避免地；必然地] floated across from a Yoda balloon.

Every time I turn around, I see another one. I’ve got to get a picture of this one and that one.

Spectator Marilyn Oates, from Vermont[佛蒙特州（美国州名，略作VT）]

A combination of factors makes Albuquerque[阿尔伯克基（美国新墨西哥州中部大城）] the perfect place for the fiesta[圣日，宗教节日；祭典；假日]: typically clear skies, cool mornings and wind patterns at various elevations[海拔高度] that help keep the balloons aloft[在空中的；在高处的；在上面的] over the city. The mountains that border the city’s east side and weather patterns help create what is known as the box. When the box is in effect, the lower winds blow south and higher winds blow north, meaning balloonists[气球驾驶者] can travel one direction, then backtrack[回溯；由原路返回] to land near their launch site by changing elevation[高地；海拔；提高；崇高；正面图].