Notting Hill Carnival 诺丁汉狂欢节

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Party Time 狂欢时刻

If you love to party and are crazy about samba dancing , there is only one place to go in August - London . Yes, that's right. London . Every year on the last weekend in August, around 1.5 million people go to west London to take part in and enjoy one of the largest street parties in Europe , Notting Hill Carnival. With a colourful procession of dancers, a wide range of music and an atmosphere of fun and celebration, the carnival is not to be missed.

A reveller at the Notting Hill Carnival

The roots of the carnival date back to 1833 when slavery was abolished . In that year the former slaves in Trinidad, a British colony in the Caribbean , took to the streets in celebration for their own carnival party with music, dance and costumes .

Over the years, carnival developed into an important tradition throughout the Caribbean, particularly in Trinidad . It was here that the 5 disciplines of carnival were established.

The disciplines consist of mas - this discipline refers to the exotic costumes and beautiful floats ; calypso - t his is a traditional type of music from Trinidad; soca - this is the modern, more energetic form of calypso; steelpan - a traditional musical instrument from Trinidad; sound systems - these consist of DJs who play a wide range of music.

In the 1950s, immigrants from the Caribbean began to arrive in the UK , and they brought with them their music and traditions. In 1959 the first carnival took place in the St Pancras area of London . For the next few years, the Carnival was celebrated in different parts of London until it finally came to Notting Hill in 1964.

Year after year, immigrants from other countries began to participate in the carnival, as did the local British people, and the carnival grew to reach its current enormous proportions. In 2003 the Notting Hill Carnival received royal approval , when it joined the parade to mark the celebrations for the Queen's 50 th year on the throne.

Although it still has a strong Caribbean influence, it now features many types of music from hip hop to house , reggae to salsa . For many people today, the Notting Hill Carnival is not just a wonderful celebration but a manifestation of the cultural diversity of modern London.

GLOSSARY 　词汇表（收听发音，请单击英语单词）
samba dancing – 桑巴舞	procession – 行列，队伍
roots – 起源	slavery – 奴隶制
abolished – 废除	costumes – 服装
disciplines - 学科，科目	floats – 彩车
energetic – 充满活力的	immigrants – 移民
royal approval – 皇家认可	on the throne – 登基
hip hop - 嬉蹦 / 嘻哈 乐 （由快板歌、涂墙艺术、霹雳舞等构成的亚文化）	house – 浩室舞曲（一种于八十年代由 DISCO 发展出来的跳舞音乐）
reggae - 瑞格舞（西印度群岛的一种舞蹈及舞曲）	salsa – 萨尔萨舞（源出拉美的一种吸收爵士乐和摇滚乐某些特点的流行音乐）
cultural diversity – 文化多样性

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