Stonehenge turned into fire garden to mark the Olympics

 LONDON, July 11 (Xinhua) -- When the sun withdrew its last drop of sunshine on Tuesday, the ancient Stonehenge was transformed into a carnivalesque¹ fire garden to mark the London 2012 Olympics.

Lit up with fire sculpture, the megalithic monuments were estimated to attract about 4,000 visitors.

People swarmed² to the site following a path lit by candles, taking photos by the flaming pots or the dancing sculptures, and enjoying the music from an iron pavilion.

The fire garden was organized by the Salisbury International Arts Festival and created by French arts group Compagnie Carabosse.

It will run from Tuesday to Thursday, every evening from 9 p.m. till midnight.

"The Stonehenge is known to be aligned³ with the rising and setting of the sun," said its director Maria Bota. The fire more or less made people feel a sense of ancient ritual.

According to her, the Salisbury International Arts Festival has had a history of 40 years. Each year, a country and a theme are chosen for the festival. Last year, it featured China and air. And this year, Brazil and fire.

An unnamed communications coordinator⁴ with the festival explained to Xinhua that they decided⁵ to have fire as the theme this year because of the London Olympics, and fire was reminiscent of the Olympic flame.

However, some Chinese elements appeared nonetheless at the festival.

Examining closely those 20 plus chimneys surrounding the Stonehenge, one could find hollowed Chinese characters which read "this is so big", "the heating system has broken down", and "the party is going strong in the evening". When fire was on, the characters glowed.

Bota explained that as the company Carabosse was an international one, maybe the chimneys were produced in Asia.

"We celebrate different culture and different thing," she said.

Stonehenge is a World Heritage Site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and a signature of the UK.

"(It) has been a place of celebration for thousands of years so it is fitting that it plays a role in this major cultural celebration," said Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage. "Fire garden promises to be a beautiful and unique artistic⁶ endeavor within an iconic world heritage site."

1 carnivalesque   

好像过节的，快乐的

参考例句：

• Chapter Four expounds the pervasive carnivalesque atmosphere which obscures patriarchal borders and nourishes freedom and harmony. 第四章探讨小说中孕育自由与和谐的狂欢化精神。

2 swarmed   

密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。
• When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。

3 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

4 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。