2016-12-24 Christmas Eve
【Aiden in English】
What's in Los Angeles? Now that I think about it, all it seems to be is a city with a name and beaches. This year's Christmas break for school was the shortest on record. The students received nine days off and were all required to return on January 2nd, the following Monday after the New Year of 2107. Not only does it force the students to think about school more often, but it also makes us want the most out of the vacation, which ironically makes it all less of a vacation. Therefore, there isn't much of a bright side to this year's ending. Yet Mother is never quite bored on Christmas since we always appear to be making a mad dash out of the country. This time, we are heading to L.A., which is not as far as others may expect. But seriously, what's in L.A.? Well, for one, there's an observatory. The Griffith Observatory sits at a reasonably large Mount Hollywood, a feature and landmark on the West Coast. It is an enormous scientific area that involves looking at the stars. Nowadays, it has been converted into a museum. Being quite interested in space and celestial science, the museum provided a lot of fascinating proven theories and the history of the universe, including a long corridor of Cosmic Connection mapping the timeline from the Big Bang. There was a complete rundown on meteorites, comets, and the planets in our solar system in a giant exhibition room following the hallway, where people stared up at models of each planet. Interestingly enough, I don't think the observatory did one for Pluto. A complete periodic table room was next, with a sample of every element within each small box. I don't know about other people, but isn't Mercury evil for us? Half of the elements are very reactive to the air. Therefore, I wasn't entirely thrilled about a picture beside it. Nevertheless, what intrigued me the most was the outside view. We could see the bright sun shining down on the L.A. skyscrapers and the endless, packed houses. Turning around, however, it was the famous, cinematic Hollywood Sign. Sitting on the side of the tallest Mount Lee in the area, it stood out from the countryside, like a celebrity at a party. Every movie about an earthquake, war, zombie apocalypse, alien abduction, etc., usually has this sign shaken to the ground, blown up, torn apart, run over, or vandalized. Even some movies with romance or deeper meanings have the Hollywood Sign as a symbol. And other than a biting wind, seeing the sign was a perfect day. I find it odd that one of the famous American symbols was simply a sign, supported in bars and slapped on the side of a hill. Yet, I can finally say I saw it in person, which is a feat that has eluded me for a long time. Even if the Griffith Observatory didn't allow its visitors to look at the stars or the wonders above on Christmas Eve, it still showed me an American wonder, the one that is down to earth and as stunning as the stars. 【紅霞譯】 洛杉磯“天使城”是啥玩藝？讓我想一下，就其名稱便可看出它是座城市，少不了海灘。
今年聖誕節假期可謂有史以來最短的一次，學生們前後僅能享用短短的九天休息時間，2017陽曆年元旦過後次日即星期一立刻返校報到，這麼做無非迫使大家銘記課業在身，敦促我們趕緊收心盡忠本分，結果讓原來欠長的假日愈發短得可憐，歲末日子真不過癮。
然而母親對聖誕節從未感到無聊，因為我們總是風塵僕僕奔赴國外度假，今年趕在這個節骨眼上，全家乾脆集結加利福尼亞“火爐”洛杉磯，並非像其他人想象得那麼遠。 但說真的，洛杉磯到底有什麼？ 噢對了，天文台。
格里菲斯“強主”天文台坐落在相對較高的好萊塢“冬青灌木林”山上，也就是通常人們所說的西海岸邊，那裡有大片地盤被用來科學觀測天宇行星，如今早已轉化成博物館，若對天體科學感興趣的話，該博物館提供許多豐富多彩的宇宙理論及其自然史演變過程，長長的宇宙連接走廊甚至展示出大爆炸時間表，通道盡端巨大展廳中陳設太陽系各種隕石、彗星及行星模型供遊人參觀，耐人尋味的是天文台好像並沒有把冥王星納入其中。
接下來可以瀏覽的還有完整周期表展廳，每一個化學元素狹小櫥窗里都有樣品出示，我不知道別人作何感想，水銀不是非常有害而多半化學元素還能與空氣發生反應嗎？所以讓我跟這些玩藝拍照怎麼會開心起來。不管說什麼最吸引我的倒是戶外景致，明媚的陽光把洛杉磯林立櫛比的高樓大廈照耀得美輪美奐；轉過身來，出鏡率極高的著名“好萊塢” 標誌奪人眼球，它矗立於附近最高峰李“林地”山腰間，如同聚會中閃亮登場的當紅明星一樣堪稱郊外奇葩，該字樣時常夾雜在有關地震、戰爭、殭屍來襲、外星人綁架等相關場景中，極盡顛覆摧毀粉碎襲擊或破壞之能事，不過有些浪漫乃至寓意深刻的電影也使用這一字樣，要不是冷風颼颼，今天當該屬於觀望好萊塢標誌的大好日子。 我十分驚訝地發覺，如此代表美國人心聲的東西竟是一塊宛如酒吧橫匾被釘到岩石上的標牌，但我總算承認自己親眼看到並完成了夢寐以求的夙願，即使聖誕前夜格里菲斯天文台提前關閉望遠鏡致使觀眾難於遨遊天空，我依舊欣賞到具有美利堅特色的人文作品，一個像星星閃亮近在咫尺的奇異景觀。
Christmas Eve in History(歷史上的平安夜): 2015 Christmas Eve @ CGCC(2015年神州基督教會平安夜) 2014 Christmas Eve @ CGCC(2014年神州基督教會平安夜) 2013: Trivia over the Indian Ocean(印度洋上百科知識問答) 2012: Puerto Montt the City of Roses, Chile(智利泥港—玫瑰之城) 2009: 新西蘭首都惠靈頓(Capital Wellington, NZ)  Departure Rain in PHL (陰雨天離開費城機場)
 Alluvial Fan, an Accumulation of Sediments over Califonia
(加州沖積扇·沉積物的堆積 12-24-2016)  Canyon Landform vs Esplanade Sandstone
(峽谷地貌—濱海砂岩 12-24-2016)  Aerial View of Mural-like Ground (鳥瞰壁畫般地面)
 Sierra Nevada Mountains (內華達“雪山”山脈)
 Bear River Reservoir Nestled in the Sierra Mountains
(坐落在內華達山脈的熊河水庫)
 Sky over Los Angeles (洛杉磯上空)
 White Mountains of CA & NV, a Triangular Fault-Block Mtn Range Facing the Sierra Nevada across the Upper Owens Valley
(加州和內華達州的白山·三角斷塊山脈，與歐文斯“高貴”河谷上游隔河相望)
 Patchwork Farmland (斑駁的農田)
 Maywood & City of Commerce, Los Angeles County
(洛杉磯郡梅伍德“林中空地”和商業城 12-24-2016)  Los Angeles River, a Historic Flood-Control Channel
(洛杉磯河·歷史悠久的防洪渠)
 LAX Control Tower & Theme Bldg
(洛杉磯國際機場·控制塔和主題建築)  LAX Gateway Pylon Project
(洛杉磯國際機場電纜塔架項目·通往洛杉磯的門戶)  Interstate 110 near LAX, the Harbor Freeway
(洛杉磯國際機場附近的110號州際公路·海港高速公路) 
Wilshire Grand Center, the Tallest Bldg in Los Angeles & the US West of Chicago (威爾希爾“柳樹地”大中心·洛杉磯和芝加哥“野洋蔥”以西美國最高的建築 12-24-2016)
 Mt. Hollywood Tunnel (好萊塢山隧道)
 Central Los Angeles & Industrial Areas Overlooked from Griffith Observatory
(從格里菲斯天文台鳥瞰洛杉磯市中心和工業區 12-24-2016)
 Downtown LA Opposite Griffith Observatory
(格里菲斯天文台對面的洛杉磯市中心)  Planetariums (天文館 12-24-2016)
Rotunda a Prime Example of the Observatory's Overall Art Deco Design, Blending Classical & Beaux-Arts Elements (圓頂大廳·天文台整體裝飾藝術設計的典範，融合了古典和美術元素)  Hugo Ballin Murals, Depicting Celestial Mythology & Scientific Advancement
(雨果·巴林“智慧·富裕”壁畫——描繪天體神話和科學進步)  Foucault Pendulum, the 1st Laboratory Demonstration of the Earth's Rotation about the Planet Spinning on Its Axis
(傅科“人民統治者”擺·地球自轉的首次實驗室演示，證明行星繞地軸自轉)  Periodic Table (《元素周期表》 12-24-2016)
 Cosmic Connection (宇宙連接)
 Gunther Depths of Space Exhibits, Including over a Million Galaxies, Ranging in Distance from Millions to Billions of Light Years
(岡瑟“鬥士”《太空深處》展廳·包含超過一百萬個星系，距離從數百萬光年到數十億光年不等 12-24-2016)  Hollywood Sign on Mount Lee
(李山·好萊塢標誌 12-24-2016)  Christmas Eve Party (聖誕夜聚會 12-24-2016)
 Potluck (百樂餐 12-24-2016)
 Spanish Villa (西班牙式莊園)
Crosslink(相關博文): USA(出遊美國)
8th Grade(初中三年級) |
