Thousands attend opening of hot air balloon festival in Taitung

Pre-advanced
2020/07/12 14:00

Today's Vocabulary

1. gather (v.) 
to collect several things, often from different places or people

2. deput (n.)  
the occasion when someone performs or presents something to the public for the first time

3. display  (n.)  
a collection of objects or pictures arranged for people to look at, or a performance or show for people to watch

4. tethered (adj.)  
tied to a post or fixed to the ground with a rope or chain

5.  urge (v.)  
to strongly advise or try to persuade someone to do a particular thing

6.  disease (n.)  
(an) illness of people, animals, plants, etc., caused by infection or a failure of health rather than by an accident

7.  prevention (n.)  
the act of stopping something from happening or of stopping someone from doing something

8.  observe (v.)  
to obey a law, rule, or custom

9.  ongoing (adj.)  
continuing to exist or develop, or happening at the present moment

Thousands attend opening of hot air balloon festival in Taitung

Nearly 10,000 people attended the opening of the 10th Taiwan International Balloon Festival at sunrise Saturday, according to the Taitung County government.

A total of 18 hot air balloons gathered at the Luye Highland in the eastern county for the opening ceremony that took place around 5:30 a.m., with crowds gathered at the site before sunrise to watch 11 of the balloons take off.

Among the guests invited to the opening ceremony was Brent Christensen, director of the American Institute in Taiwan’s Taipei office, who took a ride on a hot air balloon with Taitung County Magistrate Yao Ching-ling (饒慶鈴).

According to Taitung County’s Tourism Department, this year’s festival features 10 locally based hot air balloons and 28 that came from abroad, 10 of which are making their debut in Taiwan for the event.

Festival visitors can expect to see five to six special shape hot air balloons on display and another five to six tethered balloons providing short rides every day at the event’s main site at Luye until the festival concludes on Aug. 30.

Rides on untethered hot air balloon rides are also available, but people have to reserve rides in advance with the balloon operators.

The hot air balloons will also be part of a series of light shows and concerts, starting with Saturday evening’s event that will also include fireworks, across the eastern county, organizers said.

The county government also urged visitors to follow disease prevention measures, such as washing hands, wearing a face mask, and observing social distancing rules amid ongoing COVID-19 concerns.

Resource:https://focustaiwan.tw/culture/202007110013

Discussion

1. How does it feel to be on a hot air balloon?

2. How dangerous is a hot air balloon?

3. Have you ever flown in a hot air balloon?

There is a lot of adventures out there, waiting for us to live them!”