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Sitting down on the pathway next to London’s century-old Royal Albert Hall, I could not help admiring the magnificent concert hall’s red and gold wall and mosaic frieze celebrating the greatness of the arts and sciences.

坐在伦敦百年皇家艾尔伯特音乐厅旁的路边，我情不自禁地抬头仰望着音乐厅，金色与红色的墙壁交相辉映，马赛克装饰条彰显着艺术和科学的壮观。

I was sitting with a friend in a long queue, waiting to get tickets for this summer’s BBC Proms concerts at the venue, an enjoyable activity that has turned into a ritual over the years. Perhaps we keep coming back for the great music, or maybe it’s to feel the connection with other music lovers in the queue.

我和一位朋友坐在长长的队伍中，排队领取BBC夏季逍遥音乐节的门票，这些年来，赏心悦耳的逍遥音乐节俨然已经成为一项惯例。或许人们痴迷伟大的音乐，亦或人们只是为了与其他音乐爱好者间碰撞的火花。

BBC Proms has a reputation as the world’s largest and most democratic music festival. Its 5 pound ($6.44) standing tickets are affordable, but the most popular concerts can take hours of queueing to get in, which is a real test of audience dedication.

BBC逍遥音乐节被誉为世界最大最大众的音乐节。5英镑（约合43元）的门票人人都能接受，但想走进这个著名的音乐厅，则需排几小时的队，这才是真正考验观众的热爱程度了。

Over the years, I have grown to appreciate and love the down-to-earth nature of London’s cultural scene.

这些年，我越来越欣赏伦敦接地气的文化氛围了。

As a child, I had once imagined the British capital’s arts scene to be dominated by a highly sophisticated posh audience, of ladies in sparkling evening dresses, and gentlemen in black tie suits, just as I had read about in Dickens novels.

小时候，我一直觉得英国首都的文化场景就如同狄更斯小说所描绘的那样：人人着装精致优雅，淑女身着晚礼服，光彩夺目，绅士则黑色西服领带，风度翩翩。

Yes, such scenes certainly exist today, although they are far from the norm. Among cultural activities, there are many casual outdoor concerts and plays, where the atmosphere is lively, creative and inspiring.

这种场景依旧存在，但早已不是着装规范。现在伦敦有很多休闲的户外音乐会和话剧表演，气氛活泼，充满新意且能启发灵感。

Casual shows at Regent Park’s Open Air Theatre offer a great chance to combine a performance with a picnic, while the live music playing inside the Victoria and Albert Museum on days it opens late are a breath of fresh air to a site full of the weight of history and civilization.

摄政公园露天剧场的休闲表演，是表演和野餐的完美结合。而当天晚些时候在维多利亚博物馆（Victoria）和阿尔伯特博物馆（Albert Museum）内举行的现场音乐会更是给充满历史文明气息的建筑带来了一股新鲜空气。

Even the financial hub of Canary Wharf now enjoys a rich cultural program of free pop-up outdoor concerts and plays. This year, it showed Shakespeare classics including A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Merry Wives of Windsor.

即使金丝雀码头的金融中心，现在也享受着多彩的文化熏陶，包括免费户外音乐会和话剧表演。今年，莎士比亚的经典作品《仲夏夜之梦》和《温莎的风流娘们儿》就在此上演。

The Royal Opera House continued to showcase the grand classic opera La Boheme of course, but this summer it was broadcast live for free across residential public spaces, such as Canada Square, Trafalgar Square, Hammersmith, Walthamstow, and Woolwich, making the classic art form accessible to a far greater audience.

《波希米亚人》这类的经典歌剧依旧在皇家歌剧院上演，但今年夏天，经典歌剧走进了加拿大广场、特拉法加广场、哈默史密斯、沃尔瑟姆斯托、伍尔维奇等居民公共活动区，进行现场表演，使经典艺术走向更多的群众。

For me, participating in all these activities is fun, comfortable, and truly enjoyable. They also help me feel increasingly connected to both Britain’s rich cultural heritage and like-minded individuals from all over the world who now live around me in the same city.

我觉得所有的活动都特别有趣，很惬意，让人十分享受。这些活动让我不仅感受到英国丰富的文化遗产，也认识了很多来自世界各地和我同住伦敦的志同道合的朋友。

Within this scene of cultural diversity and inclusiveness, arts from China are also becoming increasingly popular among London’s local audience.

随着追求文化的多样性和包容性，中国艺术在伦敦当地人中也越发流行。

Last summer, Shanghai Ballet Company’s Echoes of Eternity attracted a full house at London Coliseum. Highlights at London’s Sadler’s Wells include the National Ballet of China’s The Peony Pavilion and famous Chinese dancer Yang Liping’s Under Siege.

去年夏天，上海芭蕾舞团在伦敦体育馆表演《永恒回声》（Echoes of Eternity），现场座无虚席。伦敦萨德勒威尔斯剧院最精彩的剧目包括中国国家芭蕾舞团的《牡丹亭》和中国著名表演艺术家杨丽萍的《十面埋伏》。

As a Chinese person living in London, I have been touched to see the city’s local audience charmed by high-quality performances from China. Sitting down to enjoy these shows with them, I also felt a strong spiritual connection with my Chinese roots, and, despite the geographical distance between the UK and China, I felt much closer to home.

身为一个生活在伦敦的中国人，看到当地人对中国高质量演出陶醉不已，很是感动。坐下来和当地人一同享受节目，深深感到根在中国。虽和祖国远隔万水千山，此时却觉得家就在身边。

译者：郑潇

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