人們常常放飛氫氣球傳達美好愿望，但氣球脆弱無比，經不起擠壓、針刺，飛到高空還會爆炸，很難飄遠。英國曼徹斯特市一位4歲的小女孩6周前放飛的一只氫氣球居然隨風飄到了近1萬公里外的中國，被一位廣州小伙子撿到。

Alice Maines and her balloon. [File Photo]

When four-year old Alice Maines released her balloon at her school fete on a rainy day in Manchester, UK, never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that it would end up being found by Xie Yufei in a park in Guangzhou, a sprawling metropolis 75 miles north of Hong Kong.

The balloon, that cost just one pound, was one of 100 that were launched in a balloon race at Alice's Flixton Junior School's annual summer fair.

Each one of the balloons carried a numbered ticket promising the finder a prize: a visit to Chester Zoo.

In the weeks that followed, balloons were posted back to the school, mostly from suburbs a few miles west of Manchester, although a couple made it to Liverpool.

Alice's balloon, gave everyone quite a start when a letter with a Chinese postmark and stamp arrived on September 5 at the headmaster's office.

According to the Daily Mail, the letter read: "I picked up this balloon when my friends and I were playing on August 25. I am in China, so I think it has traveled the furthest. Left is my picture. I am happy to pick it up."

Xie, who designs air conditioning units, revealed just how he had come across the balloon.

"We were playing basketball in a park. I saw it by the edge of the court. It was shrunk, and there was an address attached."

Shrunk though it was, the balloon had not burst - something that had meteorologists surprised.

The school is now sending Xie a parcel of letters and drawings from the pupils.

(ANI)

Vocabulary:

fete： 慶祝會

meteorologist：氣象學家

（英語點津 Celene 編輯）