The idea is you gather in a tight circle, throw snowballs straight up and bend forward. Almost everybody gets hit, but since nobody knows by whom, there is no anger or retaliation.

大家围成一个紧密的圆圈，先向上投掷雪球然后弯下身子，差不多每个人都被雪球击中了，但是没有人知道自己是被谁投出的雪球击中的，所以既没有恼怒也无法报复。

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The nanotube is a straight line with almost no depth or width.

FORBES: IBM Makes Molecule-Sized Light

But after eight or nine years he can start the parole hearing process - straight away, it almost seems to us.

BBC: Last Updated: Friday, 9 March 2007, 11:50 GMT

Over the 80 or so quarters he was in charge, GE's profits grew so consistently they were almost a straight line.

ECONOMIST: Online, straight from the gut and politically incorrect