如今，領帶是男士衣柜里面不可缺少的配件。一身整潔的西裝，再系一條漂亮的領帶，既美觀大方，又給人以典雅莊重之感?？墒悄阆脒^人們是從什么時候開始戴領帶的嗎？最早的領帶是什么樣的呢？

Neckties are long pieces of cloth in different colors wrapped around the neck that symbolize status and prosperity for men. This idea is widely acceptable and some people have wondered how it has risen to that status. This question does not have easy answers.

Historically speaking， there were recent discoveries that show the antiquity1） of neckties. The Chinese terracotta2） army unearthed3） during the 1970s showed several men who wore bands of cloth around their necks and the ends dangled4） in their chest. These clay warriors were made around 220 BC！ Interestingly enough， the ends of these pieces of cloth have pointed ends5） similar to those that we have right now.

But did neckties originate in China as evidenced by the terracotta men？ It is doubtful since in Chinese history there are no records of male neckwear similar to neckties. Or maybe the fad6） did not last long enough.

Romans had neck warmers while Europeans had ruffled7） scarves during the Middle Ages. Lacy8） ruffles were symbols of power and prestige before. The bigger the ruffle， the more powerful a man was. What's more， Croatian9） soldiers during the 1600s wore the cravat10）. These are some other suggestions of neckties.

Among those mentioned above， the Croatian army seemed to have been the one that created the most profound imprint11） in the history of worldwide fashion. Their hard fought battles and campaigns afforded them respect and European rulers soon took notice. Later， the French， foremost12） fashion trend setters， accepted the cravat as a formal attire13）， and they， too， started wearing ties. Louis XIV of France was said to have developed an obsession14） with the new fashion trend and he was， as a matter of fact， the one responsible for the world—wide acceptance of the cravat.

From France， the public shifted their attention to Britain as a fashion leader in the 1800s. England's George IV and George V were credited15） for the transition16） of the traditional cravat towards the modern tie. Brummel， a British fashion icon who greatly influenced George IV， experimented with neckties and produced different necktie designs as well as ways on how to tie it. Later， the neckties witnessed public acceptance when armies and schools required standards for color and design of their ties. Designers produced ties with a wide range of colors and design.

And thus， the necktie era was born.

領帶就是男士系在脖子上的長條布，有各種顏色，象征著地位和財富。這種觀點得到人們的廣泛認可，還有人一直想要弄清楚領帶是如何獲得這樣的殊榮的。但這個問題可不是三言兩語就能回答清楚的。

從歷史上來看，近年來的一些發(fā)現(xiàn)表明領帶自古就有。20世紀70年代出土的中國秦始皇兵馬俑中，有幾個陶俑的脖子上就系著布條，布條的一頭懸垂在他們的胸前。這些陶俑是在公元前220年左右制成的。十分有趣的是，這些布條的尾部是尖尖的，與今天的領帶很相似。

然而，領帶真如那些陶俑所證明的起源于中國嗎？這一點讓人感到懷疑，因為在中國歷史上，并沒有任何關于類似領帶的男士領飾的記載。或者也可能這種風尚并沒持續(xù)多久。

在中世紀，羅馬人佩戴圍脖，而歐洲人則佩戴有褶飾邊的圍巾。以前，帶有花邊的褶飾是權力和聲望的象征：褶飾越大，說明佩戴它的這個人權力越大。除此之外，17世紀的克羅地亞士兵則佩戴領巾。以上是關于領帶的其他一些說法。

在上述種種推測中，在領帶這一風靡全球的配飾的歷史上，克羅地亞軍隊似乎留下了最為深刻的印記。無數(shù)鏖戰(zhàn)為克羅地亞士兵們贏得了人們的尊重，也很快引起了歐洲的那些統(tǒng)治者對他們的關注。后來，作為時尚潮流最早的引領者，法國人接納了克羅地亞士兵所系的領巾，將其作為一種需要在正式場合的服飾，他們也開始佩戴領帶。據(jù)說，法國國王路易十四對這種新式流行風尚非常著迷。事實上，他正是使領巾在世界范圍內(nèi)被廣泛接受的推動者。

19世紀時，英國成為了新的時尚先驅(qū)，公眾的注意力也由法國轉(zhuǎn)向了英國。而傳統(tǒng)的領巾過渡發(fā)展為現(xiàn)在的領帶則要歸功于英國的喬治四世和喬治五世。英國時尚達人布魯梅爾對喬治四世的影響很大，他拿領帶做實驗，設計出了款式多樣的領帶以及各種各樣的打領帶法。后來，隨著軍隊和學校都對其領帶的顏色及樣式做出了一系列規(guī)定，領帶獲得了世人的廣泛接受。設計師們也設計出了色彩繽紛、樣式各異的領帶。

就這樣，領帶的時代到來了。

1.antiquity [?n?t?kw?ti] n. 古老

2.terracotta [?ter??k?t?] n. 陶俑

3.unearth [?n???θ] vt. 從（地下）發(fā)掘；掘出

4.dangle [?d??ɡl] vi. 垂著擺動，懸蕩

5.pointed end： 尖頭

6.fad [f?d] n. （穿著、行為、言談等方面）一時的時尚

7.ruffle [?r?fl] vt. 給……飾褶邊。n. 褶裥飾邊

8.lacy [?le?si] adj. 花邊狀的

9.Croatian [kr???e??n] adj. 克羅地亞的

10.cravat [kr??v?t] n. （特指17世紀時鑲有花邊的男用）領巾，領結

11.imprint [?m?pr?nt] n. 痕跡

12.foremost [?f??m??st] adj. 最前的，最先的

13.attire [??ta??（r）] n. 服裝，衣著

14.obsession [?b?se?n] n. 著迷

15.credit [?kred?t] vt. 把……歸于

16.transition [tr?n?z??n] n. 過渡