Allison Singer 張寧編譯

Have you? ever watched the? crowds walking through? a? downpour? of colorfulpaper strips2 in the streets in New York City？ It should be a ticker-tape parade.

Ticker tapes were long paper strips where messages were recorded on ticker -tape machines. The machines printed up-to-the-minute news and information aboutthe stock3 market. They made a tick-tick sound as they worked.

The used tapes were common things in the financial4 district5.

During early ticker -tape parades， people threw used ticker tapes out of theiroffice windows to celebrate as the parade passed by.

The first ticker-tape parade in New York took place on October 28， 1886， as acelebration of the new Statue of Liberty6. The event ran between Battery Park， atthe? southern -most? tip? of? Manhattan? where? the? Statue? is? visible7，? through? thefinancial district and up to City Hall.

Ticker-tape parades celebrate heroes and important events. New York City hasheld more than 200 ticker -tape parades since the first one in 1886. Since then，ticker-tape parades have been thrown for astronauts， leaders， soldiers coming homefrom war and many other different reasons.

Ticker-tape parades have also taken place after athletic8 victories. These haveincluded the Olympics， the Super Bowl and so on.

The heyday9 ?of ticker -tape parades was in the 1950s ， after World War II .In? that? decade10，? there? were 71 parades . The? event? has? waned11 ??in? recentyears ，? with? only? three? ticker - tape? parades? in? the 2010s ，? all? celebrating? sportswins? for? New? York? area? teams? or? U . S .national? teams. And? two? out? of? thethree? ticker -tape? parades? were? to? celebrate? the? World? Cup? wins? of? the? U.S.Women s soccer team .

Today， ticker-tape machines are no longer used and ticker tapes are replacedwith tons of confetti12 made from recycled paper.

Like ticker tapes， these bits of paper swirl13 ?through the air， adding to theexcitement of the parade.

And? afterward？ A? second? group ?of heroes? appears，? brooms14 ?in? hand： theclean-up crew ！

最初，紙帶是在自動收報機上記錄信息的一種長紙條。這些機器打印出關于股票市場的最新新聞和信息。它們在工作時發(fā)出滴答滴答的聲音。

這些用過的紙帶在金融區(qū)隨處可見。

在早期的紙帶游行中，當游行隊伍經(jīng)過時，人們將用過的紙帶扔出辦公室的窗戶來慶賀。

1886年 10月 28日，紐約舉行了第一次紙帶游行，以慶祝新的自由女神像（的落成）。這場活動從曼哈頓最南端可以看到自由女神像的炮臺公園起，經(jīng)過金融區(qū)，再到市政廳。

紙帶游行是為了慶祝英雄和重要事件的。紐約市自1886年的第一次紙帶游行以來，已經(jīng)舉行了200多次紙帶游行。從那時起，人們?yōu)榱擞詈絾T、領導人、從戰(zhàn)爭中歸來的士兵以及其他許多不同的原因而舉行紙帶游行。

在體育賽事的勝利之后也舉行了紙帶游行。這些體育賽事包括奧運會、超級杯（美國職業(yè)橄欖球最高賽事）等。

紙帶游行的鼎盛時期在20世紀50年代，即第二次世界大戰(zhàn)后。在那十年里，共有71次游行。近年來，這個活動日漸式微。在2010年代，只有三次紙帶游行，都是為了慶祝紐約地區(qū)的隊伍或美國國家隊體育賽事上的勝利。這三次紙帶游行中有兩次是為了慶祝美國女子足球隊贏得世界杯。

今天，人們不再使用自動收報機了，而（自動收報機上的）紙帶被成噸的由可再生紙制成的五彩紙屑所取代。

和（自動收報機上的）紙帶一樣，這些碎紙片在空中盤旋，增加了游行的興奮感。

之后呢？第二批英雄出現(xiàn)了，手里拿著掃帚。他們就是清理隊！

（英語原文選自：timeforkids.com）

1. parade [ ] 游行 2. strip [ ] . 條，帶

3. stock [ ] . 股票 4. financial [ ] . 金融的

5. district [ ] . 地區(qū) 6. Statue of Liberty 自由女神像

7. visible [ ] 看得見的 8. athletic [ ] 體育的

9. heyday [ ] 全盛期 10. decade [ ] . 十年

11. wane [ ] 衰落 12. confetti [ ] 五彩紙屑

13. swirl [ ] 打旋 14. broom [ ] 掃帚