世界节假日博览 第147期:报童日

 　　Newspaper Carrier Day is an important day to celebrate one of society’s forgotten workers– the newspaper carrier. Every day, thousands of newspaper girls and boys get up early and carry heavy bags of newspapers around the streets. They deliver our newspapers before we wake up and few people stop to think about their efforts. In the United States, it honors the first newspaper boy, 10-year-old Barney Flaherty. He started work for the New York Sun newspaper on September 4, 1833. He was the pioneer for all the boys and girls who followed him. Today, many young people top up their pocket money by delivering newspapers. They may be a dying breed because the Internet is causing a drop in newspaper sales.

　　报童日是一个重要的节日，它是为赞美被社会遗忘的劳动者——报童而设的。每天，成千上万个报童早早起床，抱着沉甸甸的报纸穿行在大街小巷。他们在人们起床前就开始送报纸，很少有人想到他们的辛劳。在美国，报童日是为了纪念第一个报童——10岁的巴尼·费海提。他1833年9月4日开始为《纽约太阳报》工作，是所有报童的先驱。如今，许多年轻人靠送报纸赚取零花钱。由于网络的兴起，报纸销售量下滑，报童这一行业奄奄一息。

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　　Perhaps millions of people have been a newspaper deliverer. It used to be a part-time job for kids aged¹ between 13 and 16. The requirement for Barney Flaherty was simple. He had to show that he could throw a newspaper across someone’s garden to reach the front door. This is a typical scene in the movies showing American suburban² life. Times are changing and many adults now deliver newspaper from their cars. It has become too unsafe in many cities for children to be on the streets alone before 6.00 a.m. The money to be earned is also changing. In Britain, it is possible to earn around $25 an hour for delivering newspapers. The next time you wake up to see your newspaper on the doorstep, spare a thought for the person who delivered it.

　　或许无数人都曾做过报童。它曾是13岁到16岁孩子的兼职工作。《纽约太阳报》对巴尼·费海提的要求很简单，他必须展现出他的能力——能把报纸越过花园扔到前门。这是个经典的电影场景，揭示了美国人的郊区生活。时代在改变，现在很多成人通过汽车传递报纸。在许多城市，孩子早上六点前单独在街上是极不安全的。报童赚得钱也在变化。在英国，每小时送报纸赚25美元左右是很有可能的。下次你起床后看到台阶上的报纸时，费心想想是谁送的。

　　1.top up 充值

　　例句：

　　Mom gave me some more pocket money this morning. I'll top up my bus card tomorrow.

　　早上妈妈给了我零花钱，我明天去给交通卡充值。

　　2.dying breed 奄奄一息

　　例句：Traditional print workers could soon be a dying breed because of new technology.

　　由于新技术的发展，传统印刷工人很可能即将被淘汰。

　　3.it is possible to …… 有可能

　　例句：It is possible to make out something in those vaults³, but not very much.

　　在那些穹窿里很可能会辨认出什么东西来，但不会是很多。

　　4.spare a thought for 想到

　　例句：

　　But they might spare a thought for the poverty wages of the coffee shop workerand the ethics⁴ of coffee shop company too.

　　但他们也可能会考虑到在咖啡店工作的穷人们的薪水问题和咖啡店的道德问题。

1 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

2 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

3 vaults   

n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴

参考例句：

• It was deposited in the vaults of a bank. 它存在一家银行的保险库里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。