VOA慢速英语2020 美国各地夜间燃放烟花，政府派人阻止销售（在线收听）

Most Americans welcome a fireworks show on July 4th, the nations Independence Day.

大多数美国人欢迎7月4日美国独立日的烟花表演。 

Many also enjoy them on New Years Day and in private celebrations.

许多人也在新年和私人庆祝活动中享受烟花表演。 

As a nightly event, however, the explosions are not so well received.

然而，作为一项夜间活动，烟花并不受欢迎。 

But that is exactly what Americans in many cities across the country have reported experiencing over the last several weeks.

但这正是美国各地许多城市在过去几周经历的情况。 

Some people are angry about the fireworks and want them to stop.

一些人对燃放烟花感到愤怒，希望他们停止燃放。 

Some want to know who is responsible and want them to stop.

有些人想知道谁该为此负责，并希望他们停止。 

Some people are afraid of what the nightly explosions might mean and want them to stop.

有些人害怕夜间烟花可能意味着什么，希望他们停止。 

Julie Heckman is wondering, herself.

朱莉·赫克曼自己也很好奇。 

She leads the American Pyrotechnics Association, a fireworks industry trade group.

她领导着美国烟火协会，一个烟花工业贸易组织。 

Her industry had high hopes for 2020.

她所在的行业对2020年抱有很高的期望。 

Then came the Covid-19 crisis with its closures and cancellations.

随后，Covid-19危机爆发，烟花行业的门店被迫关闭，订单被取消。 

That had people who sell fireworks worried that sales would be low.

烟花商人担心烟花的销量会很低。 

Those fears, however, have gone up in smoke.

然而，这些都不用担心了。 

"Sales are off the hook right now," Heckman said.

赫克曼说：“现在销售摆脱了困境。” 

She added that the industry is concerned about reports of fireworks use in cities where it violates local laws.

她补充说，该行业对一些城市燃放烟花违反当地法律的报道感到担忧。 

New York City is an example.

纽约市就是一个例子。 

And the citys mayor Bill de Blasio has set up a task force to deal with the illegal activity.

纽约市市长比尔·白思豪成立了一个特别工作组来处理非法活动。 

New Yorkers were among the first in the country to report the late night noise.

纽约人是美国最早报告深夜噪音的人之一。 

Many are losing sleep.One child was reported injured by an explosion this week.

许多人正在失眠。据报道，本周有一名儿童在燃放烟花中受伤。 

"This is a real problem. It is not just a quality-of-life problem and a noise problem," de Blasio said.

“这是一个现实的问题。这不仅仅是生活质量和噪音的问题。”白思豪说。 

The task force will carry out operations to try to stop the sales of the explosives.

该特别工作组将开展行动，试图阻止烟花的销售。 

The group is made up of police, firefighters and the Sheriffs Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

工作组由警察、消防队员和州立刑事调查局组成。 

Other officials express similar concern.

其他官员也表示了类似的关切。 

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said there are too many reports of fireworks being set off across the state.

新泽西州州长菲尔·墨菲表示，有太多报道称整个州都在燃放烟花。 

"This is no way to blow off steam," he told reporters recently in Trenton, the capital.

“这不是发泄情绪的方式，”他最近在首府特伦顿告诉记者。 

Officials in Oakland, California, said they have received more complaints of illegal fireworks and reports of celebratory gunfire than usual this year.

加州奥克兰的官员说，今年他们收到了比往年更多的关于非法燃放烟花爆竹和庆祝活动枪声的投诉。

At least five fires have been linked to fireworks since late May, officials said.

官员们说，自5月底以来，至少有5起火灾与烟花有关。 

And in Denver, Colorado, police seized 1,360 kilograms of illegal fireworks during a traffic stop.

在科罗拉多州的丹佛市，警方在一次交通拦截中查获了1360公斤的非法烟花。 

There are many different opinions about why fireworks have gotten so popular.

关于烟花为什么这么受欢迎有很多不同的观点。 

Some social media users are posting messages that blame the government.

一些社交媒体用户发布消息指责政府。 

Some of them suggest the police are setting off fireworks to intimidate people protesting police violence around the country.

一些人认为警察燃放烟花是为了恐吓全国各地抗议警察暴力的人们。 

"My neighbors and I believe that this is part of a coordinated attack on Black and Brown communities by government forces," said writer Robert Jones Jr. in a Twitter post.

“我和邻居们都认为，这是政府军对黑人和棕色社区发动的协同攻击的一部分。”作家小罗伯特·琼斯在推特上发帖称。

His recent posts on fireworks have been retweeted thousands of times.

他最近关于烟花的帖子被转发了数千次。 

A video captured in New York appears to show fire department workers setting off the explosives outside their station.

一段在纽约拍摄的视频显示，消防部门的工作人员在消防站外引爆了烟花。 

Pyrotechnics expert and company owner Mike Tockstein has a different explanation.

烟火专家和公司老板麦克·托克斯坦对此有不同的解释。 

"Fireworks are used across the entire country for a full month leading up to the Fourth of July," he said.

他说：“在7月4日之前的整整一个月里，全国各地都会燃放烟花。” 

"There is a slight uptick, but I dont think its anything more than people are stuck at home and hey, look, fireworks are available."

“燃放烟花得现象有轻微的增多，但我不认为这比困在家里说‘嘿，看烟花’的人更多。” 

No matter who is responsible, the noisy light shows could last for some time.

不管谁该为此负责，这种嘈杂的“灯光秀”可能会持续一段时间。 

Many seasonal stores only opened this week.

许多季节性商店只在本周开张。 

Tockstein predicts people will continue to buy fireworks in the days leading up to July 4th.

托克斯坦预测，在7月4日之前的几天里，人们将继续购买烟花。