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 aged 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 suburban 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。