The Ballooning of a Parade

What is this Article mainly about?

• During its nearly century-long history, the popular Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has only been canceled a total of three times, from 1942 to 1944, because of helium and rubber shortages that arose due to World War II.

• The very first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was held in 1924 and was billed as a Christmas celebration with employees dressed as clowns and cowboys, four marching bands, and even some animals from the nearby Central Park Zoo, but no giant balloons.

• The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is a nearly century-old American institution with millions lining the parade route or watching on TV as floats, marching bands, and especially giant helium-filled balloons slowly make their way through the streets of New York City.

• Shortly after introducing helium-filled balloons to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, organizers designed a select few of the balloons to slowly leak helium for about 10 days and then drop back to earth so that they could be picked up later.

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Which of these events happened last?

• A couple of spectators watching the parade were hurt when high winds caused one of the helium-filled balloons to hit a streetlamp and knock it over.

• The parade featured marching bands, employees dressed as clowns and cowboys, and bears and elephants from a nearby zoo, but no helium-filled balloons.

• A balloon based on a popular cartoon character of the day hit some overhead electric wires and burst into flames

• On a rainy Thanksgiving Day, a cartoon character's hat filled with rainwater and soaked unsuspecting spectators who had gathered along the parade route.

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Which passage from the Article best supports the idea that the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an extremely popular event?

• The 1924 parade featured floats with Mother Goose characters, Macy's employees dressed as clowns and cowboys, and four marching bands. There were also some animals from nearby Central Park Zoo, including bears and elephants. But there were no giant balloons. Those made their debut in 1927 as a replacement for the zoo animals, whose roars and growls were scaring kids.

• About 3.5 million people show up annually to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade somewhere along its 2.5 mile (about 4 kilometer) route. And another 50 million people watch it on TV. So it's one of the most-viewed broadcasts year after year. The parade, however, is more than just a big balloon blow up and blowout. It's an American institution, and that's not just a lot of hot air.

• One year, a furious tug-of-war broke out after a balloon landed in Long Island, New York. People kept yanking it until they tore it apart. Another year, a loose balloon got tangled up in the propeller of a small plane and almost took it down. That instantly ended the tradition. (Nowadays, all the balloons are deflated, crated, and stored for the next year once the parade ends.)

• Since 1927, the balloons were grounded only once, in 1971. The wind was too powerful that day. And the parade itself was canceled only three times, from 1942 to 1944, because of rubber and helium shortages during World War II. Macy's did its share for the war effort by donating 650 pounds of balloon rubber to the government.

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Which is the closest antonym for the word shortage?

• abundance

• guarantee

• campaign

• blockade

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What is one inference the reader can make from the Article?

• Most of the spectators who turned out for the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade were there to see the helium-filled balloons.

• Some people were seriously hurt when a furious tug-of-war broke out over a downed balloon and people kept yanking it until it tore apart.

• Most of the people who watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade today are most excited to see the floats, school marching bands, and performers.

• Some children didn't like the fact that live animals from the Central Park Zoo were included in the first few Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parades.

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Which information is not in the Article?

• Why animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo were no longer used after 1927

• How the parade's organizers decide which balloons to include in the event each year

• How the helium-filled balloons have sometimes caused problems during and after the parade

• Which balloon featuring a popular cartoon character made its debut in the 2004 parade

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Read this passage from the Article:

The first-ever celebrity balloon was Felix the Cat. He was one of the leading comic strip characters back in the day. Unfortunately, the parade organizers neglected to create a plan for deflating Felix, so they let him fly off into the sky at the end of the day.

In this passage, the word deflate means __________.

• to release the air or gas from something

• to move something from place to place

• to put something in a place of safety

• to cause the destruction of something

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The Article states:

In 1931, Felix the Cat hit an electric wire and burst into flames. In 1957, Popeye's hat filled with rainwater and doused unsuspecting spectators along the way. In 1997, the Cat in the Hat hit a streetlight due to high winds and injured two people. And two more people were injured in 2005 when an M&M knocked down a streetlamp. (But the good news is that the balloons are usually pretty secure. It takes as many as 90 handlers to guide one down the street.)

Why did the author include this passage?

• To introduce the notion that balloons have been a staple of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade since the early 1930s

• To draw attention to the fact that balloon crews need to be trained in the safe handling and movement of helium-filled balloons

• To suggest that the M&M balloon is more popular than both the Popeye balloon and the Cat in the Hat balloon

• To describe some accidents that have been caused by the helium-filled balloons that are used in the parade

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