譯/小J

與大本鐘的鐘聲暫時(shí)告別

譯/小J

London residents①resident英 ［?r?z?d?nt］美 ［'r?z?d?nt］adj. 居住的；定居的n.住院醫(yī)師will have to make do without the chimes②chime英 ［t?a?m］美 ［t?a?m］ vi. 鳴響；和諧vt. 打鐘報(bào)時(shí)n. 鐘聲；一套發(fā)諧音的鐘of Big Ben for a while. After 157 years of nearly uninterrupted③uninterrupted英 ［，?n?nt?'r?pt?d］美 ［，?n，?nt?'r?pt?d］adj. 不間斷的；連續(xù)的service， the iconic④iconic英 ［a?'k?n?k］ 美 ［a?'kɑn?k］adj. 圖標(biāo)的，形象的clock in London has become worn and requires repairs⑤repair英 ［r?'pe?］美 ［r?'p?r］vi. 修理；修復(fù)vt. 修理；恢復(fù)n. 修理，修補(bǔ)；修補(bǔ)部位.

Steve Jaggs， Keeper of the Clock， said: "This project will enable us to give one of Britain's most famous landmarks⑥landmark英 ［'l?n（d）mɑ?k］ 美 ［'l?ndmɑrk］n. ［航］陸標(biāo)；地標(biāo)；界標(biāo)；里程碑；紀(jì)念碑；地界標(biāo)；劃時(shí)代的事adj. 有重大意義或影響的the TLC （tender loving care） it so desperately needs and deserves."

The Elizabeth Tower， a UNESCO World Heritage Site， houses the clock and is visited by 12，000 people a year. Water caused damage to its masonry⑦masonry英 ［'me?s（?）nr?］美 ［'mes?nri］n. 石工；石工行業(yè)；石造建筑and there's corrosion⑧corrosion英 ［k?'r???（?）n］美 ［k?'ro??n］ n. 腐蝕；腐蝕產(chǎn)生的物質(zhì)；衰敗in the cast-iron roof and belfry and the frame which holds the clock's bells. It all needs fixing.

Work， with an estimated cost of ￡29m， is set to begin early in 2017 and is planned to take three years. The clock will be silent for only a few months though and might come back to life in very special occasions.

The name Big Ben originally referred to the 13.5 tonne Great Bell within the tower，but ended up being used for the clock and tower too. The clock stands 96m above the Houses of Parliament. It was designed by architect⑨architect英 ［'ɑ?k?tekt］美 ［'ɑrk?t?kt］n. 建筑師，締造者Edmund Beckett Denison and began keeping time on 31 May 1859.

倫敦的居民要將就度過一段沒有大本鐘的時(shí)間了。經(jīng)過近157年不間斷的服務(wù)，這只倫敦標(biāo)志性的大鐘已經(jīng)年久失修，是需修繕了。

看守人Steve Jaggs說：“我們將通過這項(xiàng)工作給倫敦最著名的地標(biāo)之一進(jìn)行精心護(hù)理，它急需修繕?！?/p>

大本鐘坐落在聯(lián)合國教科文組織世界文化遺產(chǎn)伊麗莎白塔里，每年有1.2萬名游客光顧。滴水導(dǎo)致了磚石結(jié)構(gòu)的損壞，鑄鐵的樓頂和承載鐘鈴的鐘樓和框架都存在腐蝕情況，亟待修復(fù)。

這項(xiàng)工作計(jì)劃在2017年開始，持續(xù)三年，預(yù)計(jì)花費(fèi)2900萬英鎊（約2.8億元人民幣）。不過大本鐘只會(huì)安靜幾個(gè)月時(shí)間，然后在某個(gè)特別的時(shí)間重新復(fù)活。

大本鐘的名字起源于塔內(nèi)重達(dá)13.5噸的“Great Bell”，但最后用來指鐘和塔兩者。大本鐘比英國國會(huì)大廈還高出96米。它由建筑師Edmund Beckett Denison設(shè)計(jì)，從1859年5月31日開始報(bào)時(shí)。

Bye bye Big Ben's Bongs