西雅图趣闻(2/2)

英语自学网

概述：“钟表之城”西雅图的街钟各具特色，连有关时钟故事的趣闻标题都会一语双关。
Hints:
"street clock green"
Benton's Jewelers
Ben Bridge's Jewelers
Thomas Carroll
"pedestrian circulation"
Seattle
Board of Public Works
"tick tock"
16'-37'之间有2处分号。
1:11后的2处headline，加引号并大写；倒数第2句的1处引用，加引号。
最后1秒独立成句。
校对：MilanISIS
翻译&注解：Yuki_90
组长：elftea
答疑：jackmgheart
点评：louise0502
口语节目地址：
http://bulo.hujiang.com/group/topic/670298/Most of these clocks served as ticking advertising testimonials for the jewelry shops that maintained them.
So many were dark green that there is even a color called "street clock green".
Others were red, in the faint hope that truckers would see and avoid them.
Among those still standing, Benton's Jewelers' clock has four globe lamps; the clockworks inside Ben Bridge's Jewelers' post clock are encased in glass so all can see them; and the face of Thomas Carroll's clock in front of his jewelry store rests beneath four quaint carriage lamps.
Concerned about what it called "pedestrian circulation", Seattle's Board of Public Works came close to banishing street clocks in 1953, but a compromise was reached.
If an owner promised to keep a clock running and accurate, and to clean it twice a year, it could stay.
That soon drastically cut the number of clocks, but Seattle still has more than all of vast New York City.
Whenever there is a story about the old post clocks, Seattle's newspapers just can't seem to resist a play on words.
"Time Will Tell", a headline will read.
Or when one gets restored, "It's About Time".
One Seattle historian mused that the old public timepieces had wonderful stories to tell, "if only they could tock".
As in "tick tock".这些钟的大部分作为滴答走动的珠宝店活广告，并且由这些店来维护它们。
所以很多钟的颜色是深绿色，这种绿甚至被称为“街钟绿”。
其他的钟则是红色的，侥幸地希望卡车司机们能看到并避开它们。
在这么多仍然屹立着的时钟里，本顿珠宝店的钟有着四盏球形灯；本桥珠宝店的邮报时钟里的时钟装置被放置在玻璃中所以所有人都能看到；托马斯•卡罗尔珠宝店门前的时钟钟面安置在四个古怪有趣的车厢灯之下。
1953年，西雅图公共工程董事会为关心所谓的“人行道交通”而决定拆除街钟，但其中也作出了让步。
如果物主承诺使时钟精确运转并且每年为其清洁两次，那么时钟便可以得以保留。
这很快便使得街钟数量大幅度减少，但是西雅图的时钟量还是比整个纽约的多得多。
无论何时有一个关于古老邮报时钟的故事，西雅图报纸似乎都不能少了双关语的文字游戏。
大标题会写着：“时间证明一切。”（此处为双关：句子本意“时间会说话。”）
或者是当一个时钟还原到初始状态的时候，则会写着“是时候了”。（双关：句子本意“关于时间；这个时候。”）
一位西雅图的历史学家沉思说，古老的公共时钟有很多精彩的故事可以讲，“只要它们还能滴答作响。”（双关：tock音似talk，“只要它们能讲话。”）
就在这滴答、滴答的响声之中。