Big Ben to Fall Silent During Renovation
By LIAM STACK

Big Ben, the iconic clock in London that has kept time for 157 years, withstood two world wars and become a symbol of the British capital, will fall silent for several months as part of a much-needed refurbishment program that is projected to last for three years, the British government said on Tuesday.

The problems facing Big Ben are profound: Maintenance teams have identified problems with the clock’s hands, mechanism and pendulum that threaten its ability to function properly, according to a Parliament statement. They also found leaks, erosion, severe rusting and cracked masonry in the tower itself, which does not meet fire safety guidelines.

The government also said an elevator would be installed to improve access in the tower and complement its 334 stone spiral steps.

The project will cost an estimated $42 million.

While Big Ben is used as a nickname for the clock, strictly speaking, it is the main bell inside the clock, and it also often refers to Elizabeth Tower, at the north end of the Houses of Parliament. The clock as a whole is called the Great Clock and sits atop the tower.

The Keeper of the Clock, Steve Jaggs, said in a statement that the project would “balance value for money with Parliament’s custodial responsibility to the building as well as to those visiting and working in the Elizabeth Tower.”

“This project will enable us to give one of Britain’s most famous landmarks the T.L.C. it so desperately needs and deserves,” he said.

The repairs are scheduled to begin in early 2017, and that means the bells will not toll for a while. (The government did not specify at which point during the project they would stop chiming.) It also means that the tower will be sheathed in scaffolding for three years, although the government has said that the clock will continue to keep time as long as it is running and that one of its four ornate faces will be visible at all times.

What will not keep running, though, are popular tours of the tower, which will be canceled for the full duration of the project.

It is not the first time that the clock has silenced its mighty bong. The bells stopped for roughly nine months in 1976 while repairs were made and again in 2007 for six weeks of maintenance, the government said.

The last extensive conservation work at the tower was done between 1983 and 1985.

Big Ben is not alone in its disrepair. A report released last year cataloged a long list of structural woes plaguing the Parliament complex, of which the clock tower is a part, including leaky pipes, dangerously out-of-date wiring, asbestos and a rodent infestation.

The price tag for those repairs was estimated at $6.2 billion. They are projected to begin in the early 2020s, the government said, and are separate from the refurbishment of the clock tower.

Tom Brake, a member of Parliament and a spokesman for the House of Commons Commission, said in a statement that the clock tower, a Unesco World Heritage site, was “a symbol of the U.K.’s democratic heritage.”

“We have a duty to ensure that it is safeguarded for future generations to appreciate, just as we owe it to our predecessors to restore their masterpiece to its former glory,” he said. “While these works are much needed in the short term, they will also ensure the long-term future and sustainability of Big Ben.”

大笨鐘維修 將「失聲」數月

英國將對倫敦地標性建築大笨鐘（Big Ben）進行大規模維修，整個工程將耗資2900萬英鎊（約新台幣13.9億），這個著名景點的鐘聲將因此停響數月。

大笨鐘聞名世界，每天都有成千上萬的遊客特地前來倫敦參觀。

英國廣播公司（BBC）中文網報導，英國議會表示，在將近157年幾乎不停歇的報時之後，為了防止出現機械問題，大笨鐘可能必須要停止報時，進行修繕。有關工作將從明年開始。

2012年，為慶祝女王登基60周年，大笨鐘塔樓改名為伊麗莎白塔。在這個為期3年的項目中，伊麗莎白塔也將得到修繕。

一名議會發言人對BBC表示，大笨鐘並不會在整個3 年期間停止運轉。他指出：「大笨鐘的機械部分需要停止數月，以進行關鍵的維修工作。」

據悉，現時鐘面的黑色和金色，是在上世紀80年代維修工程塗上的。這次修繕可能會恢復大笨鐘在維多利亞時代的外貌。據信大笨鐘1856年落成時，最初是綠色和金色。

早前一份有關維修大笨鐘的報告指出，由於它的結構出現問題，假如不立即修復，大笨鐘可能永遠不能運作，因此維修工程必須儘快展開。更新工作還需要使鐘樓符合最新的健康安全條例。

根據計畫，鐘塔內將會安裝一部電梯，以便節省運送受傷人士的時間，並為那些不能夠使用334級石灰石樓梯的殘疾人提供方便。目前塔內沒有衛生間設施，也沒有供水，屆時在維修時將會安裝簡易的洗手間。

大笨鐘指針和鐘樓的照明燈都將會使用省電的LED燈。

鐘樓坐落在泰晤士河畔，是倫敦的地標之一，於1858年4月10日建成，高約97.5公尺，是世界第三高鐘樓。外牆上有四面巨大的鐘朝向東南西北四個方向，分針有約4.27公尺長，國會開會期間，鐘面會發出光芒。

大笨鐘直徑7公尺，重13.5公噸，是英國最大的鐘，每15分鐘響一次。

在英國，大笨鐘是人們慶祝新年的重點地方，收音機和電視都會播出它的鐘聲來迎接新一年的開始。同樣地，在陣亡將士紀念日，大笨鐘鐘聲的傳出表示第11個月的第11天的第11個小時及2分鐘的默哀開始。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/28/world/europe/big-ben-to-fall-silent-during-renovation.html

紐約時報中文版翻譯：
http://cn.nytstyle.com/readers-translation/20160503/t03xp-bigben-reader/zh-hant/

2016-04-28 世界日報 編譯中心