星期三的晚上, 我們去了市政廳.
It was the last day of the year and a large crowd of people
had gathered under the Town Hall clock.
那是一年的最後一天, 一大群人聚集在市政廳的大鍾下麵.
It would strike twelve in twenty minutes' time.
再過20分鍾, 大鍾將敲響12下.
Fifteen minutes passed and then, at five to twelve, the clock
stopped. 15分鍾過去了, 而就在11點55分時,大鍾停了.
The big minute hand did not move. We waited and waited,
but nothing happened.
那根巨大的分針不動了. 我們等啊等啊, 可情況沒有變化.
Suddenly someone shouted. 'It's two minutes past twelve!
The clock has stopped!
'突然有人喊道: “已經12點零2分了! 那鍾已經停了!”
I looked at my watch. It was true.
我看了一下我的手表, 果真如此.
The big clock refused to welcome the New Year.
那座大鍾不願意迎接新年.
At that moment, everybody began to laugh and sing.
此時, 大家已經笑了起來, 同時唱起了歌.
【Text】A cold welcome
On Wednesday evening, we went to the Town Hall. It was the last day of the year and a large crowd of people had gathered under the Town Hall clock. It would strike twelve in twenty minutes' time. Fifteen minutes passed and then, at five to twelve, the clock stopped. The big minute hand did not move. We waited and waited, but nothing happened. Suddenly someone shouted. 'It's two minutes past twelve! The clock has stopped!' I looked at my watch. It was true. The big clock refused to welcome the New Year. At that moment, everybody began to laugh and sing.
[參考譯文]一次冷待
星期三的晚上, 我們去了市政廳. 那是一年的最後一天, 一大群人聚集在市政廳的大鍾下麵. 再過20分鍾, 大鍾將敲響12下. 15分鍾過去了, 而就在11點55分時, 大鍾停了. 那根巨大的分針不動了. 我們等啊等啊, 可情況沒有變化. 突然有人喊道 : “已經12點過2分了!那鍾已經停了!” 我看了一下我的手表,果真如此. 那隻大鍾不願意迎接新年. 此時, 大家已經笑了起來, 同時唱起了歌.
