THE RED PHOnE BOXES THaT RInG nO MORE不再響起的紅色電話亭

by Justin Parkinson

喬皙 譯

THE RED PHOnE BOXES THaT RInG nO MORE不再響起的紅色電話亭

by Justin Parkinson

喬皙 譯

紅色電話亭是一個很有紀(jì)念意義的英國特色標(biāo)志。但隨著移動通信設(shè)備的普及，這些電話亭已失去了最初的使用價值，大部分已經(jīng)從這個國家的街頭挪走，而更多的已經(jīng)消失了。它們都去哪了呢？

They’re1)battered, rusting and faky, some having stood in the sun, rain, wind and snow without any attention for three decades.

A few have weeds poking through gaps that once housed glass panels.Row after row of retired red telephone boxes remain in a yard near Merstham, Surrey, awaiting their fate.In a few weeks, maybe a few years, they will begin an afterlife—abroad, or, more likely, in British gardens.

Staff at Unicorn Restorations spend up to 30 hours stripping old2)kiosks, repainting them in the same shades of red once3)stipulatedby the General Post Offce and putting in new glass.Finished booths are packed into wooden crates, looking a little like enlarged coffns, for shipping.“The reanimated corpse emerges from a case at the other end,” jokes Christian Lewis, the company’s restorations manager.

In 2002 there were 92,000 BT payphones across the UK.Today 57,500 remain, of which just 9,400 are traditional red models.Mobile phones mean most of those are now little used.

Yet they still inspire affection.The classic red kiosk was voted the greatest British design of all time earlier this year, beating the Routemaster double-decker bus and the union fag into second and third places.

“I think the appeal of the red telephone box is based on two things,” says design critic Stephen Bayley.“First, the very pleasing4)neo-classicalproportions and details which, in some mysterious way, are always satisfying wherever they are found.Second, perhaps at another unconscious level, it reminds us of a moment, alas long passed, when public service companies maintained a notion of civic responsibility and used beauty and utility to meet that end.”

1 ) battered ['b?t?d] adj.破舊的，磨損的

2 ) kiosk ['ki??sk] n.亭子

3 ) stipulate ['st?pj?le?t] v.規(guī)定，約定

4 ) neo-classical adj.新古典的，新古典主義的

它們變得破舊不堪、銹跡斑斑、支離破碎，部分電話亭無人照看，在日曬雨淋中度過了三十年。

有些電話亭的玻璃已剝落，縫隙中長出了雜草。成排成排的廢舊紅色電話亭立在薩里郡梅爾薩姆附近的一個院子里，等待著命運(yùn)的宣判。幾周后，也可能是幾年后，它們會有一個新的使命——被運(yùn)送出國，或者，很可能被放置在英國的公園里。

獨(dú)角獸修復(fù)公司的員工要花長達(dá)30個小時來給這些殘舊的電話亭剝?nèi)ヅf漆，重新涂上一樣的紅色（郵政總局規(guī)定的紅色）和裝上新的玻璃。修復(fù)好的亭子會被裝在木箱里等待運(yùn)送，這些木箱有點(diǎn)像大號棺材。”這些翻新過的尸體將在另一個地方從箱子里出來，”該公司的修復(fù)經(jīng)理克里斯琴·劉易斯開玩笑道。

在2002年，英國有92,000個電信收費(fèi)電話。今天還有57,500個，其中只有9,400個是傳統(tǒng)的紅色電話亭。移動電話使得大部分公共電話失去使用價值。

但它們?nèi)匀挥懭讼矚g。在今年早些時候，這些經(jīng)典的紅色亭子在大眾投票中得分最高，被認(rèn)為是英國歷史上最偉大的設(shè)計(jì)，排在第二、第三位的分別是“街頭霸主”雙層巴士和英國國旗。

“我認(rèn)為紅色電話亭有兩個吸引之處，”設(shè)計(jì)評論家斯蒂芬·貝利說。……