Parliament chiefs have been left baffled by Big Ben’s bongs being out of sync by up to six seconds. The Great Clock has become “temperamental” leaving clocksmiths unsure how to fix the 156-year-old timepiece.
聽到大本鐘的整點鐘聲快了6秒鐘，國會大廈里的議員們很納悶。工作了156年的大本鐘“鬧了情緒”，這讓鐘表匠也有些不知所措。

The early chimes caused interruptions to BBC radio 4 programming which rely on the bongs for live broadcasts. But when mechanics climbed the 334 steps up the Elizabeth Tower the clock became too slow after adjustments were made. The speed of the clock can be adjusted by adding and removing weights to the pendulum.
大本鐘報時提前，導致英國廣播公司4電臺的節目暫時中斷，該節目依靠大本鐘報時進行實時播報。維修工人爬了334步，到達伊麗莎白塔頂部對大本鐘進行了調整，之后鐘又走慢了。通過給鐘擺增重或者減重可以調整鐘速。

Clocksmith Ian Westworth said: “When we started correcting it, it corrected itself at the same time so we went from being fast to being slow. It’s settled down telling you exactly the right time so no-one will talk over our chimes.”
鐘表匠伊恩?文特沃斯表示：“當我們開始矯正時，大本鐘自己也進行了調整，這樣一來，鐘速又變慢了。不過，現在問題已經解決了，大本鐘的時間很精準，不會再有人說三道四了。”

He said the clock was “temperamental” adding: “We don’t know why it happened. You’re talking about a 156-year-old clock, it does have a little fit every now and then. Imagine running your car for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for the last 156 years.”
他說，大本鐘“鬧脾氣了”：“我們也不知道原因。畢竟它已經工作156年了，確實會偶爾鬧點小情緒。試想一下，如果你的車24小時全天候運轉，一年365天連軸轉，這樣持續156年會怎樣？”

Steve Jaggs, the keeper of the clock, said his team were “dispatched immediately” when the problem arose admitting Big Ben needs “a lot of care”.
守鐘人史蒂夫·雅格斯表示，大本鐘出差錯之后，他的團隊“立馬被派遣”去查看了，他坦言大本鐘需要“很多保養措施”。

The team of three clocksmiths are monitoring the pendulum, air pressure and temperature and the gears to uncover the extent of the problem. Spot checks have increased from three times per week to every day, including weekends.
鐘表匠團隊一共三個人，他們正在監測鐘表、氣壓、溫度、齒輪，看問題是否嚴重。抽查頻率也從每周3次增加到每天一次，周末也會抽查。

The clock is now accurate to less than one second following the adjustments that include adding or removing old penny coins. Each coin will affect the clock speed by 0.4 seconds per day.
目前，通過增減舊時的便士硬幣，調整后的大本鐘比較精準，誤差不到1秒。一枚便士硬幣將導致大本鐘每天0.4秒的誤差。

The House of Commons said they became aware of the problem on August 15.
英國下議院表示，早在8月15日，他們就注意到大本鐘的時間存在誤差。

Vocabulary
baffled: 困惑的
bong: (大鐘或鑼的)嘡嘡聲
out of sync: 不同步
temperamental: 性能不穩定的，喜怒無常的
chime: 鐘聲
pendulum: 鐘擺

英文來源：太陽報
譯者&編輯：許晶晶