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念意義的英國特色標志。但隨著移動通信設備的普及，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——被運送出國，或者，很可能被放置在英國的公園里。

獨角獸修復公司的員工要花長達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。修復好的亭子會被裝在木箱里等待運送，這些木箱有點像大號棺材?！边@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，被認為是英國歷史上最偉大的設計，排在第二、第三位的分別是“街頭霸主”雙層巴士和英國國旗。

“我認為紅色電話亭有兩個吸引之處，”設計評論家斯蒂芬·貝利說?！笆紫龋p心悅目的新古典成分和細節(jié)使得它們無論放在哪里都讓人覺得合適，其中的原因很難說清楚。第二，也許是在我們潛意識的另一層次中，它讓我們想起了很久以前，那時候公共服務公司有承擔公共責任的意識，同時兼顧了美觀和實用。”

There are about 70 red phone boxes in the Merstham yard.Costing between ￡2,000 and ￡10,000 when fully restored, they are not a cheap5)adornment.Renovated boxes have gone to Greece, Australia, Italy, France, Switzerland, Abu Dhabi and the U.S.

One resides on the fourth foor of a Manhattan offce building, a British theatrical agent having bought it.China and Russia are growing markets, but the UK remains the biggest.

“They’re a reminder of a time when things were built to last and to show the pride people had in their communities and the things that they had to share, including public telephones,” says Lewis.

“Up to 90 years later they’re still standing.Everyone in the world knows them.If you went to New York and didn’t see a yellow cab, it would be a total let-down.It’s the same with red phone boxes if someone came to visit Britain.”

Many of the red boxes, the most common of which is the K6 model, were6)decommissionedin the mid-1980s when newly privatised British Telecom replaced them with the aluminium-framed KX100.

在梅爾薩姆的院子里大概有70個紅色電話亭。完成全部修復需要花費2千至1萬英鎊，這些裝飾品并不便宜。翻新好的亭子有些已經(jīng)送到了希臘、澳大利亞、意大利、法國、瑞士、阿布扎比和美國。

曼哈頓辦公大樓四樓擺放了一個電話亭——一家英國戲劇代理公司買下的。在中國和俄羅斯，銷量正在上升，但英國仍是最大的市場。

“在那個時期，有些東西是為長期存在而建的，為展示一個團體的自豪感而建的，這些東西是大家必須分享的，而公共電話就是這樣的東西，它們讓人想起那個時代，”劉易斯說。

“長達90年的時間過去了，它們?nèi)匀淮嬖谥?。全世界的人都知道它們。如果你到了紐約沒看到黃色出租車的話，你會感到很失望。如果別人來到英國沒有看到紅色電話亭也會有同樣的感受?！?/p>

很多紅色電話亭在上世紀80年代時已經(jīng)停止使用，最普遍的是K6型電話亭，當時剛私有化的英國電信公司以鋁結(jié)構(gòu)的KX100型電話亭取而代之。

5 ) adornment [?'d??nm?nt] n.裝飾品

6 ) decommission [,di?k?'m???n] v.正式停止使用

7 ) unwieldy [?n'wi?ld?] adj.笨重的

8 ) vandalism ['v?nd?l?z(?)m] n.故意破壞

9 ) necessitate [n?'ses?te?t] v.使需要，使成為必需

In 2012, BT again began selling them off.“Numbers of red and modern kiosks are set to continue to shrink, as we cut their numbers to match demand,” a spokesman says.

Telephone kiosks first appeared in the 1900s.These were usually inside shops and hotels, providing a quiet area from which to make calls.

Localised designs for outdoor kiosks came into use, but it was not until 1921 that the first standardised version, the cream-coloured K1, was put into use.In 1924, the General Post Offce (GPO) ran a competition to design a new uniform kiosk.The winner was Sir Giles Gilbert Scott’s K2, the first one made currently standing outside London’s Royal Academy of Art.

It was said to have been inspired by the tomb in St Pancras, London, by architect Sir John Soane, who designed the Bank of England.Square-based, it has a similarly rounded roof.

But the K2, which stood 9ft 4in (2.8m) tall and measured 3ft 6in (1m) wide, was considered expensive and7)unwieldy.The GPO tried various other types until Gilbert Scott’s update, the K6—which most people would today consider the traditional phone box—appeared on the streets in 1935.After a few modifcations to prevent8)vandalism, a total of 70,000 were made.Wooden-doored, standing 8ft 4in (2.5m) tall and measuring 3ft (0.9m) wide, they weigh around three-quarters of a tonne (1,650lb),9)necessitatinga crane to move them.

在2012年，英國電信公司再次出售這些亭子。“紅色現(xiàn)代亭子的數(shù)量不可避免地會持續(xù)縮減，因為我們要減少其數(shù)量以應對需求變化?！币晃话l(fā)言人說道。

電話亭最早出現(xiàn)在20世紀初。它們通常是在商店和酒店里，提供一個安靜的地方打電話。

各個地方設計的戶外電話亭漸漸投入使用，但直到1921年，第一代統(tǒng)一的電話亭樣式——淡黃色的K1型——才開始投入使用。1924年，郵政總局舉行了一場設計全新的統(tǒng)一樣式電話亭的比賽。賈爾斯·吉爾伯特·斯科特爵士設計的K2型勝出，第一個K2電話亭目前擺放在倫敦皇家藝術學院外。

據(jù)說靈感來源于位于倫敦的圣潘克斯墓，由英國銀行的設計師約翰·索恩爵士設計?；拘螤钍欠叫?，頂部接近圓形。

但人們覺得這個高9英尺4英寸（2.8米），寬3英尺6英寸（1米）的K2型電話亭造價昂貴而且很笨重。經(jīng)吉爾伯特·斯科特改良后的K6面世前，郵政總局嘗試了好幾次修改。K6于1935年出現(xiàn)在大街上，是現(xiàn)今人們認為最傳統(tǒng)的電話亭。為了預防惡意毀壞而稍作修改后，英國總共制造了七萬個電話亭。木門，高8英尺4英寸（2.5米），寬3英尺（0.9米），重約四分之三噸（1,650磅），得用起重機才能搬得動。

In 1968, the more modern-looking K8—with three large single panes of glass, rather than the small barred windows of the K6, which became a target for vandals—came into use.At first it was painted yellow, but this didn’t catch on and it moved to red.

Not all red phone boxes end up in restoration yards, of which there are several around the UK.In fact, Lewis says the supply is dwindling, which is likely to push up costs for collectors.

Part of the reason is BT’s Adopt-a-Kiosk scheme, in place since 2012, which allows councils and charities to purchase a red phone box for ￡1, ensuring it stays in place.

Several now house10)defibrillators.Two phone boxes near Brighton’s Pavilion have been turned into a street cafe.Villagers in Draughton, North Yorkshire, used a vacant red box, as a replacement when the local shop closed down.It operated on an “honesty” basis, users leaving money after taking goods stored inside.

And the greenhouse-like qualities of a red box in Cumbria, allowed villagers to use it to grow tomatoes.Others in central London have been used as mobile phone-charging points, powered by solar panels on the roof.

“It’s great what they’re doing to keep them in use,”says Lewis.“If you wanted a three-foot square space on a pavement to set up a business or anything else, you’d never get planning permission.It provides a great vantage point, because it’s so distinctive and visible.”

“They used to be the only way lots of people could use a phone,” says Lewis.“For a long time you had to go on the waiting list to get a home phone, so seeing a phone box was reassuring.You used to have to queue to use them, though.”

10) defbrillator [d?'fɑ?br?le?t?(r)] n.心臟除顫器，電擊器

1968年，外觀更現(xiàn)代化的K8投入使用。K8的三面整體玻璃代替了更容易受到破壞的K6的細條狀玻璃塊。剛開始K8被涂成黃色，但并不受歡迎，后來還是換回紅色。

并不是所有的紅色電話亭最終都能放在英國的幾個待修復院子里。實際上，供應量正在下降，這意味著收藏者要花更多的錢來購買。

原因之一是英國電信公司從2012開始實施的“收留一個電話亭”計劃。該計劃允許一些機構(gòu)和慈善組織以1英鎊的價格購買一個紅色電話亭，讓電話亭得以保留下來。

一些電話亭現(xiàn)在安置了心臟電擊器。在布萊頓穹頂宮附近的兩個電話亭變成了街邊咖啡室。在北約克郡的德拉夫頓，當?shù)氐纳痰甑归]后，村民們把一個電話亭作為臨時商鋪。這是一個“誠信商鋪”，人們拿走里面的商品時自覺把錢放下。

在坎布里亞郡的一個改造成溫室的紅色亭子可以讓村民在里面種西紅柿。在倫敦中心的電話亭則成了移動電話充電站，電力由亭頂?shù)奶柲馨逄峁?/p>

“人們讓這些亭子繼續(xù)發(fā)揮用處的做法很好，”劉易斯說。“要是你想在人行道上申請一個3平方英尺的地方做生意或做別的事情肯定是不會被允許的。但電話亭很有優(yōu)勢，因為它很突出，很顯眼。”

“這里曾是許多人唯一能打電話的地方，”劉易斯說?！昂荛L一段時間，你只能排著長長的隊伍等著打電話回家，因此這些電話亭給人以慰藉。雖然曾經(jīng)打電話只能排隊等候?！?/p>