英國人民歡樂多:橡皮大黃鴨暢遊泰晤士河大綱
City workers and tourists did a double take this morning as a giant 50ft-tall rubber duck sailed up the Thames.
一隻高50英尺（約爲15米）的巨型橡膠鴨今天早上在倫敦泰晤士河遊過，很多市民和遊客多看了好幾眼才反應過來。The bright yellow duck, weighing half a ton, looked quite at home amongst the shiny towers of the City as it set sail on its mission to make people laugh in the capital today.
這隻重達半噸的明黃色大鴨子，悠哉悠哉地穿行在高樓林立的倫敦市區，而它這趟旅程的主要任務就是給首都人民帶來歡笑。It was launched to publicise a new £250,000 bursary designed to encourage people in the UK to have more fun.
爲了讓民衆快樂一點，有機構拿出25萬英鎊鼓勵人們想點子，而這隻大黃鴨就是爲了宣傳這一創意活動。
The oversized bath toy was launched from West India Dock in the Isle of Dogs, east London, at 8.30 this morning.
今天早上八點半，這隻巨大的浴盆橡皮鴨從倫敦東部犬島的西印度碼頭開始了它的航行。It floated along the Thames past the O2, the glittering towers of Canary Wharf, and on towards Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast as part of a publicity stunt organised by a website.
作爲某網站宣傳策略的一部分，大黃鴨途徑O2體育場，金融中心金絲雀碼頭，然後沿着泰晤士河經過倫敦塔橋和貝爾法斯特 號巡洋艦。Former Carry On and EastEnders actress Barbara Windsor, who saw the duck off at West India Dock is patron of Jackp's new Facebook FUNdation, part of a marketing campaign to grant funds to people who have good ideas to make people laugh.
曾出演《加油》和《倫敦東區》的女演員芭芭拉·溫莎是這項活動的贊助人，該活動由Jackp新成立的Facebook FUNdation基金舉辦，旨在徵集一些能讓大家會心一笑的方案，網站會爲評選出來的方案提供資金。She said: 'We thought a giant rubber duck floating down the River Thames was a great way to kick the FUNdation off, and it definitely raised a smile and a chuckle from everyone who saw it.
她說：“我們覺得如果讓這隻巨大的橡皮鴨遊過泰晤士河，對FUNdation基金將會是一個很好的宣傳方式，同時看到它的人也會很開心。”'After the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant, the floating Olympic rings and David Beckham jetting into the Olympic opening ceremony, the Thames really has seen it all this year.
“伊麗莎白女王的鑽石禧年慶典，倫敦奧運會的成功舉辦，還有大衛·貝克漢姆駕駛快艇出現在倫敦奧運會開幕式上，這一年泰晤士河見證了這一切。'The giant duck was a perfect way to round it all off and it certainly cheered everyone up. No one could suppress a smile as they saw it sailing past on its way to HMS Belfast.'
“這隻大黃鴨爲這一切畫上了一個圓滿的句號，同時也讓人們開懷一笑。人們看到它經過貝爾法斯特號巡洋艦時都忍俊不禁。”Miss Windsor, who is patron of the FUNdation, said she hoped the duck stunt would encourage people to come up with their own ideas.
FUNdation基金的贊助人溫莎小姐說，希望這隻引人注目的大黃鴨能鼓勵人們想出更多的好點子。'We now want people to send us their own entries of wacky things they'd like to do, and we'll provide funding for the best ones.'
“現在我們希望人們將自己的奇思妙想呈遞給我們，我們會爲那些最佳方案提供資金。”A team of eight people spent more than 800 man-hours cutting and welding together the parts for the duck to ensure it was airtight before it took to the water this morning.
一個由8人組成的團隊，足足花了800個工時來進行切割和焊接這隻大黃鴨，以確保它在下水前的密封性。'We want to make sure we get the laughter quota back where it belongs and are hoping the FUNdation will help people have some daft fun. If you want to organise the biggest ever street conga, or jump into a pool of jelly, let us know.'
“我們想把笑聲帶回我們的生活中，也希望FUNdation基金能幫助人們獲得更多樂趣。 如果你想在大街上組織一場規模空前的康茄舞，或者想跳進果凍游泳池，請告訴我們。”According to the research commissioned by the website, adults in Britain laugh an average 7.2 times day, while psychologists recommend we should do it 15 times a day to stay happy and healthy.
該網站的一項委託研究表明，英國成年人現在平均每天只笑7.2次，而心理學家建議一個活得健康且開心的人每天應該發笑15次。Consultant psychologist Anjula Mutanda said: 'The importance of laughter and joy cannot be underestimated. Research shows that 60 years ago we used to laugh for up to 18 minutes a day but today this figure has gone down to six minutes. We should be laughing more than we are.'
心理學顧問安居拉·馬頓達說：“笑和開心的重要性不容小覷。研究表明，60年前我們每天發笑達18分鐘，而今天，這個數字已經下降到6分鐘。我們應該儘可能多笑一笑。”
