鍾鈴齊鳴慶倫敦奧運開幕：大本鐘3分鐘內鳴40聲
Big Ben will chime 40 times in three minutes on Friday as part of a mass bell-ringing event marking the start of the Olympics.
It is believed to be the first time the bell has rung outside its regular schedule since 15 February, 1952. On that occasion, it tolled every minute for 56 strokes for the funeral of King George VI.
Friday's event will be part of an art project encouraging everyone across the UK to ring a bell at 08:12 on Friday.
It was conceived by Turner Prize-winner Martin Creed, who has called the event Work No. 1197: All the bells in a country rung as quickly and as loudly as possible for three minutes.
Organisers hope it will set a world record for the largest number of bells rung simultaneously.
For its part, Big Ben will have to be rung by hand, unlike the hourly chimes, which are automated. All The Bells will involve church bells, doorbells, cowbells and more - with events planned around the country.
In Coventry, cyclists will gather outside the Transport Museum to ring their bicycle bells. Scientists from the Cambridge-based British Antarctic Survey will also be taking part - even though they have no bells in their research station.
Instead, they will be "ringing" and banging whatever they can lay their hands on, from kitchen pots to bedpans. Other participants include the Royal Navy, HMS Belfast, British Embassies worldwide and the famous Whitechapel Bell Foundry.
Bells will be sounded in Britain's northernmost inhabited house in Skaw, the Shetland Isles, and the UK's most westerly church in Tresco, The Scilly Isles.
It has also been confirmed that the National Assembly for Wales will be ringing its bell along with Stormont and the Scottish Parliament - meaning all four Parliaments are taking part.
The Speaker of the House Of Commons, John Bercow, will attend the London leg. He said: "I am delighted we can play our part in this Martin Creed artwork.
"This is primarily a work for every community within the UK to embrace as their own but it is also important for our famous landmarks to be represented when the eyes of the world will be on us."
【新聞快訊】
奧運聖火已經傳遍整個倫敦，這場全球的盛事即將到來。週五，倫敦的地標性建築——全球知名的大本鐘會在3分鐘內敲響40下，敲開倫敦奧運會的序幕，獻禮奧運。
在開幕式之前，從倫敦時間早晨8時12分到8時15分，大本鐘和倫敦當地成千上萬個居民的鐘都會敲響，整個倫敦會被鈴聲包圍，作爲特納音樂獎得主馬丁-克里德“鈴聲響起”表演的一部分。所有倫敦的居民都被鼓勵到時候參與演出，無論是用真正的鐘還是任何能夠發聲的物體。“鈴聲是最大聲的演奏樂器，我想在公共場所用鈴聲演奏，營造一種公共音樂的感覺，讓音樂傳遍整個倫敦，甚至整個英國。”馬丁說，“這個沒什麼需要保密的，這只是一個很簡單的創意。”
奧運官員表示，週五將會是大本鐘自1952年以來首次不按常規敲響。再次之前，這座1858年建成的鐘塔只在橋十六世國王的葬禮上敲響了56次，每一聲代表國王生命中的一年。
英國時間晚上9時，女皇伊麗莎白二世會正式在開幕式上宣佈這場體壇盛事的開幕。屆時，一座重約27噸的大鐘也會被敲響。這座大鐘來自具有422年曆史的英國白教堂，大本鐘也是在那裏被製造。
