2019.06.28
周五 Friday
crack
?[kr?k]?
v. 使破裂；打開
?
?
When?Stephen Mills spotted a dusty old safe?in a museum in Canada, he thought he’d try to?crack?the code, “just like in the movies”. But when he began turning the dial, he wasn’t expecting a Hollywood ending.
當(dāng)斯蒂芬·米爾斯(Stephen Mills)在加拿大的一個(gè)博物館里發(fā)現(xiàn)一個(gè)滿是灰塵的舊保險(xiǎn)柜時(shí)，他想試試看破解密碼，“就像電影里演的那樣”。但當(dāng)他上手轉(zhuǎn)密碼齒輪時(shí)，他根本沒指望會(huì)有個(gè)好萊塢式的結(jié)局。
For years, anyone who visited the Vermillion Heritage Museum in Alberta would have passed by a large, black metal box. Staff knew it had come from the long-gone Brunswick hotel and was donated to the museum in the 1990s. But its code and contents remained a mystery for decades – until Mills unexpectedly cracked the combination.
多年來，任何參觀過艾伯塔省朱紅文化博物館的人都會(huì)路過一個(gè)巨大的黑色金屬盒子。工作人員都知道它來自消失已久的布倫瑞克酒店，是在上世紀(jì)90年代被捐贈(zèng)給了博物館。但它的密碼和里面的東西幾十年來一直是個(gè)謎——直到米爾斯意外破解了密碼。
Mills, a resident of Fort McMurray, also in Alberta, was visiting the museum with his family last month over a holiday weekend. As they wandered around the exhibits with the museum guide, Tom Kibblewhite, they spotted the safe.
米爾斯也是阿爾伯塔省麥克默里堡(Fort McMurray)的居民，上個(gè)月的一個(gè)周末，他和家人一起參觀了這家博物館。當(dāng)他們和博物館的導(dǎo)游湯姆?基布爾懷特(Tom Kibblewhite)在展廳里閑逛時(shí)，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了保險(xiǎn)箱。
Kibblewhite told the family what he tells all other guests: the 900kg (2,000lb) black box with a silver dial had remained?closed for generations.
吉布爾懷特把他對(duì)其他游客說的話又給這家人說了一遍：這個(gè)重達(dá)900公斤(2000磅)、帶有銀色表盤的黑匣子幾十年沒打開過了。
For years, the safe has confounded volunteers at the museum. The manufacturer was unable to provide advice on how to open its thick door. A locksmith suggested to the museum that years of inactivity might have slowed down the finicky gears, rendering it inoperable.
多年來，這個(gè)保險(xiǎn)箱一直困擾著博物館的志愿者。制造商對(duì)如何打開它的厚門也無計(jì)可施。一位鎖匠和博物館說，齒輪多年來沒活動(dòng)可能已經(jīng)變鈍了，沒法再正常運(yùn)作。
But Mills, who is “mechanically minded person”, asked whether he could give it a try. “[Kibblewhite] kept saying no one had opened it and that it was a mystery what was inside,’” Mills told the Guardian. “I thought this would be a great thing to do for a laugh for the kids. What a time capsule.”
但“機(jī)械達(dá)人”米爾斯問他能不能試試看。米爾斯在接受《衛(wèi)報(bào)》采訪時(shí)表示:“(吉布懷特)一直說沒有人打開過它，里面的東西是個(gè)謎?！薄拔蚁脒@將是一件讓孩子們開懷大笑的好事情。這可是個(gè)時(shí)間膠囊啊?！?/div>
After pressing his ear?against the cool metal, he began spinning the dial. With numbers ranging from zero to 60, he turned clockwise three times to 20, counter-clockwise two times to 40, and then clockwise one time to 60.
他把耳朵貼在冰冷的金屬上，開始轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)表盤。從0到60，他順時(shí)針轉(zhuǎn)了3圈轉(zhuǎn)到20，逆時(shí)針轉(zhuǎn)了2圈轉(zhuǎn)到40，然后順時(shí)針轉(zhuǎn)了1圈到60。
He was astonished to hear a click. “I jumped up and told everyone I’m buying a lottery ticket,” he said.
聽到咔噠一聲，他吃了一驚。他說:“我跳起來告訴所有人我要買彩票。”
?
這個(gè)詞很形象，形象到發(fā)音都噼里啪啦的。
cracker——嘎嘣脆的小餅干
He cracked his fingers nervously.
他緊張不安地把手指按得咔吧作響。
文中crack the code 破解密碼
類似的：He has finally cracked the system after years of painstaking research.
經(jīng)過多年的潛心研究，他終于破解了這個(gè)系統(tǒng)。
