2019.06.28

周五 Friday

crack
 [kræk] 
v. 使破裂；打开

 

 

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.
当斯蒂芬·米尔斯(Stephen Mills)在加拿大的一个博物馆里发现一个满是灰尘的旧保险柜时，他想试试看破解密码，“就像电影里演的那样”。但当他上手转密码齿轮时，他根本没指望会有个好莱坞式的结局。
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.
多年来，任何参观过艾伯塔省朱红文化博物馆的人都会路过一个巨大的黑色金属盒子。工作人员都知道它来自消失已久的布伦瑞克酒店，是在上世纪90年代被捐赠给了博物馆。但它的密码和里面的东西几十年来一直是个谜——直到米尔斯意外破解了密码。
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.
米尔斯也是阿尔伯塔省麦克默里堡(Fort McMurray)的居民，上个月的一个周末，他和家人一起参观了这家博物馆。当他们和博物馆的导游汤姆•基布尔怀特(Tom Kibblewhite)在展厅里闲逛时，他们发现了保险箱。
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.
吉布尔怀特把他对其他游客说的话又给这家人说了一遍：这个重达900公斤(2000磅)、带有银色表盘的黑匣子几十年没打开过了。
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.
多年来，这个保险箱一直困扰着博物馆的志愿者。制造商对如何打开它的厚门也无计可施。一位锁匠和博物馆说，齿轮多年来没活动可能已经变钝了，没法再正常运作。
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“机械达人”米尔斯问他能不能试试看。米尔斯在接受《卫报》采访时表示:“(吉布怀特)一直说没有人打开过它，里面的东西是个谜。”“我想这将是一件让孩子们开怀大笑的好事情。这可是个时间胶囊啊。”
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.
他把耳朵贴在冰冷的金属上，开始转动表盘。从0到60，他顺时针转了3圈转到20，逆时针转了2圈转到40，然后顺时针转了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.
听到咔哒一声，他吃了一惊。他说:“我跳起来告诉所有人我要买彩票。”

 

今日词汇

crack
 [kræk] 
v. 使破裂；打开

 

这个词很形象，形象到发音都噼里啪啦的。

cracker——嘎嘣脆的小饼干

He cracked his fingers nervously.

他紧张不安地把手指按得咔吧作响。

文中crack the code 破解密码

类似的：He has finally cracked the system after years of painstaking research.

经过多年的潜心研究，他终于破解了这个系统。