Lesson 9

On Wednesday evening, we went to the Town Hall.
在周三晚上，我们去了市政厅。
It was the last day of the year and a large crowd of people had gathered under the Town Hall clock.
那是这一年的最后一天，一大群人聚集在市政厅的大钟下。
It would strike twelve in twenty minutes' time.
它将在二十分钟后敲响十二点。
Fifteen minutes passed and then, at five to twelve, the clock stopped.
十五分钟过去了，接着在十二点差五分时，时钟停了。
The big minute hand did not move.
这个大的分针没有移动。
We waited and waited, but nothing happened.
我们等了又等，但什么也没发生。
Suddenly someone shouted, 'It's two minutes past twelve!
突然有人喊道：“现在是十二点过两分！”
The clock has stopped!
时钟停止了！
I looked at my watch.
我看了看我的手表。
It was true.
那是真的。
The big clock refused to welcome the New Year.
这个大时钟拒绝迎接新年。
At that moment, everybody began to laugh and sing.
在那一刻，每个人开始笑并唱歌。