庆奥运大本钟3分钟鸣40次

　　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."

　　奥运圣火已经传遍整个伦敦，这场全球的盛事即将到来。周五，伦敦的地标性建筑——全球知名的大本钟会在3分钟内敲响40下，敲开伦敦奥运会的序幕，献礼奥运。

　　在开幕式之前，从伦敦时间早晨8时12分到8时15分，大本钟和伦敦当地成千上万个居民的钟都会敲响，整个伦敦会被铃声包围，作为特纳音乐奖得主马丁-克里德“铃声响起”表演的一部分。所有伦敦的居民都被鼓励到时候参与演出，无论是用真正的钟还是任何能够发声的物体。“铃声是最大声的演奏乐器，我想在公共场所用铃声演奏，营造一种公共音乐的感觉，让音乐传遍整个伦敦，甚至整个英国。”马丁说，“这个没什么需要保密的，这只是一个很简单的创意。”

　　奥运官员表示，周五将会是大本钟自1952年以来首次不按常规敲响。再次之前，这座1858年建成的钟塔只在桥十六世国王的葬礼上敲响了56次，每一声代表国王生命中的一年。

　　英国时间晚上9时，女皇伊丽莎白二世会正式在开幕式上宣布这场体坛盛事的开幕。届时，一座重约27吨的大钟也会被敲响。这座大钟来自具有422年历史的英国白教堂，大本钟也是在那里被制造。