英国人民欢乐多：橡皮大黄鸭畅游泰晤士河

City workers and tourists did a double take this morning as a giant 50ft-tall rubber duck sailed up the Thames.

一只高50英尺（约为15米）的巨型橡胶鸭今天早上在伦敦泰晤士河游过，很多市民和游客多看了好几眼才反应过来。

The bright yellow duck, weighing half a ton, looked quite at home amongst the shiny towers of the City as it set sail on its mission to make people laugh in the capital today.

这只重达半吨的明黄色大鸭子，悠哉悠哉地穿行在高楼林立的伦敦市区，而它这趟旅程的主要任务就是给首都人民带来欢笑。

It was launched to publicise a new £250,000 bursary designed to encourage people in the UK to have more fun.

为了让民众快乐一点，有机构拿出25万英镑鼓励人们想点子，而这只大黄鸭就是为了宣传这一创意活动。

The oversized bath toy was launched from West India Dock in the Isle of Dogs, east London, at 8.30 this morning.

今天早上八点半，这只巨大的浴盆橡皮鸭从伦敦东部犬岛的西印度码头开始了它的航行。

It floated along the Thames past the O2, the glittering towers of Canary Wharf, and on towards Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast as part of a publicity stunt organised by a website.

作为某网站宣传策略的一部分，大黄鸭途径O2体育场，金融中心金丝雀码头，然后沿着泰晤士河经过伦敦塔桥和贝尔法斯特 号巡洋舰。

Former Carry On and EastEnders actress Barbara Windsor, who saw the duck off at West India Dock is patron of Jackpotjoy.com's new Facebook FUNdation, part of a marketing campaign to grant funds to people who have good ideas to make people laugh.

曾出演《加油》和《伦敦东区》的女演员芭芭拉·温莎是这项活动的赞助人，该活动由Jackpotjoy.com新成立的Facebook FUNdation基金举办，旨在征集一些能让大家会心一笑的方案，网站会为评选出来的方案提供资金。

She said: 'We thought a giant rubber duck floating down the River Thames was a great way to kick the FUNdation off, and it definitely raised a smile and a chuckle from everyone who saw it.

她说：“我们觉得如果让这只巨大的橡皮鸭游过泰晤士河，对FUNdation基金将会是一个很好的宣传方式，同时看到它的人也会很开心。”

'After the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant, the floating Olympic rings and David Beckham jetting into the Olympic opening ceremony, the Thames really has seen it all this year.

“伊丽莎白女王的钻石禧年庆典，伦敦奥运会的成功举办，还有大卫·贝克汉姆驾驶快艇出现在伦敦奥运会开幕式上，这一年泰晤士河见证了这一切。

'The giant duck was a perfect way to round it all off and it certainly cheered everyone up. No one could suppress a smile as they saw it sailing past on its way to HMS Belfast.'

“这只大黄鸭为这一切画上了一个圆满的句号，同时也让人们开怀一笑。人们看到它经过贝尔法斯特号巡洋舰时都忍俊不禁。”

Miss Windsor, who is patron of the FUNdation, said she hoped the duck stunt would encourage people to come up with their own ideas.

FUNdation基金的赞助人温莎小姐说，希望这只引人注目的大黄鸭能鼓励人们想出更多的好点子。

'We now want people to send us their own entries of wacky things they'd like to do, and we'll provide funding for the best ones.'

“现在我们希望人们将自己的奇思妙想呈递给我们，我们会为那些最佳方案提供资金。”

A team of eight people spent more than 800 man-hours cutting and welding together the parts for the duck to ensure it was airtight before it took to the water this morning.

一个由8人组成的团队，足足花了800个工时来进行切割和焊接这只大黄鸭，以确保它在下水前的密封性。

'We want to make sure we get the laughter quota back where it belongs and are hoping the FUNdation will help people have some daft fun. If you want to organise the biggest ever street conga, or jump into a pool of jelly, let us know.'

“我们想把笑声带回我们的生活中，也希望FUNdation基金能帮助人们获得更多乐趣。 如果你想在大街上组织一场规模空前的康茄舞，或者想跳进果冻游泳池，请告诉我们。”

According to the research commissioned by the website, adults in Britain laugh an average 7.2 times day, while psychologists recommend we should do it 15 times a day to stay happy and healthy.

该网站的一项委托研究表明，英国成年人现在平均每天只笑7.2次，而心理学家建议一个活得健康且开心的人每天应该发笑15次。

Consultant psychologist Anjula Mutanda said: 'The importance of laughter and joy cannot be underestimated. Research shows that 60 years ago we used to laugh for up to 18 minutes a day but today this figure has gone down to six minutes. We should be laughing more than we are.'

心理学顾问安居拉·马顿达说：“笑和开心的重要性不容小觑。研究表明，60年前我们每天发笑达18分钟，而今天，这个数字已经下降到6分钟。我们应该尽可能多笑一笑。”