凯特王妃临盆在即记者苦候 互相采访开设赌局

Some journalists have been positioned outside St. Mary’s Hospital in west London for a full week now, waiting for signs that Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, is ready to deliver the baby who will be third in line to the throne. On Wednesday, they resorted to interviewing each other: the British are interviewing the Americans, the Japanese interviewed the Canadian, and the Canadian interviewed the Germans.

为报道凯特王妃产下第三代王位继承人的资讯，有些媒体记者已在伦敦西部圣玛丽医院外等候一周之久。上周三记者们实在无聊没事做，最终只得互相采访：英国记者采访美国记者、日本记者采访加拿大记者、加拿大记者采访德国记者。

Camera crews and photographers have set up tripods and step-ladders along the curb, using tape to mark off the spots they’ve secured. Anxious not to miss the world’s first glimpse of the royal baby, they wait, day and night, to the amusement of many curious locals who work at or near the hospital.

摄制组成员沿着路边搭建好三脚架和梯子，还用带子划分好各自区域。这些人都不想错过皇家宝宝出生的第一幕，所以日夜在此守候等待，引来附近居民的关注，这些人大多在医院或医院附近工作。

“There are people everywhere. I don’t know what they are doing, but (they’re here) all the time, anytime — morning and night,” said Lea Fortunato, a researcher at Imperial College London’s Faculty of Medicine, next door to the hospital. The reporters, she said, are there when she arrives for work at 9:30 a.m. and there when she leaves at 6:30 p.m.

医院隔壁就是伦敦帝国理工医学院，在此工作的研究员李-福图纳托说：“这里到处都是人，我不知道他们在干什么，但他们一直驻扎在这里，无论早晚。” 她早上九点半来上班时，那些记者就到了，等她下午六点半下班回家时，那群记者还在。

“They started camping last week. I didn’t think they would camp!” added Million Moyo, a deputy manager in the emergency ward of St. Mary’s. “Most people (at work) are really intrigued.”

急诊室副主任米林-莫约说：“他们上周就在这儿搭起帐篷了，我真没想到他们会这样做。大多数人都特别重视这次报道。”

The scene inside the barricades keeping the media off the street indicated that the journalists may be getting a little bit stir crazy. Days ago, one camera operator at American network NBC set up a press-only betting pool where, for £5 a bid, reporters could make their best guesses as to whether the royal baby will be a boy or a girl, and the day and time it will arrive.

街道上设置了路障，防止资讯媒体进入。由此可见媒体记者真的是太过疯狂了。几天前美国NBC网站的一个摄制组还开设了仅限媒体工作人员的赌局，5英镑一局，参赌人员可以猜测皇家宝宝是男是女，出生日期是几号等等。

Still bored, some attached bright neon “for sale” tags to each of the ladders photographers had left behind overnight. “Post Partum Ladder Sale,” read one tag. “Will Swap for a Mars Bar,” read another.

但资讯记者们还是很无聊，有些人就把摄影师留在外面的梯子贴上各种鲜艳明亮的“出售”标签：一个标签上写着“出售拍摄分娩后场景专用梯”，而另一个上则是“为换巧克力棒大甩卖”。

Freelance photographer Andrew Cowie, who has been coming to the hospital since Monday, “taking photos of ladders” and soaking up the summer sun. “I guess we’re here just in case she walks through the front doors,” he said, “which is very unlikely.”

自由摄影师安德鲁-科维上周一就到现场了，一直沐浴着夏日阳光“给梯子照相”。他说：“我猜这儿摆这么多梯子就是防止凯特王妃从前门走掉，但这基本不可能。”

Little is known about the baby — its sex has remained a secret, and no name has been announced. Reporters don’t know whether Kate will enter the Lindo Wing, where Prince William was born 31 years ago, from the front doors, side doors, or by helicopter, as some tabloids have suggested.

现在有关宝宝的信息来源甚少，性别姓名都还未知。凯特王妃将进入林多翼私人产房，这里是威廉王子31年前出生的地方。但具体方式不明，有人说从前门走，有人说是侧门，还有些小报认为她会乘直升机。

“It’s all a bit dull,” said Cowie, who has done similar stake-outs when the often-ill Prince Philip had gone to hospital over the years, and when the Duchess was diagnosed with severe morning sickness last December. “I’ve done it, but not to this scale,” he said. “There’s a lot more of us here.”

科维说：“现在这里有些无聊。” 在多病的菲利普亲王住院、去年十二月凯特王妃被诊断出严重孕吐时，科维也做过类似的蹲点报道，他还说：“我以前也这样做过，但这次的场面尤其盛大。我方人数更为众多。”