Domino's branded potholes appear after pizza company takes to road repair
披萨公司改行修路,达美乐牌凹坑现身街头
In December, a crew of workers in Bartonville, Texas, set about fixing the potholes in the town. They filled in eight holes, and at the end of a hard day’s work they shared a couple of pizzas. There was nothing particularly remarkable about the job, except for the logo painted on the side of the equipment, on the cones used to stop traffic and even spray-painted on the freshly laid asphalt: Domino’s Pizza.
在十二月份,德州巴顿维尔的一群工人着手填补城镇路面上的凹坑。他们填上了八个坑洞,辛勤工作一天后分食了几片披萨。这份差事没什么特别令人瞩目的地方,除了达美乐披萨的标志,它被涂在了修路设备的一侧和锥形交通路标上,这种路标常被用于关闭道路。甚至在刚铺好的沥青上也有喷雾打上的达美乐标志。
Bartonville is one of four towns where the fast-food company has partnered with local administrations in order to help fix their broken roads. The project, called Paving for Pizza, is the first time Domino’s has worked with local government to attempt an infrastructure project.
达美乐和巴顿维尔在内的四所城市的当地政府开展了合作,旨在修补破损的城市道路。这项工程叫做“为披萨铺路”,也是达美乐首次尝试和政府合作进行基础设施建设。
Domino’s claim they’re making the move because potholes and bumps in the road can cause “irreversible damage to your pizza”. But the more likely reason for the sudden move into road repair is good publicity. The campaign was created by the CP+B ad agency, which specialises in drumming up media interest, claiming on their website to make the “most written about, talked about, and outrageously successful work in the world”.
达美乐声称他们之所以采取这一行动,是因为路上的凹坑和凸块会“对披萨造成不可逆转的损害。” 但突然开始修路更可能是为了获得良好的宣传效果。这次活动由 CP+B 广告公司策划,这家公司的专长是吸引媒体的眼球,它们还在官方网站上声称它们的作品被报道得最多,被谈论得最多,而且无与伦比的成功。
That’s not to say America couldn’t do with some help with its road system. The most recent set of studies by the National Transportation Research Group found that 37% of America’s major roads are in poor or mediocre condition. Driving on these damaged roads costs American drivers $107bn each year, around $482 per driver, with most of that money going on vehicle repair costs.
这并不意味着美国的道路系统不需要援助。国家交通研究小组最近的一系列调查显示,美国主要道路中有 37%状况不佳或是一般。每年因为在受损道路上开车美国司机们会损失 1070 亿美元,平均每人损失 482 美元。这些钱主要都用于支付车辆维修的费用。
So far, Domino’s has made very little dent in that problem. They say they’re going to fix more, and are allowing people to nominate towns on their website. So if you’ve got a pothole outside your house it might be worth dropping them a line, as long as you live on a picturesque avenue that will look good on an advert.
到目前为止达美乐的进展很小。公司表示他们还会修补更多坑洞,并且允许民众在公司网站上提名需要修路的城市。所以如果你家门外刚好有个凹坑,不妨给他们留个言,只要你住的地方风景如画,在广告上出现也很好看就行了。
————— 文章来源 / 卫报
重点词汇
pothole/ˈpɑːthoʊl/
n. 凹坑
e.g.
Drivers complain about potholes frequently.
cone/koʊn/
n. 圆锥体
e.g.
an ice cream cone
the rocky cone of the mountain
asphalt/ˈæsfɔːlt/
n. 沥青;柏油
partner/ˈpɑːrtnər/
v. 使合作; 与…合伙
infrastructure/ˈɪnfrəstrʌktʃər/
n. (国家或机构的)基础设施,基础建设
irreversible/ˌɪrɪˈvɜːrsəbl/
adj. 无法复原(或挽回)的;不能倒转的
outrageously/aʊtˈreɪdʒəsli/
adv. 令人无法容忍地;骇人地
e.g.
outrageously expensive
outrageously wrong
mediocre/ˌmiːdiˈoʊkər/
adj. 普通的,平庸的
e.g.
The actor's performance is mediocre in his new movie.
picturesque/ˌpɪktʃəˈresk/
adj. 风景如画的;有自然美景的
take to (doing) sth.
开始干某事
e.g.
Frank Underwood took to eating a rib at Freddie's long before everyone could remember.
drum up sth.
竭力争取(支持);兜揽(生意)
e.g.
The fans drum up support for their idols.
drum up trade
drum up business
make a dent in sth.
减少,削减(尤指资金)
e.g.
Buying a new car will make a big dent in our savings.