新奇事件簿 纽约公用电话时代即将结束（在线收听）

The end is coming for New York's public pay phones. New York City officials say workers are currently removing all public pay phones from the city's streets. Pay phones used to be everywhere in the city - on every street corner and in every park and public place. Engineers have started the removal work by taking away 30 pay phones from the Hell's Kitchen area of the city. In the coming months, the remaining phones will go. New York City spokesman Corey Johnson told the CNN news agency that: "The antiquated and outdated pay phone booths take up much-needed sidewalk space. Removing these booths is a win for pedestrians who navigate these crowded blocks."

纽约的公用电话时代就要结束了。纽约市官员表示，工人们目前正在拆除纽约市街道上所有的公用电话。这个城市过去到处都有公用电话——每个街角、每个公园和每个公共场所。工程师们已经开始拆除工作，从城市的地狱厨房区拿拆走了30个公用电话。在接下的几个月里，剩下的公用电话也将被拆走。纽约市发言人约翰逊·克里告诉CNN新闻：“陈旧过时的电话亭占据了人行道上的急需空间。对于在这些拥挤的街区穿行的行人来说，拆除这些电话亭是一种胜利。”

Many New Yorkers probably won't even notice the phones are going. Most younger people have never used one. They may have to read the instructions to use a phone, and scramble for coins to feed it. Modern technology means the public phone is no longer needed. Over 95 per cent of Americans have a mobile phone. Mr Corey said New Yorkers no longer want the phones. He said: "My office has received numerous community complaints from local residents about these antiquated pay phones, which present public safety and quality of life issues. Additionally, they take up sorely needed sidewalk space that could better serve people with disabilities and families with strollers."

很多纽约人甚至都没有注意到这些电话不见了。大多数年轻人都没用过公用电话。他们可能需要阅读使用说明书，或许都找不到硬币来投币使用电话。现代科技意味着公用电话不再被需要。超过95%的美国人都有移动电话。克里表示，纽约人不再需要这些公用电话了。他说到：“我的办公室已经收到了许多当地居民关于这些过时的付费电话的投诉，这些投诉反映了公共安全和生活质量问题。此外，它们还占用了人们迫切需要的人行道空间，这些空间本可以更好地为残疾人和有婴儿车的家庭服务。”