王室婚禮?真令人頭痛
????童話的代價 ????4月29日,威廉王子和凱特?米德爾頓將舉行結婚盛典。這一盛事預計將給英格蘭帶來4,800萬至8,000萬美元的進項。但是,童話背后也有不利的一面:清潔工作;整個倫敦停業一天;為確保大量圍觀群眾的安全,要調動5個政府部門[包括軍事情報部第五處,亦稱國家安全局(MI5)在內]的力量。下面,我們來計算一下在現實世界上演童話故事的成本。 ????96億美元 ????這個數字是英國在一天正常法定假日內損失的生產力的預估成本。按照英國首相大衛?卡梅倫的命令,婚禮當天為英國法定假日。 ????800萬美元 ????這是婚禮的那個周末期間,倫敦警察局(London's Metropolitan Police)提供安全保障服務的預估成本。這還不包括軍情五處、秘密情報局(Intelligence)和國防部(Defense)等單位的開支。 ????28天 ????這是預計清掃倫敦大街小巷總共所需的時間。清掃工作在婚禮前四周即開始,預計延續至婚禮后兩天結束。除了倫敦原有清潔工外,還需額外增加140多名清掃人員。 ????60多萬觀眾 ????這是預計專門為觀看王室婚禮而光臨倫敦的觀眾的數量,不含平時平均每天50萬名游客在內。 ????譯者:大海 |
????The price of a fairy tale ????The April 29 nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton are approaching, and with them the expected $48 million to $80 million economic boost to England. But there is a downside to this fairy tale: the cleanup, virtual shutdown of the city, and security from five government agencies (including MI5) for the throngs of gawkers. Here, the costs of bringing a fantasy to life. ????$9.6 billion ????The estimated cost of lost productivity on a normal bank holiday in Britain, which, under the orders of Prime Minister David Cameron, the wedding day has become. ????$8 million ????The estimated cost for the security provided by London's Metropolitan Police over the course of the wedding weekend. Not included: the costs of units like MI5, Intelligence, and Defense. ????28 days ????Estimated amount of time to clean the streets of London, beginning four weeks before the wedding and potentially continuing up to two days after, using some 140 extra cleaning staff. ????600,000+ ????The number of additional spectators predicted to be in London specifically for the wedding. That's on top of the average 500,000 visitors to the city on any given day. |