英國(guó)電信監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)表示，將保留英國(guó)各地?cái)?shù)千座公用電話亭。在移動(dòng)信號(hào)差或事故高發(fā)地區(qū)，以及在當(dāng)?shù)厣鐓^(qū)仍有需要的情況下，電話亭將可以繼續(xù)使用。

The UK’s first phone boxes started popping up in 1921, with the iconic red design appearing five years later. At their peak in 1992, BT operated 92,000 of them.

英國(guó)首批公用電話亭從1921年開始出現(xiàn)，標(biāo)志性的紅色設(shè)計(jì)在五年后才面世。在1992年的鼎盛時(shí)期，由英國(guó)電信集團(tuán)運(yùn)營(yíng)的電話亭有9萬(wàn)2千座。

But as mobiles became part of everyday life, many phone kiosks were removed or re-used for services like community libraries and pop-up coffee shops. There are now just 21,000 payphones left.  

但隨著手機(jī)成為日常生活的一部分，很多電話亭被相繼拆除或改造成社區(qū)圖書館和快閃咖啡館等用途?，F(xiàn)在只剩下2萬(wàn)1千臺(tái)公用電話了。

Ofcom wants to protect 5,000 phone boxes, particularly in poor mobile coverage areas. It says they still provide a valuable emergency function, with 150,000 999 calls made from phone boxes last year.

英國(guó)通信管理局希望保護(hù)5000座電話亭，特別是在移動(dòng)信號(hào)覆蓋率低的地區(qū)。該機(jī)構(gòu)表示，這些電話亭仍提供寶貴的緊急求救功能，去年通過公用電話亭撥打的英國(guó)999緊急求救電話就有15萬(wàn)通。

詞匯表

popping up 涌現(xiàn)，出現(xiàn)
iconic 標(biāo)志性的，經(jīng)典的
design 設(shè)計(jì)
operated 運(yùn)營(yíng)，運(yùn)作
kiosks （英國(guó)）公用電話亭
payphones 投幣式公用電話
coverage 覆蓋
emergency function 緊急求救功能
999 calls 999電話（英國(guó)緊急求救電話號(hào)碼）

閱讀理解：請(qǐng)?jiān)谧x完上文后，回答下列問題。

1. When did the iconic red design of phone box first start appearing in the UK?

2. What has caused the demise of the phone box?

3. How many phone boxes does Ofcom want to protect?

4. In which areas does Ofcom want to protect phone boxes?

答案  

1. When did the iconic red design of phone box first start appearing in the UK?
The iconic red design started appearing in 1926.

2. What has caused the demise of the phone box?
The use of mobile phones has led to many phone boxes being removed or re-used.

3. How many phone boxes does Ofcom want to protect?
Ofcom wants to protect 5,000 phone boxes.

4. In which areas does Ofcom want to protect phone boxes?
It particularly wants to protect phone boxes in poor mobile phone coverage areas.