The Umbrella Stand That Was Always Wrong

Nathan worked in a tall office building downtown. Near the front door, the building had a smart umbrella stand. It checked the weather and beeped before rain. Every morning it said, "Take an umbrella today!"

内森在市中心一栋高高的写字楼里工作。大楼的前门附近有一个智能雨伞架。它会查看天气，下雨前就发出嘀声。每天早上，它都会说：“今天请带伞！”

The trouble was simple. The stand beeped almost every single day, rain or not. On sunny mornings and cloudy mornings, it gave the same warning. Nathan and his coworkers stopped listening to it. They walked past it without another look.

问题很简单。这个伞架几乎每一天都会发出嘀声，不管下不下雨。晴天的早晨和多云的早晨，它发出的是同样的警告。内森和他的同事们不再听它的了。他们走过它身边，连看都不看一眼。

One Tuesday, dark clouds filled the sky. Nathan left for lunch without his umbrella. The stand beeped, but he ignored it like always. Halfway to the sandwich shop, the rain started. It was heavy and cold. Nathan ran back to the building, completely wet.

一个星期二，乌云布满了天空。内森没带伞就出去吃午饭。伞架嘀了一声，可他像往常一样不理它。走到去三明治店的半路上，雨下起来了。雨又大又冷。内森跑回大楼，浑身湿透。

"Why didn't you listen to it?" asked his coworker Marisa. She held a dry umbrella under her arm.

“你为什么不听它的？”他的同事玛丽莎问。她的胳膊下夹着一把干干的伞。

"It beeps every day," Nathan said. "How do I know when it's real?"

“它每天都响，”内森说，“我怎么知道哪次是真的？”

That afternoon, Nathan looked closely at the stand. A small screen on the back showed a weather report. The date on the screen was three weeks old. The stand was stuck and never updated itself.

那天下午，内森仔细看了看那个伞架。背面有一块小屏幕，显示着天气预报。屏幕上的日期是三个星期前的。伞架卡住了，从来没有自己更新过。

Nathan found a small reset button under the base. He pressed it and waited quietly. The screen went dark, then lit up again with today's date.

内森在底座下面找到一个小小的重置按钮。他按了下去，静静地等着。屏幕黑了，然后又亮了起来，显示的是今天的日期。

The next morning, the stand stayed quiet. No beep at all. By noon, the sky was clear and blue.

第二天早上，伞架一直很安静。一声嘀声也没有。到了中午，天空晴朗湛蓝。

"It's working now," Marisa said, smiling at the silent stand.

“它现在正常了，”玛丽莎说，笑着看着那个安静的伞架。

Nathan nodded and walked out into the sunshine. His umbrella stayed folded in his bag.

内森点点头，走进了阳光里。他的伞一直折叠着，放在包里。