A famous clock

【課文】

When you visit London, one of the first things you will see is Big Ben, the famous clock which can be heard all over the world on the B.B.C. If the Houses of Parliament had not been burned down in 1834, the great clock would never have been erected. Big Ben takes its name from Sir Benjamin Hall who was responsible for the making of the clock when the new Houses of Parliament were being built. It is not only of immense size, but is extremely accurate as well. Officials from GreenwichObservatory have the clock checked twice a day. On the B.B.C. you can hear the clock when it is actually striking because microphones are connected to the clock tower. Big Ben has rarely gone wrong. Once, however, it failed to give the correct time. A painter who had been working on the tower hung a pot of paint on one of the hands and slowed it down!

【課文翻譯】

當你游覽倫敦時，首先看到的東西之一就是“大本”鐘，即那座從英國廣播公司的廣播中全世界都可以聽到它的聲音的著名大鐘。如果不是國會大廈在1834年被焚毀的話，這座大鐘永遠也不會建造。“大本”鐘得名于本杰明.霍爾爵士，因為當建造新的國會大廈時，他負責建造大鐘。此鐘不僅外型巨大，而且走時也非常準確。格林尼治天文臺的官員們每天兩次派人矯正此鐘。當大鐘打點的時候，你可以從英國廣播公司的廣播中聽到，因為鐘塔上接了麥克風。“大本”鐘很少出差錯。然而有一次，它卻把時間報錯。在鐘塔上干活的一位油漆工把一只油漆桶掛在了一根指針上，把鐘弄慢了!

【生詞匯總】

parliament n. 議會，國會

erect v. 建起

accurate adj. 準確的

official n. 官員，行政人員

Greenwich n. 格林尼治

observatory n. 天文臺

check v. 檢查

microphone n. 擴音器，麥克風

tower n. 塔

【短語匯總】

take its name from從……處得名

【知識點講解】

1，It is not only of immense size, but is extremely accurate as well.

be of… 表示人或物的特征

We are of the same age/size.

This letter is of great importance.

2，A painter who had been working on the tower hung a pot of paint on one of the hands and slowed it down!

slow down (使……)慢下來/減速(可分開使用)

He slowed his car down while driving in heavy traffic.

3，the Houses of Parliament 國會大廈(英國議會是由上議院(House of Lords)和下議院(House of Commons)組成)

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