英語聽力小短文走遍全世界80: 大本鐘

　　The Big Ben is located in the tower at the eastern end of the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, Greater London. It was designed by Edmund Beckett and Baron Grimthorpe.

　　大本鐘在倫敦威斯敏斯特英自治領(lǐng)會議院的最東邊。它的設(shè)計者是埃德蒙·貝克特和拜倫·格里姆索普。

　　The Big Ben is very famous throughout the world, but nobody really knows why it is called Big Ben. There are two hearsays about this. Some people say that it was named after Benjamin Caunt, a boxer, who was called Big Ben. More people believe it was called after Welshman, Sir Benjamin Hall. He was the commissioner of the work at the time of its installation in 1859.

　　大本鐘在世界上家喻戶曉，但實(shí)際上沒有多少人知道為何它叫大本鐘。關(guān)于這個問題有兩個傳言：有人認(rèn)為它是從一個叫做本杰明·考特的拳擊家而來。更多人認(rèn)為它以一個威爾士人——本杰明·霍爾先生的名字命名的。他是安裝工程的監(jiān)督者。

　　A story was told that during a debate iin the Commons on what to call the bell, Sir Benjamin was about to give his ideas when a MP who sat behind the front bench shouted, "Let's call it Big Ben!" Then this name came into being.

　　在經(jīng)過在下議院討論中應(yīng)該叫什么名字后，本杰明先生準(zhǔn)備給出結(jié)果時，一位在前凳后的國會議員喊道：“我們叫它‘大本’吧!”于是這個名字就誕生了。

　　The bell hasn't gone through a smooth road since the beginning of its design. Because there was greatdisagreement about the design of the clock, it took fifteen years to build. In 1857, the bell was completed and tested on the ground, but a four-foot crack appeared and the bell had to be cast again. Finally, the clock started ticking on 31 May, 1859, and struck its first chime on 11, July.

　　從大本鐘的設(shè)計到建造結(jié)束，這個鐘誕生的道路就荊棘滿途。因?yàn)楫?dāng)時關(guān)于這個鐘的設(shè)計大家有著很大的分歧，建造它就用了15年。1857年，大本鐘完工，并在地上做了測試。但是當(dāng)鐘要掛上去時，4尺長的裂縫就出現(xiàn)了。1859年5月31日，大鐘的指針終于開始移動并在7月11日進(jìn)行了它的第一次報時。

　　Then in September, the bell cracked again. It was silent for four years but was eventually turned a quarter of a revolution. In this way, the crack was not under the striking hammer. Craftsmen made a square above the crack to stop it graving longer and it can still be seen today.

　　然而在九月份的時候，鐘又裂開了。它沉靜了四年，直到在革命后裂縫終于被轉(zhuǎn)了一個角。這樣，裂縫就不在敲鐘槌的下面。工匠在裂縫上做了一個方框，以此來阻止裂縫的延長，所以現(xiàn)在我們還能看到它。

　　The Big Ben is famous not only for its 13-ton weight, but also for its accuracy which is a result of its precise mechanism. Even one extra penny's weight on the balance will cause a gain of two fifths of a second in twenty four hours. Although there have been several problem, the bell is still striking today. Its chimes can be heard all over the world on the B.B.C.

　　大本鐘聞名全球不僅僅因?yàn)樗?3噸重量，還因?yàn)樗木珳?zhǔn)——那是因?yàn)樗鼑?yán)謹(jǐn)?shù)臋C(jī)械結(jié)構(gòu)。在平衡上增添額外的一便士重量都會造成每24小時多五分之二秒的后果。盡管有過幾次故障，直到今天大鐘仍然在報時。它的鐘鳴會通過B.B.C.廣播電臺傳遍全球。

　　注釋：

　　1. be located in 位于;坐落于

　　例句：Belgium is located in the heart of Europe. It is the place where the EUheadquarters is.

　　比利時地處歐洲心臟，是歐盟總部所在地，目前是歐盟輪值主席國。

　　2. smooth adj. 順利的;光滑的;平穩(wěn)的

　　例句：If you touch them they feel smooth and soft.

　　如果你觸摸它們，會感到很柔軟很光滑。

　　3. eventually adv. 最后，終于

　　例句：The two people eventually paired off last year.

　　去年這二位年輕人終于結(jié)婚了。