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(dāng)你游覽倫敦時(shí)，首先看到的東西之一就是“大本”鐘，即那座從英國(guó)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(guó)會(huì)大廈在1834年被焚毀的話，這座大鐘永遠(yuǎn)也不會(huì)建造。“大本”鐘得名于本杰明.霍爾爵士，因?yàn)楫?dāng)建造新的國(guó)會(huì)大廈時(shí)，他負(fù)責(zé)建造大鐘。此鐘不僅外型巨大，而且走時(shí)也非常準(zhǔn)確。格林尼治天文臺(tái)的官員們每天兩次派人矯正此鐘。當(dāng)大鐘打點(diǎn)的時(shí)候，你可以從英國(guó)廣播公司的廣播中聽到，因?yàn)殓娝辖恿他溈孙L(fēng)。“大本”鐘很少出差錯(cuò)。然而有一次，它卻把時(shí)間報(bào)錯(cuò)。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(huì)，國(guó)會(huì)
erect v. 建起
accurate adj. 準(zhǔn)確的
official n. 官員，行政人員
Greenwich n. 格林尼治
observatory n. 天文臺(tái)
check v. 檢查
microphone n. 擴(kuò)音器，麥克風(fēng)
tower n. 塔
【短語(yǔ)匯總】
take its name from從……處得名
【知識(shí)點(diǎn)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(lái)/減速(可分開使用)
He slowed his car down while driving in heavy traffic.
3，the Houses of Parliament 國(guó)會(huì)大廈(英國(guó)議會(huì)是由上議院(House of Lords)和下議院(House of Commons)組成)
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