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 in1834,the great clock would never have been erected. Big Ben takes its name from sir Benjamin Hall who was responsible for them 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 Gfeenwich Observatory have the clock checked twicea 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!
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New words and expressions 生词和短语
parliament(1.3)/'pɑ:ləmənt/ n. 议会，国会
observatory (1.8) /əb'zə:vətəri/n.天文台
erect (1.4)/i'rekt/v.建起
accurate(1.7)/'ækjvrət/ adj. 准确的
microphone (1.9)/'maikrəfəvn/ n.扩音器，麦克风
tower(1.10)/'tavə/n. 塔
1 Big Ben,大钟的名字，译成“大本”。
2 the B.B.C.是英国广播公司(British Broadcasting Corporation)的缩写。
3 If the Houses of Parliament had not been burned down in 1834,the great clock would never have been erected.如果不是国会大厦在1834年被焚毁的话，这座大钟永远也不会建造。这是一个表示与过去事实不相符的虚拟语气结构。
4 take its name from,以……命名。
5 when the new Houses of Parliament were being built,注意这个从句中过去进行时的被动结构。
6 It is not only of immense size,它不仅外型巨大，“to be of+名词”用来表示人或物的特征。
7 Big Ben has rarely gone wrong.“大本”钟很少出差错。
参考译文当你游览伦敦时，首先看到的东西之一就是“大本”钟，即那座从英国广播公司的广播中全世界都可以听到它的声音的著名大钟。如果不是国会大厦在1834年被焚毁的话，这座大钟永远也不会建造。“大本”钟得名于本杰明·霍尔爵士，因为当建造新的国会大厦时，他负责建造大钟。此钟不仅外型巨大，而且走时也非常准确。格林尼治天文台的官员们每天两次派人矫正此钟。当大钟打点的时候，你可以从英国广播公司的广播中听到，因为钟塔上接了麦克风。“大本”钟很少出差错。然而有一次，它却把时间报错了。在钟塔上干活的一位油漆工把一只油漆桶挂在了一根指针上，把钟弄慢了！