聽力每日練習(xí) listen 4250 Big Ben

 
2--Oh, that's funny. Really  it's  one  of London's  best-known  tourist  landmarks.
 
1--Yes, now I know it's the name of the huge clock tower at the House of Parliament.
 
2--Oh，no, it's not. Most people think Big Ben is the House of Parliament's clock tower, but actually it refers  to the bell hung inside the clock tower.
 
1--Big Ben is the name of a big bell!
 
2--That's right!  It weighs over thirteen tons.
 
1--Thirteen tons!  That's amazing. Why was it called Ben rather than Blake or  Bruce?
 
2--It got its nickname from Sir Benjamin Hall,who supervised its casting.
 
1--I see. When was Big Ben made?
 
2--In 1850s,at a foundry in east London.
 
1--So Big Ben is more than one hundred years old. Does it still work today?
 
2--Yes. It strikes every hour on the hour with great accuracy.
 
1--Has it ever stopped ringing?
 
2--Yes. It stopped a few times for various reasons, but the chimes resumed ringing again over London.
 
1--It must have a great sound!
 
2--Yes. When there were air raids over London during the World War II，the chimes  of  Big  Ben  brought  people  comfort and hope.
 
1--Oh,so Big Ben must be much loved by the British people.
 
2--Not only the British people but people of various countries too. Now visitors from all over the world come to  see it and hear its chimes.
 
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注解：
 
1.grisly可怕的
2.best-known最著名的
3.accuracy準確(性)
 
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譯文：
 
1--我第一次聽到別人說“大本鐘”時，還以為是在說一頭可怕的熊呢。
2--哈哈，是嗎?大本鐘可是英國最有名的旅游景點之一。
1--嗯，現(xiàn)在我知道了，它原來是指英國議會大廈的鐘樓。
2--其實不是這樣的。很多人都以為大本鐘是指英國議會大廈的鐘樓，但它其實是鐘樓里那口大鐘的名字。
1--原來“大本鐘”真的是指一口大鐘啊!
2--是的。大本鐘十分巨大，有13多噸重。
1--13噸?真是太驚人了!那它為什么叫“大本”而不是叫“布萊克”或者“布魯斯”之類的呢?
2--大本鐘由當(dāng)年負責(zé)工務(wù)的專員本杰明?豪爾監(jiān)制，故名“大本”。
1--我知道了，那大本鐘是什么時候造的呢?
2--它是19世紀50年代的時候，在倫敦東部的一個鑄造廠里造的。
1--那距今也有100多年的歷史了，它現(xiàn)在還能正常工作嗎?
2--能啊，大鐘每逢整點敲響一次，十分精確。
1--每個小時都敲響，一次也沒有停過嗎?
2--也由于種種原因停過幾次，但是鐘聲不久就又在倫敦上空響起。
1--大本鐘的鐘聲一定很好聽吧?
2--嗯。即使是第二次世界大戰(zhàn)的時候，倫敦遭到空襲，大本鐘也會準時響起，深沉而鏗鏘的鐘聲給英國人民帶去了鼓勵和希望。
1--難怪大本鐘深受英國人的喜愛。
2--不僅深受英國人喜愛，也吸引了各個國家的人。現(xiàn)在世界各地的游客來到倫敦，一睹大本鐘的風(fēng)采，聆聽它的鐘聲。