A Famous Clock

1 Has Big Ben ever gone wrong? 大本钟出过错吗？

2 When you visit London, one of the first things you will see is Big Ben, 当你游览伦敦时，首先会看到的是大本钟，

3 the famous clock which can be heard all over the world on the B.B.C. 这个著名的钟，在BBC广播中全世界都能听到。

4 If the Houses of Parliament had not been burned down in 1834, 如果议会大厦在1834年没有被烧毁的话，

5 the great clock would never have been erected. 这个大钟就永远不会被建造。

6 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. 大本钟的名字来源于本杰明·霍尔爵士，他在建造新议会大厦时负责制造这个钟。

7 It is not only of immense size, but is extremely accurate as well. 它不仅体积巨大，而且极其精确。

8 Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day. 格林尼治天文台的官员每天检查这个钟两次。

9 On the B.B.C. you can hear the clock when it is actually striking because microphones are connected to the clock tower. 在BBC广播中，当大本钟报时时，你可以听到它的声音，因为麦克风连接到了钟楼。

10 Big Ben has rarely gone wrong. 大本钟很少出错。

11 Once, however, it failed to give the correct time. 然而，有一次它没能报出正确的时间。

12 A painter who had been working on the tower hung a pot of paint on one of the hands and slowed it down! 一位在钟楼上工作的画家把一罐颜料挂在了其中一根指针上，把它弄慢了！