A famous clock新概念英語課程分析

A famous clock一個著名的大鐘

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 Greenwich Observatory 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!

參考譯文

當你遊覽倫敦時，首先看到的東西之一就是“大本”鍾，即那座從英國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。如果不是國會大廈在1834年被焚燬的話，這座大鐘永遠也不會建造。“大本”鍾得名於本傑明.霍爾爵士，因為當建造新的國會大廈時，他負責建造大鐘。此鐘不僅外型巨大，而且走時也非常準確。格林尼治天文台的官員們每天兩次派人矯正此鍾。當大鐘打點的時候，你可以從英國廣播公司的廣播中聽到，因為鐘塔上接了麥克風。“大本”鍾很多出差錯。然而有一次，它卻把時間報錯。在鐘塔上幹活的一位油漆工把一隻油漆桶掛在了一根指針上，把鍾弄慢了！

parliament n. 議會，國會

erect v. 建起

accurate adj. 準確的.

official n. 官員，行政人員

Greenwich n. 格林尼治

observatory n. 天文台

check v. 檢查

microphone n. 擴音器，麥克風

tower n. 塔

the Houses of Parliament had not been burned down in 1834, the great clock would never have been erected.

burn down(使)燒燬

I think she would like to burn our houses down.

我認為她很想把我們的房子付之一炬。

If had not been與過去事實相反的虛擬語氣

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.

be responsible for為…負責,形成…的原因

He should be responsible for that.

他應該對此事負有責任。

is not only of immense size, but is extremely accurate as well.

as well也, 還有

He speaks English and Spanish as well.

他既能説英語, 也能説西班牙語。

There may be travel expense, as well.

可能還有旅途費用。

, however, it failed to give the correct time.

fail to未能…

The Van Gogh failed to reach its reserve and was withdrawn.

凡高的畫因出價未達拍賣底價而收回。