Bye bye Big Ben's bongs 与大本钟的钟声暂时告别

随身英语 Bye bye Big Ben's bongs 与大本钟的钟声暂时告别 Play audio file 伦敦标志性建筑“大本钟”将接受维修工程，这意味着维修期间人们无法听到钟声。《随身英语》关注大本钟所遭受的磨损，以及维修工程会涉及到哪方面的工作。

课文内容 词汇: repairs 维修

London residents will have to make do without the chimes of Big Ben for a while. After 157 years of nearly uninterrupted service, the iconic clock in London has become worn and requires repairs.

Steve Jaggs, Keeper of the Clock, said: "This project will enable us to give one of Britain's most famous landmarks the TLC it so desperately needs and deserves."

The Elizabeth Tower, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, houses the clock and is visited by 12,000 people a year. It's said to be structurally sound but water caused damage to its masonry and there's corrosion in the cast-iron roof and belfry and the frame which holds the clock's bells. It all needs fixing.

Work will also help to bring the building up to modern health and safety standards. It will have a lift installed to make it easier and quicker to evacuate an injured person and give access to disabled people who can't climb its 334 steps. And at a time when energy efficiency is a concern, the lights which illuminate the clock dials and the belfry will be replaced by low energy LEDs.

Work, with an estimated cost of £29m, is set to begin early in 2017 and is planned to take three years. The clock will be silent for only a few months though and might come back to life in very special occasions.

The name Big Ben originally referred to the 13.5 tonne Great Bell within the tower, but ended up being used for the clock and tower too. The clock stands 96m above the Houses of Parliament. It was designed by architect Edmund Beckett Denison and began keeping time on 31 May 1859. Surely it might be our turn to give this famous symbol of Britain some time to rest and recover.

词汇表 to make do  将就着，凑合着用

chimes   报时钟声

uninterrupted   没有中断过的

worn   受到磨损的

repair (noun)   维修

landmark   地标性建筑

TLC  (tender loving care 的缩写)  细心护理

UNESCO World Heritage Site    联合国教科文组织世界文化遗产地

structurally sound   结构上没有问题

masonry   砖石结构

corrosion    生锈、腐蚀

cast iron    铸铁

to fix    修理、整修

health and safety standards    健康安全标准

to evacuate    转移，疏散

to replace    更换

LED  (light-emitting diode 的缩写)   发光二极管

Houses of Parliament   议会大厦

architect   建筑设计师

测验与练习 1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. Why will the Big Ben fall silent?

2.  Which part of the building was affected by leaks?

3.  Which planned modification will benefit you if you faint while visiting the tower?

4.  True or false? Big Ben will be silent until 2020.

5.  Which expression in the text could be used to describe someone who needs a wheelchair continuously to move around?        

2. 请你在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处 。

1. My sister has got a very bad cold. She needs a lot of __________ if she's to go back to work next week.

repairs       TLC         fixing       health and safety standards     

2. There's __________ on the metal gates and they need replacing.

cast iron      low energy     corrosion    water

3. Joan is not going to miss her plane to London again - she __________ to be at the airport three hours before departure.

plans         estimates          is enabled       might

4. The swimmer trained very hard. He __________ an Olympic medal for sure.

needs         deserves          requires          takes

5. The CEO was determined to bring the company __________ to standard for it to have a better chance to compete in the market.

on      at      over       up

答案 1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. Why will the Big Ben fall silent?

It has become worn and the clock has to be stopped for repairs.

2.  Which part of the building was affected by leaks?

Elizabeth Tower's masonry was damaged by water leaks.

3.  Which planned modification will benefit you if you faint while visiting the tower?

A lift.

4.  True or false? Big Ben will be silent until 2020.

False.   The repairs to Elizabeth Tower might be made till 2020 but the plan is to keep Big Ben silent just for a few months.

5.  Which expression in the text could be used to describe someone who needs a wheelchair continuously to move around?

A disabled person.

2. 请你在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处 。

1. My sister has got a very bad cold. She needs a lot of TLC if she's to go back to work next week.

2. There's corrosion on the metal gates and they need replacing.

3. Joan is not going to miss her plane to London again - she plans to be at the airport three hours before departure.

4. The swimmer trained very hard. He deserves an Olympic medal for sure.

5. The CEO was determined to bring the company up to standard for it to have a better chance to compete in the market.