【听美文故事记六级单词】大本钟沉默一小时的奥秘(2/2)

英语自学网

HINTS:
        十以上数字、年份、百分率、金额等都用阿拉伯数字表示，数字采用千位逗号隔断
        Luftwaffe
100 metres (315ft)

The clock is renowned for its accuracy and even survived a dozen attacks by Luftwaffe bombers during the Second World War, continuing to mark the time within one and a half seconds of GMT.
It has, however been late on occasion. In 1962 snow accumulation caused the clock to ring in the new year ten minutes late and in 1976 the clock stopped when a piece of its machinery broke.
It also ground to a halt on April 30, 1997, just 24 hours before the general election and once more three weeks later.
Big Ben is the name of the clock's 13-tonne bell, which was named after Sir Benjamin Hall, the British Commissioner of Works at the time of the clock's construction.
The official name for the Gothic tower in which Big Ben nestles is St Stephen's Tower.
Standing 100 metres (315ft) tall it was completed in 1858, after an 1834 fire destroyed most of the Palace of Westminster.大本钟因其走时准确而名扬四海，二战期间，它经受住了来自德国纳粹空军的10余次狂轰滥炸，依然继续报时且与标准时间的误差不超过1.5秒。
当然，大本钟偶尔也会出现“晚点”的情况。在1962年，由于雪花不断堆积，使得新年钟声比正常时间晚响了10分钟。而在1976年，因为一个机械部件断裂，大本钟干脆不“走”了。
他还在1997年4月3日停过一次，就在大选的前一天，还有一次在三周之后。
大本钟实际上是这口大钟13吨重的“铃铛”部分，是以本杰明·霍尔爵士的名字命名的，他是当年铸造这口钟时监督工程的英国专员。
大本钟所处的哥特式塔楼的官方名称是圣·斯蒂芬塔。
100米（315英尺）的高楼于1858年完工，此前在1834年一场大火摧毁了威斯敏斯特宫的大部分。