Big Ben and Westminster Palace

Big Ben and Westminster Palace. Written by Philip Slater. Focus Question. Why are Big Ben and Westminster Palace a famous landmark?

《大本钟与威斯敏斯特宫》，作者：菲利普·斯莱特。 核心问题：为什么大本钟和威斯敏斯特宫是著名地标呢？

A Famous Bell Big Ben is a huge bell at the top of a tall clock tower in London, England. The bell is as heavy as two elephants. Big Ben, the tower, and the clock are all important. They are part of Westminster Palace, which is home to Parliament. People all over the world have heard of Big Ben.

大名鼎鼎的钟 大本钟是一口巨钟，悬挂在英国伦敦一座高高的钟楼顶端。 这口钟和两头大象一样重哦。 大本钟、这座塔楼还有时钟都非常重要。 它们都是威斯敏斯特宫的一部分，威斯敏斯特宫是议会的所在地。 全世界的人们都听说过大本钟的名字。

An Old Building Westminster Palace has several buildings. The oldest building is Westminster Hall. The hall is more than 900 years old and is still used today. Kings and Queens lived at Westminster until 1512.

古老的建筑 威斯敏斯特宫由好几座建筑组成。 最古老的建筑是威斯敏斯特大厅， 它已经有900多年的历史，至今仍在使用。 1512年之前，国王和王后们都住在威斯敏斯特宫。

burned down and built up. A fire in 1834 burned most of Westminster Palace. Six years later, there was a search to find someone to build the palace again. Charles Berry got the job. It took 30 years and a lot of money to build the new palace.

烧毁与重建 1834年的一场大火烧毁了威斯敏斯特宫的大部分区域。 六年后，人们开始寻找能重建这座宫殿的人选。 查尔斯·贝里接过了这项工作。 建造新宫殿花了30年时间，耗费了大量资金。

Augustus Pugin planned the clock that is part of the tower. Pugin decided to make a clock with four faces, one on each side. Each clock face has 312 pieces of glass.

奥古斯都·普金设计了塔楼配套的时钟。 普金决定做一个四面钟，塔楼每侧各有一个钟面。 每个钟面都由312块玻璃组成。

Westminster Palace has three towers. For many years, the Victoria Tower was the largest square stone tower in the world. The Elizabeth Tower is the clock tower that holds Big Ben. The Central Tower was planned as a chimney for smoke from fireplaces inside the palace.

威斯敏斯特宫有三座塔楼。 多年来，维多利亚塔一直是世界上最大的方形石塔。 伊丽莎白塔就是安放着大本钟的钟楼。 中央塔楼原本是设计用来排出宫殿内壁炉烟气的烟囱。