Big Ben 大本钟

The script of this programme 本节目台词

	The 'bong' of Big Ben is as famous as the clock!

John: Welcome to On The Town with me John.

Chen Li: And me Chen Li.

John: Today we're going to investigate one of the most famous London landmarks¹.

Chen Li: What is it John?

John: Big Ben.

Chen Li: 这显然是一个不错的选择，要知道它可是伦敦最著名的景点之一，吸引了大量的游客。大本钟, Big Ben.

John: The BBC spoke² with author and London expert Philip Arlor about Big Ben, and he's gone out to investigate.

Chen Li: 菲利浦是个作家, he's an author, BBC 派他前往大本钟去探个究竟。

John: Here's his report.

Insert:

If I tell you that I'm standing³ in front of Big Ben, most of you will know at once that I'm outside the Houses of Parliament in London. Of course there'll be a handful of listeners who think Big Ben is a wrestler⁴ or a grisly bear, but you're the ones who don't get out much. Just about everyone knows that Big Ben is the Houses of Parliament's clock tower, which means just about everyone is wrong. Because if truth be told, and I do like a bit of truth once in a while, Big Ben is actually the name of the bell, which through the magic of radio and a piece of good timing⁵ on my part, should start bonging away shortly!

John: OK, we'll be going back to Philip in a moment. First though, he used some interesting phrases there – let's have a closer look at them shall we Li?

Chen Li: Sure! 菲利普使用了一个术语. 当谈论很快就完成的一个动作时，你就需要用到 at once, 立刻，立即，at once.

John: And Philip was standing outside Big Ben, which is next to The Houses of Parliament.

Chen Li: Ah, yes, The Houses of Parliament, 议会大厦，英国政府的很多大事都是在这里决策下来的。

John: Now Li, you do know what Big Ben is don't you?

Chen Li: I do indeed!

John: Well, Philip explained that for those people who do not know what Big Ben is, they might mistake it for the name of a wrestler!

Chen Li: A wrestler，摔跤选手。

John: Or a grisly bear!

Chen Li: 可怕的熊。

John: But for those who don't know what Big Ben is, Philip also says they "don't get out much", meaning they don't leave their homes very much, so they wouldn't know what Big Ben is!

Chen Li: They don't get out much! 他们不经常出门。或者我们可以说他们孤陋寡闻。

John: So Li, is Big Ben the House's of Parliament's clock tower?

Chen Li: Of course it is! 大多数人都会以为它是个钟楼。

John: You're wrong!

Chen Li: Oh!

John: As Philip says, Big Ben is the name of the bell that you hear inside the clock tower.

Chen Li: Ah, so Big Ben is a big bell! 原来是一口钟，一口大钟 。（所以，看来，最早将他翻译成大本钟的中国人还是对它非常了解的。翻译得非常准确。）

John: And the word that Philip used to describe the ringing of the bell, is bonging!

Chen Li: Bonging, 当当的钟声! Bonging 是一个很有表现力的词，用来描述钟声。

John: We could say it's an onomatopoeic word.

Chen Li: What?

John: It's onomatopoeic! A word that is onomatopoeic is a word that, when spoken, resembles the sound that something makes.

Chen Li: Onomatopoeic, 象声词, 显然，就是字的发音和事物本身的发出的声音类似。

John: And that's certainly what the word bonging is. A bell bongs. Bong! Bong!

Chen Li: 我们来听听菲利普还说了些什么？What else did Philip discover John?

John: Listen out for these phrases: for obvious reasons...

Chen Li: 因为一些显而易见的原因。

John: As flat as a pancake – a phrase we use in English to describe something very flat indeed.

Chen Li: 象煎饼一样平，一个很常用的英文表达，描述一样东西特别的平整。

John: A cliché...

Chen Li: 陈词滥调。

John: Gothic and medieval styles...

Chen Li: 哥特式的，中世纪风格，这是特殊的建筑风格。（起源于法国，在13到15世纪时十分流行，哥特式建筑主要用于教堂，又称为尖顶风格。）

Insert:

What a great sound! It was called big for obvious reasons. The bell weighs in at around thirteen thousand seven hundred kilograms, over thirteen and a half tonnes. Which means that if it landed on you, the phrase "as flat as a pancake", wouldn't be a cliché, but an accurate description. It's called Ben rather than Dave or Nancy because it got its nick name from a chap called Sir Benjamin Hall, who was in charge of maintaining The Houses of Parliament at the time.

Chen Li: 很有意思的历史，谢谢 John 和菲利普的解释。

John: Join us next time for more, but from this edition of On The Town, it's good-bye!

Chen Li: Bye.

 

1 landmarks   

n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址）

参考例句：

• The book stands out as one of the notable landmarks in the progress of modern science. 这部著作是现代科学发展史上著名的里程碑之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The baby was one of the big landmarks in our relationship. 孩子的出世是我们俩关系中的一个重要转折点。 来自辞典例句

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 wrestler   

n.摔角选手，扭

参考例句：

• The wrestler tripped up his opponent.那个摔跤运动员把对手绊倒在地。
• The stronger wrestler won the first throw.较壮的那个摔跤手第一跤就赢了。

5 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。