阅读理解EveryeveningsomepartoftheBritishCommonwealthhearsthechimes(和谐的音调)ofBigBenlargestofthebellsintheclocktowerofthePalaceofWestminster.ThetowerispopularlycalledBigBenbutitis

Question

阅读理解

　　Every evening some part of the British Commonwealth hears the chimes(和谐的音调) of Big Ben largest of the bells in the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster. The tower is popularly called Big Ben but it is the great bell which really is Big Ben. It is this bell which chimes out the quarter hours to the people of London. For Britons at sea or living in distant lands the sound of Big Ben is still a link with home for the chimes are broadcast each evening by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

　　Big Ben has been chiming out the quarter hours now for nearly half and a century. It started chiming on June 11 1859.

　　At that time Parliament couldn't decide what to name the bell. A light-hearted member of Parliament called attention in a speech to the impressive hulk(巨大笨重之物)of Sir Benjamin Hall Queen Victoria's Chief Lord of the Woods and Forests.

　　“Call it Big Ben.” said the speaker and the name stuck.

　　Big Ben is 9 feet in diameter 7 feet inches tall and the thickness where the hammer strikes is 8 . 75 inches.

　　The clock that regulates the chiming of Big Ben keeps good time. In 1939 the Royal Astronomer made a 290-day check on the performance of the clock. He found that during this test the margin of error (误差) was less than two-tenths of a second in 24 hours on 93 days and greater than one second only on 16 of the 290 days.

　　There was an unexpected lapse(慢) on August 12 1945 and consternation(惊慌) swept through the Ministry of Works. On that dark day the clock was five minutes slow. A flock of starlings(欧掠鸟) had roosted(栖息) on the minute hand.

　　Notes: The British Commonwealth：英联邦

　　Palace of Westminster：英国议会大厦

　　Royal Astronomer：英国皇家天文学家

1．The year 1959 was the ________.

[　　]

A．59th anniversary of Big Ben

B．100th anniversary of Big Ben

C．last year Big Ben was heard

D．year in which Big Ben was restored

2．Big Ben was named after ________.

[　　]

A．Benjamin Disraeli

B．Benjamin Franklin

C．Sir Benjamin Hall

D．Queen Victoria's godson

3．In 1939 the Royal Astronomer found that the clock that regulates the chiming of Big Ben ________.

[　　]

A．was usually very inaccurate

B．lost 24 hours in 290 days

C．had a very small margin of error most of the time

D．no longer kept good time due to war damage

Answer 1

答案：B;C;C