BigBenisthenicknameforthegreatbelloftheclockinLondon.ThenamewasgiveninhonorofSirBenjaminHallwhowasinchargeoftheworkwhenthebellwasbuiltin1856.Itdidn’tstrikeuntil3yearslater.Theclockhasbeco

Question

  Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock in London. The name was given in honor of Sir Benjamin Hall who was in charge of the work when the bell was built in 1856. It didn’t strike until 3 years later.

    The clock has become a landmark of the United Kingdom and London particularly in the visual media (可视媒体). When a television-or film-maker wishes to quickly show a non-UK audience a certain location in Britain a popular way to do so is to show an image of the Clock Tower.

    The Clock Tower is a focus of New Year celebrations in the United Kingdom with radio and TV stations tuning to its chimes(报时钟声) to welcome the start of the year.

Londoners who live a proper distance from the Clock Tower and Big Ben can by means of listening to the chimes both live and on the radio or television hear the bell strike thirteen times on New Year’s Eve. This is possible because the speed of sound is a lot slower than the speed of radio waves.

Big Ben has appeared in many films. In the 1978 version of The Thirty-Nine Steps the hero attempted to halt(停止) the clock’s progress to prevent a linked bomb blowing up by hanging from the minute hand of its western face. It was also used in the filming of Shanghai Knights starring Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson and was described as being partially destroyed in the 2010 film Doctor Who. An animated version(卡通版) of the clock was also used as the setting in the Walt Disney film The Great Mouse Detective and was shown being destroyed by a UFO in the film Mars Attacks!

25. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

   A. The nickname of the clock was given by Benjamin.

   B. The clock strikes 13 times to welcome the New Year.

 C. The radio and TV make a mistake about the clock’s chimes.

   D. Benjamin was responsible for the Work when the bell was built.

26. Big Ben has served people for about        years.

   A. 151         B. 148         C. 146         D. 153

27. The second paragraph mainly wants to show us that Big Ben is       .

   A. a symbol of UK and London         B. a most popular scene for film-makers

   C. a must-see sight for tourists to London   D. a popular place to have pictures taken

28. In which of the following movies was the clock destroyed?

   A. The Thirty—Nine Steps and Shanghai Knights.

 B. Shanghai Knights and Doctor Who.

   C. The Great Mouse Detective and Doctor Who.

   D. Mars Attacks and Doctor Who.

Answer 1

DDAD