听美文故事记6级单词03-08

8. Mystery as Big Ben falls Silent for an Hour

The chimes of Big Ben were silenced for over an hour on Friday night but the cause remains¹ a mystery, an engineer said today.

The Palace of Westminster's 147-year-old clock, considered to be one of the most reliable in the world, stopped at 10.07pm.

The minute hand started to move again slowly but stalled a second time at 10.20pm where it is reported to have remained for 90 minutes before the hands were reset².

It was thought the hot weather may have been to blame. Temperatures in London reached a high of 31.8C (90F) yesterday and forecasters declared it the hottest May day since 1953.

But an engineer at the palace said the cause was unclear. He said: "We've been told there was a minor³ glitch⁴ but then it was started up again."

The clock is renowned⁵ for its accuracy and even survived a dozen attacks by Luftwaffe bombers⁶ 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 machinery⁷ 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 Commissioner⁸ 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. Standing⁹ 100 metres (315ft) tall it was completed in 1858, after an 1834 fire destroyed most of the Palace of Westminster.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

3 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

4 glitch   

n.干扰；误操作，小故障

参考例句：

• There is a glitch in the computer program somewhere.这个计算机程序中的某个部分有点小问题。
• It could just be a random glitch that can be solved by restarting the machine.可能只是一个小故障，重新启动主机就能解决了。

5 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

6 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

8 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

9 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。