Lesson 71 A famous clock一个著名的大钟
First listen and then answer the question.听录音，然后回答以下问题。
Has Big Ben ever gone wrong?
When you visit London, one of the first things you will see is Big Ben, the famous clock which can be heard all over the world on the B.B.C. If the Houses of Parliament had not been burned down in 1834, the great clock would never have been erected. Big Ben takes its name from Sir Benjamin Hall who was responsible for the making of the clock when the new Houses of Parliament were being built. It is not only of immense size, but is extremely accurate as well. Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day. On the B.B.C. you can hear the clock when it is actually striking because microphones are connected to the clock tower. Big Ben has rarely gone wrong. Once, however, it failed to give the correct time. A painter who had been working on the tower hung a pot of paint on one of the hands and slowed it down!
参考译文
当你游览伦敦时，首先看到的东西之一就是“大本”钟，即那座从英国广播公司的广播中全世界都可以听到它的声音的著名大钟。如果不是国会大厦在 1834年被焚毁的话，这座大钟永远也不会建造。“大本”钟得名于本杰明.霍尔爵士，因为当建造新的国会大厦时，他负责建造大钟。此钟不仅外型巨大，而且 走时也非常准确。格林尼治天文台的官员们每天两次派人矫正此钟。当大钟打点的时候，你可以从英国广播公司的广播中听到，因为钟塔上接了麦克风。“大本”钟 很少出差错。然而有一次，它却把时间报错。在钟塔上干活的一位油漆工把一只油漆桶挂在了一根指针上，把钟弄慢了！
New words and expressions 生词和短语
parliament
n. 议会，国会
erect
v. 建起
accurate
adj. 准确的
official
n. 官员，行政人员
Greenwich
n. 格林尼治
observatory
n. 天文台
check
v. 检查
microphone
n. 扩音器，麦克风
tower
n. 塔
Lesson 71 自学导读First things first
课文详注 Further notes on the text1．If the Houses of Parliament had not been burned down in 1834, the great clock would never have been erected. 如果不是国会大厦在1834年被焚毁的话，这座大钟永远也不会建造。
（1）这句话用的是虚拟语气，即第3类条件句，表示与过去的事实
相反的一种假设。（cf.第64课语法）
（2）the Houses of Parliament,国会大厦。由于英国议会是由上议院（House of Lords）和下议院（House of Commons）组成的，所
以Houses为复数形式。
（3）burn down为固定短语，在这里表示“（使）烧成平地”、“烧毁”：
The hospital was burned down last month.
那家医院上个月被烧毁了。
2．Big Ben takes its name from Sir Benjamin Hall who was respon- sible for the making of the clock…“大本”钟得名于本杰明·霍尔爵士，……他负责建造大钟。
（1）Sir用于英国人的全名（或名字）之前时表示“爵士”（不单独用
于姓之前），如 Sir John Gilbert（约翰·吉尔伯特爵士）或 Sir John（约翰爵士），但不能称 Sir Gilbert。
（2）responsible for表示“对……需负责任／承担责任的”：
Who is responslble for the accident?
谁应对这起事故负责？
John is responsible for the building of the bridge.
约翰负责修建这座桥。
（3）-ing形式前面无冠词时可直接跟宾语：making the clock; -ing 前有冠词时则其后不能直接跟宾语，而必须用of;the making of the clock.
3．It is not only of immense size…此钟不仅外型巨大……
be of…表示人或物的特征：
we are of the same age/size.
我们年龄／个头相同。
This letter is of great importance.
这封信至关重要。
4．Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day. 格林威治天文台的官员们每天两次派人矫正此钟。
（1）Greenwich 格林威治（又译格林尼治），位于伦敦东南，是本初
子午线，即经度零度经过的地方。
（2）have the clock checked是have的使役式用法。（cf. 第66课语法）
5．Big Ben has rarely gone wrong. “大本”钟很少出差错。
go wrong为固定短语，其含义之一是“（机器等）发生故障”、“出毛病”：
My watch/The engine of the car has gone wrong.
我的手表／汽车发动机出了毛病。
Something has gone wrong with my car.
我的汽车出毛病了。
6．slow…down,把……弄慢。
Slow down为固定短语（可分开使用），其含义之一为“（使……）慢下来／减速”：
He slowed his car down while driving in heavy traffic.
他在车辆拥挤的路上驾驶时，放慢了车速。
语法 Grammar in use
复习第60～69课部分语法
通过这几课的语法学习，我们知道在表示将来时的句子中，要在时间状语从句中使用现在时，同时也要在第1类条件句中用现在时来表示；学习了将来完成进行时和过去完成进行时的形式和用法；学习了第3类条件句、情态助动词 must, have to, should和ought to;学习了用于使役式的动词 have，以及用于介词+动名词结构中的被动语态：
The Thompsons will move to a new flat when their baby is born.
孩子出生以后，汤普森一家将搬到一套新的公寓去住。
By this time next week, I will have been working for this firm for twenty years.
到下星期此刻，我就已经为这家公司工作了20年了。（将来完成进行时通常要和某个时间状语连用，这个状语往往表示“到／截止……时候”）
Firemen had been fighting the forest fire for nearly three weeks before they could get it under control.
消防队员们同那场森林大火搏斗了将近三个星期才最后把火势控制住。（过去完成进行时与将来完成进行时一样，也要有时间状语；它们都强调动作的持续性）
If I had worked harder at school, I'd have got a better job.
要是我上学时勤奋一些，我就会有较好的工作了。（第3 类条件句表示与事实相反的虚拟语气）
We should/ought to arrest him, but we shall let him off this time.
我们应该逮捕它，但这次我们饶了它。
He should have known that the police would never allow this sort of thing.
他本该知道警察绝不会允许这类事情发生。（should+ have+过去分词表示过去应该做或完成而没有做的事）
The French authorities had the plane packaged and moved in parts back to France.
法国政府让人把飞机包装起来，一部分一部分地搬回法国。（have+名词／宾格代词+过去分词表示让别人为自己做某事）
After being robbed, the man called the police.
那人遭抢劫后给警方打了电话。（after+动名词的被动形式相当于时间状语从句，但主语必须一致）
词汇学习 Word study
1．official, employee与shop assistant
official指“官员”、“公务员”：
Before he retired, Jeremy had been a government/city official.
在他退休之前，杰里米一直是位政府／市政府官员。
A Customs official checked their passports.
一位海关官员检查了他们的护照。
official也可以指“高级官员”：
Bank officials get high salaries.
银行高级职员的工薪很高。
employee泛指“雇员”、“雇工”（包括各个层次的）：
In a few years the small workshop had become a large factory which had seven hundred employees.
几年之后，小铺子已经发展成一个雇有700人的大工厂。
Later he became a government employee.
后来他成了一名公务员／政府雇员。
shop assistant在英国英语中表示零售店的“店员”（相当于美国英语中的salesclerk）：
The shop assistant who served her did not like the way she was dressed.
接待她的售货员不喜欢她的那副打扮。
2．hang, hung, hung与hang, hanged, hanged
当hang表示“悬挂”时，其过去式与过去分词均为hung：
A painter hung a pot of paint on one of the hand and slowed the clock down.
一位油漆工把一只油漆桶挂在了一根指针上，把针弄慢了。
I'm hanging this picture on the wall.
我正把这幅画挂到墙上去。
当hang表示“绞死”、“吊死”或“上吊”时，其过去式、过去分词均为 hanged：
As he has murdered three men, he ought to be hanged.
他已杀了3个人，他应当被绞死。
I wonder why she hanged herself.
我纳闷／想知道她为何上吊自杀。
