[00:01.080]--- Lesson 71 A famous clock
[00:07.120]--- First listen and then answer the question.
[00:13.200]--- Has Big Ben ever gone wrong?
[00:18.760]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.
[00:31.720]If the Houses of Parliament had not been burned down in 1834, the great clock would never have been erected.
[00:41.720]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.^“
[00:55.080]It is not only of immense size, but is extremely accurate as well.
[01:02.720]Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.
[01:09.320]On the B.B.C. you can hear the clock when it is actually striking because microphones are connected to the clock tower.
[01:20.040]Big Ben has rarely gone wrong.^“
[01:23.400]Once, however, it failed to give the correct time.
[01:27.960]A painter who had been working on the tower hung a pot of paint on one of the hands and slowed it down!