New Life for Big Ben
A low-intermediate level English resource.
WITH AUDIO ►: Click to open/close audio playerIt's
the most famous clock in the world and it's over 160 years old. The
famous clock was completely renovated between 2017 and 2021, and now
it's back in service again
Big Ben and other London icons
If you have been to London, you have certainly seen "Big Ben." It's very difficult to miss, standing almost 100 metres high beside the Thames, next to the Houses of Parliament.
But have you actually seen "Big Ben"? Probably not!
The name "Big Ben" is generally used to refer to the big clock tower itself; but in reality, "Big Ben" is just the name of the biggest bell in the tower , the bell that chimes on the hour.
The famous clock tower was built in the 1850's, after the Houses of Parliament were burned down.
The new clock was to be the biggest in the world, and extremely accurate. Lots of people thought that this would be impossible; a very big clock, they thought, could not be very accurate.
In fact, they were wrong; and the clock has always kept time almost perfectly.
The original "Big Ben" bell weighed 16 tons, and was made in the North of England. However, after it had reached London, but before it had been put in place, it cracked! A new bell had to be made to replace it!
The original bell was therefore melted down (in London) and a new Big Ben was made, weighing "only" 13 tons! This bell was put in place in July 1859... but after two months it cracked. Experts decided that the le="margin-left: -20px;">
