Big Ben, one of London's most familiar landmarks,
seenhere in March 2009, celebrates the 150th
anniversary of its first chiming onSaturday.
大本鐘，倫敦非常著名的裡程碑之一，
於上周六迎來了它首次報時以來的
第150個生日。
The Great Bell, first struck the hour onJuly 11,
1859, and has been interrupted only stop for
maintenance and bad weather ever since.
本鍾自1859年7月11日首次報時以來，
大本鐘僅在維修或天氣惡劣時才偶爾
暫停運轉。
These days, the name Big Ben is frequently used to
describe the tower, one of the capital's most photographed
sites, but the nickname was first given to the bell alone.
The origin of the name is thought to come from Sir
Benjamin Hall, the First Commissioner of Works and
Public Buildings, whose name is inscribed on the bell.
如今，大本鐘這個名字常用來指整個鐘樓，這裡也是倫敦曝光率最高的景點之一，其實最初這個暱稱只是給鍾本身起的名字。
據稱，大本鐘這個名字是由英國前任勞工和建築首席專員班傑明•霍爾爵士起的，他的名字就刻在大本鐘上。
Mike McCann, Keeper of the Great Clock,said: "After 150 years,
Big Ben still holds a special place in the hearts of Londoners and the world as a magnificent example of engineering and building genius."
守鍾人邁克•麥卡恩說：「大本鐘已經150歲了，但它作為機械和建築傑作的典範，仍然在倫敦和世界人民心中佔據著特殊的地位。
The 96-metre (315-foot) high tower which
houses the clock was built as part of the
rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament byarchitects Charles Barry and Augustus Putin
following a major fire in 1843.
在1843年的一場大火之後，作為重建英國國會大廈的一部分，建築師查理斯•巴雷和奧古斯塔斯•帕金共同設計了這座96米（合315英尺）高的鐘樓，而大本鐘就在鐘樓之上。