Module 5
Big Ben
Fiche 6
Script adapté de l’enregistrement du site Podcasts in English.com
On the 31st of May 1959, the clock started ticking and on the 11th of July 1859, the bells rang for the
first time. But Big Ben isn’t just popular with tourists: last year, it was named Britain’s most popular
site.
Many people think that Big Ben is the clock tower but in fact, it’s the name of the largest bell in the
tower and it’s very big: it’s 2.2 meters high and 2.7 meters in diameter. It’s heavy too: it weighs
13.7 tons.
There are four other bells so there are five bells all together. Normally, bells move to ring, they swing
from side to side but the Big Ben bells don’t move: they’re fixed and there’s a hammer on each bell
and the hammer hits the bell.
Although the clocks in the bells are really old (they’re 150 years old), they always tell the exact time.
The clock is at the most only one second wrong. Big Ben is clockwork, not electronic. The keeper of the
clock makes sure the time is correct and he winds the clock three times a week.
The tower has four clocks. It is square and has a clock dial on each side. The clocks are four meters in
diameter and the Roman numbers are 60 centimeters high, they’re easy to see from a long way off.
The tower itself is 94 meters high and 12 meters square. To see the bells in the tower, you need to
climb 334 steps.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Script adapté de l’enregistrement du site Podcasts in English.com
On the 31st of May 1959, the clock started ticking and on the 11th of July 1859, the bells rang for the
first time. But Big Ben isn’t just popular with tourists: last year, it was named Britain’s most popular
site.
Many people think that Big Ben is the clock tower but in fact, it’s the name of the largest bell in the
tower and it’s very big: it’s 2.2 meters high and 2.7 meters in diameter. It’s heavy too: it weighs
13.7 tons.
There are four other bells so there are five bells all together. Normally, bells move to ring, they swing
from side to side but the Big Ben bells don’t move: they’re fixed and there’s a hammer on each bell
and the hammer hits the bell.
Although the clocks in the bells are really old (they’re 150 years old), they always tell the exact time.
The clock is at the most only one second wrong. Big Ben is clockwork, not electronic. The keeper of the
clock makes sure the time is correct and he winds the clock three times a week.
The tower has four clocks. It is square and has a clock dial on each side. The clocks are four meters in
diameter and the Roman numbers are 60 centimeters high, they’re easy to see from a long way off.
The tower itself is 94 meters high and 12 meters square. To see the bells in the tower, you need to
climb 334 steps.
© Canopé – CRDP de l’académie de Reims, 2014