Дополнительный материал по теме "London landmarks"

1. What famous landmarks in Great Britain do you know? Do you know anything about Big Ben? What do you know about Big Ben?

2. Look at the chart below and try to fill it.

3. a) Read the terms and pay attention to their pronunciation.

Big Ben [bɪg bɛn]

Palace of Westminster [ˈpælɪs ɒv ˈwɛstˌmɪnstə]

Saint Stephen’s Tower [seɪnt ˈstiːv(ə)nz ˈtaʊə]

Commissioner of Works [kəˈmɪʃnər ɒv wɜːks]

Benjamin Hall [ˈbɛnʤəmɪn hɔːl]

Benjamin Caunt [ˈbɛnʤəmɪn kɑːnt]

b) Do you know any of these people? Who and what are they?

4. Read the text carefully.

Big Ben

The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster – officially named Saint Stephen’s Tower – is commonly known as the Big Ben. The tower is one of London’s most famous landmarks.

T he clock inside the tower was the world’s largest when it was installed in the middle of the nineteenth century. The name Big Ben actually refers to the clock’s hour bell, the largest of the clock’s five bells. The other four are used as quarter bells.

The hour bell was probably named after Benjamin Hall, the First Commissioner of Works. Some sources however claim the bell was named after Benjamin Caunt, a British heavyweight boxing champion.

The clock is known for its reliability, it has rarely failed during its long life span. Even after the nearby House of Commons was destroyed by bombing during World War II, the clock kept on chiming. The clock’s mechanism, de-signed by Edmund Beckett Denison, has a remarkable accuracy. The clock’s rate is adjusted by simply adding small pennies on the shoulder of the pendulum.

The clock has become a popular attraction and has appeared in many films. In the movie Mars Attacks! for example the Big Ben is destroyed by a UFO attack.

_______

UFO - Unidentified flying object

accuracy [ˈækjərəsɪ] точность

pendulum [ˈpendjʊləm] маятник

to adjust [əˈʤʌst] регулировать

4. Say true or false.

1. Big Ben is The Clock Tower.

2. The clock inside the tower was installed in the middle of the fifteenth century.

3. There are five clock’s bells inside Big Ben.

4. The hour bell was named neither after Benjamin Hall, nor Benjamin Caunt.

5. The clock is has failed a lot of times during its life span.

6. The clock’s mechanism has a remarkable accuracy.

7. Historically Big Ben is destroyed by a UFO attack.

5. a) Watch the video about Big Ben. Pay attention to these words and word combinations.

four clock faces - четыре циферблата часов

decade [ˈdekeɪd] десятилетие

to cast [kɑːst] бросать

belfry [ˈbelfrɪ] колокольня

hammer [ˈhæmə] молоток

b) Watch the video again. Look at the chart again and make sure there is something you would like to learn about Big Ben.

c) Would you like to study at Big Ben? Why?

6. Make up the project «My favorite landmark» where you can say, why it is your favorite landmark, describe it, a place, where it is situated. You can say a short history of this landmark. You can add some pictures and photos if you need.