英美著名旅游景点知多少(一)――英国

1. Hyde Park（海德公园）

Hyde Park, the biggest royal one in Britain and also the best- known one in London, is situated① in the Westminster Abbey district in central London. Covering an area of over 360 acres, it belonged to the Westminster Abbey. It served the King as a hunting field prior to the 18th century and Henry Ⅷ turned it into a royal park in the 16th century. During the reign② of Charles Ⅰ, Hyde Park was opened to the public. In 1851, Queen Victoria hosted an international fair for the first time there; now this park, the location③ of the famous “Speakers’ Corner”, has become a site where political gatherings and other mass④ rallies⑤ take place.

海德公园是英国最大的皇家公园，也是伦敦最知名的公园，位于伦敦市中心的威斯敏斯特教堂地区，占地360多英亩，原属威斯敏斯特教堂产业。十八世纪前这里是英王的狩鹿场。16世纪，英王亨利八世将之用作王室的公园。查理一世执政期间，海德公园曾向公众开放。1851年，维多利亚女王首次在这里举办伦敦国际博览会。这里现在也是人们举行各种政治集会和其他群众活动的场所，有著名的“演讲者之角”。

生词解析： 1. situated adj. 位于……的2. reign n. 统治（支配）时期3. locationn. 位置，场所

4. mass adj. 大规模的 5. rally n. 聚会

2. Big Ben（大本钟）

Big Ben, a nickname① for the huge hour bell high up in a tower affiliated② to the parliament building and dating from the year 1858, is also known as the Clock Tower of Palace of Westminster③. Sir Benjamin Hall, then in charge of engineering, supervised④ its construction⑤, hence⑥ the name of the clock. It weighs 14 tons, 95 meters in height and 7 meters in diameter⑦ of the clock plate, with a 2.75-meter-long hour hand and 4.27-meter-long minute hand, and the clock pendulum⑧ is as heavy as 305 kilograms. On each stroke, it produces a deep and sonorous⑨ sound. Radio sends the sound of the big clock to the rest of the world. The BBC began to broadcast the rings in 1924. Ever since，Big Ben has been a radio star.

大本钟，是英国国会会议厅附属的钟楼的大报时钟的昵称，建于1858年，也叫作威斯敏斯特宫钟塔。该钟由当年负责工务的本杰明爵士监制，故名“大本”。钟重14吨，高95米，钟盘直径7米，时针和分针长度分别为2.75米和4.27米，钟摆重305公斤，每走一小时，发出深沉而又铿锵的报时声。通过无线电，钟声远及世界各地。英国广播公司于1924年开始播放她的报时声，自此，大本钟已成为一个广播明星。

生词解析： 1. nickname n. 昵称；别称2. affiliated adj. 附属于……之上的3. westminster n. 威斯敏斯特 4. supervise v. 监督5. construction n. 建造；建筑物 6. hence adv. 因此；由此7. diameter n. 直径8. pendulum n. 钟摆 9. sonorous adj. 铿锵的；雄浑的

3. Stonehenge（巨石阵）

This is an ancient monument① of huge stone standing on the vast Salisbury plains in England has captured② our imaginations③ for centuries. It’s the most enigmatic④ pre-historic⑤ monument on earth. What makes the structure at Stonehenge unique is the fact that for the first time they’re shaping stones on a massive⑥ scale. Dating back as far as 2950 B.C., theories about who built Stonehenge have included the druids and the Greeks. Speculation⑦ as to its purpose, range from astronomy⑧ to a UFO landing site. Now a ruin⑨ with many of the original stones fallen or removed, this site Sun attracts nearly five thousand tourists everyday.

古老的巨石阵屹立在英格兰索尔兹伯里平原上,数世纪以来，她的丰姿赋予了我们丰富的想象力。她是地球上最神秘的史前遗迹。巨石阵是独一无二的，因为她是首次出现的最大规模的成形巨石。究竟是谁建造了巨石阵?这要追溯到公元前2950年，有两种说法：一种认为是特鲁伊特教的教徒,另一种说法则认为是希腊人。有关巨石阵作用的推测也是众说纷纭，上至天文学意义,下至不明飞行体的降落点,尚无定论。现在，尽管很多巨石已经倒塌，或被搬走，但是这古迹仍然吸引着每天近五千名观光游客。

生词解析：1. monument n. 遗迹；遗址2. capture v. 吸引，唤起3. imagination n. 想象力，想象4. enigmatic adj. 神秘的，费解的5. pre-historic adj. 史前的6. massive adj. 大规模的7. speculation n. 推测，猜测

8. astronomy n. 天文学9. ruin n. 毁坏，毁灭