il Giardino Romantico

The Mandarin nickname of Big Ben, if translated back to English, means 'Big Clumsy Clock'（大笨鐘）. When I was still teaching English to young scholars, I once had a student named 'Ben', and his fellow classmates often teased him about his name (phonetically sounding similar to 笨 = clumsy) Personally, I think it's a rather cute translation of its nickname, and quite aptly named as well. However, few people know the origin of the 'Ben' part of the name. 

大笨鐘的英文其實是『大班』（班傑明的班）。不過中文念起來真的挺像『笨』的。所以以前在教兒童美語的時候就鬧了個笑話：班上的Ben常常就被大家捉弄。其實我覺得這個翻譯的挺可愛的，也挺適合的。不過有多少人知道原文中『Ben』的緣由呢？



One of the more credible theories of its nickname is that it was named after Benjamin Hall, whose name is inscribed on the bell. Another theory is that it was named after a heavyweight boxer Benjamin Caunt. Personally, I find the Benjamin Hall story more plausible. What do you think?

其實緣由的說法也很多。不過我個人覺得最能讓我採信的就是它其實是為了紀念一位叫做Benjamin Hall。因為據說他的名字就刻在鐘上頭。另外一個說法就是這Ben的由來是因為一個重量級的拳擊手Benjamin Caunt... 



Well, despite its various stories concerning the origin of its nickname, Big Ben is undoubtedly THE landmark of London. 

雖然大笨鐘的緣由說法不一，不過無疑他確實是倫敦最顯眼的地標啊！



In 2009, the clock celebrated its 150th Anniversary! 

在2009年大笨鐘已經150歲了呢！



Did you know that its full name is 'Clock Tower of Westminster Palace'?

你知道他的全名其實是『西敏皇宮鐘樓』嗎？


The silhouette of the palace and clock tower. 整棟建築的剪影～


View from the other side of the Thames. 從河的對岸看大笨鐘～


檢視較大的地圖

天仙念：所以說，大笨鐘哪裡笨了啊～～