Englischverständnis für fortgeschrittene Anfänger – Buch 1

to the Palace of Westminster. Today the name Big Ben refers to the bell, the clock and the tower itself. Furthermore, on September 12, 2012, the tower was officially renamed Elizabeth Tower to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. 
    The neo-Gothic tower was constructed after a large part of old palace of Westminster palace burned down on October 16, 1834. Charles Barry and his assistant Augustus Pugin were the architects responsible for design of the new building. However, it was Augustus Pugin who designed the clock tower, which resembles his earlier designs (such as Scarisbrick Hall). The reconstruction lasted until 1858.
    Despite being one of the world's most famous tourist attractions, the interior of the tower is not open to foreign visitors. However, UK residents can organise tours by contacting their MP (Member of Parliament). If someone is lucky enough to arrange a visit, they need to be fit as the tower has no lift (‘elevator’ in American English). They must climb the 334 stairs to the top!
    Nobody is certain where the nickname ‘Big Ben’ comes from. Some people believe that the first time the nickname was used, it referred to Sir Benjamin Hall, who had installed the great bell. However, other people believe that it is named after the English boxing heavyweight champion Benjamin Caunt.
    ‘Big Ben’ has appeared in many films. One very famous film was the 1978 version of ‘The Thirty Nine Steps’. In this film, a bomb has been linked to the clock hands. The hero Richard Hannay tries to stop the clock's hands by hanging from one of them. It is an extremely exciting scene.
    In ‘Thunderball’, the fourth James Bond film, a criminal organisation called SPECTRE waits for a chime of Big Ben. This is the signal that the British Government has agreed to its demands . More recently, ‘Big Ben’ appeared in the film ‘Shanghai Knights’ starring Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson. In the popular Sci-Fi show ‘Dr Who’, the tower was partly destroyed in the episode ‘Aliens of London’.
    In 2008 a survey of 2000 people found that the tower was the most popular landmark in the United Kingdom. Many great changes have taken place since it was first constructed and it has observed them all, an unchanging symbol of London.
    Click on this link to see a short presentation about Big Ben.
     
    Glossary
    chimes - the sound made by clocks, from the verb ‘to chime’. Glockenspiel, Glockenschlag
    a must - something you must do. Muss
    unaware - ‘to be unaware’ is to not know something. sich einer Sache nicht bewusst sein
    referred to - ‘to refer to’, to speak of, be the name of. sich beziehen auf
    Diamond Jubilee – a celebration of sixty years as queen. Diamentenes Jubiläum
    constructed - ‘to construct’, to build. konstruieren, bauen
    resembles - ‘to resemble’, to look like, to be similar to. ähneln
    to be fit - to be healthy, in good physical shape. fit sein
    nickname - a familiar or humorous name given to a person or thing instead of or as well as the real name. Spitzname
    demands - a demand is a strong request. Forderungen
    observed -‘to observe’, to watch, see. überwachen
     
    Questions about the text
    1. Which boxer is mentioned in the text?
    2. Can foreign tourists go inside Big Ben?
    3. In which TV programme was the tower of Big Ben partly damaged?
    4. Who designed the clock tower?
    5. Why would a person need to be healthy to go to the top of Big Ben?
    6. When did a fire destroy part of the old palace of Westminster?
    7. What did Sir Benjamin Hall do?
    8. In which film is a bomb linked to the hands of Big Ben?
    9. How can a UK resident go inside Big Ben?
    10. Who was Charles Barry?
    Click here to check your answers.

The Maya Civilisation
     

    © Filtv | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images
     
    The Maya people were an ancient civilisation and they lived in the area that is modern day Mexico, between approximately 2000 BC and 1600 AD. Many people have heard of them due to their prediction that the world was going to end on December 21st, in the Year 2012 (thankfully this didn’t happen!).
    The Maya invented the most advanced form of writing in the ancient Americas. It is often referred to as hieroglyphics and this is because it looks like Ancient Egyptian writing. It is the only known writing system of the Pre-Columbian New World, which represents a spoken language. Altogether, the system has more than one thousand different glyphs. A glyph is a picture or a