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London's Big Ben celebrates the 150th anniversary of its first chiming on Saturday.
The Great Bell, housed in Saint Stephen's Tower which adjoins the House of Commons, first struck the hour on July 11, 1859, and has been interrupted only occasionally for maintenance and bad weather ever since.
To mark the anniversary, the message "Happy Birthday Big Ben, 150 years, 1859 - 2009" will be projected on the tower.
These days, the name Big Ben is frequently used to describe the tower, one of the capital's most photographed sites, but the nickname was first given to the bell alone.
The origin of the name is thought to come from Sir Benjamin Hall, the First Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings, whose name is inscribed on the bell.
Mike McCann, Keeper of the Great Clock, said: "After 150 years, Big Ben still holds a special place in the hearts of Londoners and the world as a magnificent example of engineering and building genius."
The 96-metre (315-foot) high tower which houses the clock was built as part of the rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament by architects Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin following a major fire in 1843.
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(Agencies)
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倫敦大本鐘于上周六迎來了它首次報時以來的第150個生日。
大本鐘坐落在英國國會下議院所在地附近的圣斯蒂芬鐘樓上。自1859年7月11日首次報時以來，大本鐘僅在維修或天氣惡劣時才偶爾暫停運轉。
為了紀念大本鐘的生日，“大本鐘150歲生日快樂！1859年－2009年”的字樣將通過投影顯示在鐘樓上。
如今，大本鐘這個名字常用來指整個鐘樓，這里也是倫敦曝光率最高的景點之一，其實最初這個昵稱只是給鐘本身起的名字。
據稱，大本鐘這個名字是由英國前任勞工和建筑首席專員本杰明?霍爾爵士起的，他的名字就刻在大本鐘上。
守鐘人邁克?麥卡恩說：“大本鐘已經150歲了，但它作為機械和建筑杰作的典范，仍然在倫敦和世界人民心中占據著特殊的地位?！?/font>
在1843年的一場大火之后，作為重建英國國會大廈的一部分，建筑師查理斯?巴雷和奧古斯塔斯?帕金共同設計了這座96米（合315英尺）高的鐘樓，而大本鐘就在鐘樓之上。
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（英語點津 許雅寧編輯）
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