關於每天必讀英語短文

　　英語學習在我國已轟轟烈烈地開展了幾十年。英語學習書籍各種各樣。從小學,初中,高中到大學不斷貫徹英語教學,可以說英語學習已成為一個熱門話題。小編精心收集了，供大家欣賞學習!

　　：The Big Ben Clock

　　大本鐘

　　The Big Ben is located in the tower at the eastern end of the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, Greater London. It was designed by Edmund Beckett and Baron Grimthorpe.

　　大本鐘在倫敦威斯敏斯特英自治領會議院的最東邊。它的設計者是埃德蒙·貝克特和拜倫·格里姆索普。

　　The Big Ben is very famous throughout the world, but nobody really knows why it is called Big Ben. There are two hearsays about this. Some people say that it was named after Benjamin Caunt, a boxer, who was called Big Ben. More people believe it was called after Welshman, Sir Benjamin Hall. He was the commissioner of the work at the time of its installation in 1859.

　　大本鐘在世界上家喻戶曉，但實際上沒有多少人知道為何它叫大本鐘。關於這個問題有兩個傳言：有人認為它是從一個叫做本傑明·考特的拳擊家而來。更多人認為它以一個威爾士人——本傑明·霍爾先生的名字命名的。他是安裝工程的監督者。

　　A story was told that during a debate in the Commons on what to call the bell, Sir Benjamin was about to give his ideas when a MP who sat behind the front bench shouted, "Let's call it Big Ben!" Then this name came into being.

　　在經過在下議院討論中應該叫什麼名字後，本傑明先生準備給出結果時，一位在前凳後的國會議員喊道：“我們叫它‘大本’吧!”於是這個名字就誕生了。

　　The bell hasn't gone through a smooth road since the beginning of its design. Because there was great disagreement about the design of the clock, it took fifteen years to build. In 1857, the bell was completed and tested on the ground, but a four-foot crack appeared and the bell had to be cast again. Finally, the clock started ticking on 31 May, 1859, and struck its first chime on 11, July.

　　從大本鐘的設計到建造結束，這個鍾誕生的道路就荊棘滿途。因為當時關於這個鐘的設計大家有著很大的分歧，建造它就用了15年。1857年，大本鐘完工，並在地上做了測試。但是當鍾要掛上去時，4尺長的裂縫就出現了。1859年5月31日，大鐘的指標終於開始移動並在7月11日進行了它的第一次報時。

　　Then in September, the bell cracked again. It was silent for four years but was eventually turned a quarter of a revolution. In this way, the crack was not under the striking hammer. Craftsmen made a square above the crack to stop it graving longer and it can still be seen today.

　　然而在九月份的時候，鍾又裂開了。它沉靜了四年，直到在革命後裂縫終於被轉了一個角。這樣，裂縫就不在敲鐘槌的下面。工匠在裂縫上做了一個方框，以此來阻止裂縫的延長，所以現在我們還能看到它。

　　The Big Ben is famous not only for its 13-ton weight, but also for its accuracy which is a result of its precise mechanism. Even one extra penny's weight on the balance will cause a gain of two fifths of a second in twenty four hours. Although there have been several problem, the bell is still striking today. Its chimes can be heard all over the world on the B.B.C.

　　大本鐘聞名全球不僅僅因為它的13噸重量，還因為它的精準——那是因為它嚴謹的機械結構。在平衡上增添額外的一便士重量都會造成每24小時多五分之二秒的後果。儘管有過幾次故障，直到今天大鐘仍然在報時。它的鐘鳴會通過B.B.C.廣播電臺傳遍全球。

　　：Cairo

　　開羅

　　Few other countries are so dominated by their capital: for Egyptians to speak of one is to speak of the other. The "Mother of the World" nurtures more than 16 million Egyptians, Arabs, Africans and sundry international hangers-on in a collision of East and West, old and new, African and Arabic.

　　很少有其他國家的首都是像開羅這樣佔據著國家大部分的資本：開羅就是埃及的代名詞。對於埃及人來說，兩者的意義是等同的。有“世界母親”之稱的埃及培育了超過1,600萬人口，包括埃及人、阿拉伯人、非洲人和其他人種。各種各樣的碰撞在這裡發生，東與西，新與舊，非洲和阿拉伯。

　　She's overburdened with one of the world's highest population densities, which makes for a seething mass of people, buildings and cacophonous traffic.

　　作為世界上人口密度最高的國家，埃及不堪重負，這些造就了這裡複雜的人口、建築以及嘈雜的交通環境。

　　Cairo has been the heart of Egypt for more than 1,000 years. Here the medieval world and the contemporary Western world clash in a confusion of mud-brick houses and towering modern office buildings, of flashy cars and donkey-drawn carts.

　　開羅成為埃及的心臟已經超過1,000年。這裡是中世紀世界和當代西方世界衝突的集中體現。泥磚屋的混亂和高聳的現代化辦公大樓、遲鈍的驢車和浮華小車都形成鮮明的對比。

　　Cairenes see nothing strange in this. They aren't driven by the Western obsession to update and upgrade. The resulting pervasive sense of timelessness is one of the city's great charms. At the end of the day, it's a city travelers either love or hate; few come away indifferent.

　　但在開羅人眼裡，這些都不足為奇。他們不是痴迷於西方世界的更新和升級。由此普遍產生的永恆感是這個城市的巨大魅力之一。一天下來，要麼喜歡這裡要麼討厭這裡，很少有旅客對這裡的一切無動於衷。

　　Finding your way about Cairo's vast sprawl is not as difficult as it may seem. Midan Tahrir is at the center. Northeast of Tahrir and centered on Sharia Talaat Harb is Downtown, a bustling commercial district.

　　尋找你對開羅的巨大張力的方式並不是像看起來那麼困難。塔利爾是在中心。東北塔利爾和沙里亞·塔拉特·哈布為中心城區，是一個繁華的商業區。

　　The city' main train station at Midan Ramses marks Downtown's northernmost extent. Heading east, Downtown ends at Midan Ataba and the old medieval heart of the city known as Islamic Cairo takes over.

　　米丹·拉美西斯火車站是市區的最北端。向東，市區結束於米丹·阿塔巴，這裡是中世界的中心，之後被伊斯蘭開羅接管。

　　Bordering Downtown to the west is the Nile River, which is obstructed by two sizeable islands. The more central of these, connected directly to Downtown by three bridges, is Gezira, home to the Cairo Tower and the Opera House complex.

　　市區的西面是尼羅河，它被兩個相當大的島阻礙著。這裡是更加中央的位置，其中三座橋直接連線到市中心，是吉齊拉，也是開羅塔河複雜的開羅歌劇院的地址所在。

　　The west bank of the Nile is less historical and much more residential. The primary districts are Mohandiseen, Agouza, Doqqi and Giza, all of which are light on charm and heavy on concrete. Giza covers by far the largest area of the four, stretching some 20km ***12.4mi*** west on either side of the long, straight road that ends at the foot of the Pyramids.

　　尼羅河西岸有著更短的和少得多的住宅。主要地區是Mohandiseen, Agouza, Doqqi和吉薩，所有這些都帶著明亮、深層的魅力。吉薩到目前為止，包括四大領域，在長直路的兩側向西延伸20千米，一直伸展到金字塔的腳下。

　　：全世界的奇特婚禮習俗

　　Early African American: Jumping the Broom. In the times of slavery in this country, African American couples were not allowed to formally marry and live together. To make a public declaration of their love and commitment, a man and woman jumped over a broom into matrimony, to the beat of drums. The broom has long held significant meaning for the various Africans, symbolizing, the start of home - making for the newlywed couple. In Southern Africa, the day after the wedding, the bride assisted the other women in the family in sweeping the courtyard, indicating her dutiful willing ness to help her in-laws with housework till the newlyweds could move to their new home. Some African-American couples today are choosing to include this symbolic rite in their wedding ceremony.

　　早期非洲裔美國人：跳掃帚在美國的黑奴時代，黑人男女是不允許正式結婚生活在一起的。為了向世人宣佈他們的愛情和婚約，一對黑人男女和著鼓聲的節奏，一起跳過一把掃帚。***掃帚對各種非洲人長期來都具有很重要的意義，因為它意味著新婚夫婦組成家庭的開始。在南部非洲，新娘在婚後的第一天要幫助夫家的其他女性清掃院子，以此表明在住進自己的新家前，她願意盡職地幫助丈夫的家人承擔家務勞動。***直至今日，一些美國黑人還在他們的婚禮上舉行這種象徵性的儀式。

　　Armenia: Two white doves may be released to signify love and happiness. The bride may dress in red silk and may wear cardboard wings with feathers on her head. Small coins may be thrown at her.

　　亞美尼亞：人們放飛兩隻白鴿，以示愛情和幸福。新娘穿著紅色絲綢的服裝，頭戴飾有羽毛的紙翼。人們還可向新娘投擲硬幣。

　　Bermuda: Islanders top their tiered wedding cakes with a tiny sapling. The newlyweds plant the tree at their home, where they can watch it grow, as their marriage grows.

　　百慕大：百慕大島民在他們的多層婚禮蛋糕的頂層插上一株小樹苗，新婚夫婦要將這株樹苗種在家中，這樣他們可以目睹樹苗伴隨著他們的婚姻一起長大。

　　Bohemia: The groom gives the bride a rosary, a prayer book, a girdle with three keys to guard her virtue, a fur cap, and a silver wedding ring. The bride gives the groom a shirt sewn with gold thread blended with colored silks and a wedding ring. Before the ceremony, the groomsman wraps the groom in the bride's cloak to keep evil spirits from creeping in and dividing their two hearts.

　　波黑人：新郎向新娘贈送一串念珠，一本祈禱文，一根上面串著三把鑰匙的腰帶***用以保護她的貞潔***，一頂毛皮帽，一個銀的結婚戒指。新娘則向新郎贈送一件用金線和彩色絲綢縫製的襯衣和結婚戒指。婚禮前，伴郎將新郎裹進新娘的斗篷裡，以防惡魔侵入，拆散他們相愛的心。

　　Caribbean: A rich black cake baked with dried fruits and rum is especially popular on the islands of Barbados, Grenada and St. Lucia. The recipe, handed down from mother to daughter. It is considered a "pound" cake with the recipe calling for a pound each of flour, dark brown sugar, butter, cherries, raisins, plus a dozen eggs and flavorings. The dried fruits are soaked in rum and kept in a crock anywhere from two weeks to six months.

　　加勒比地區：在巴貝多，格瑞那達和聖露西亞，用乾果和朗姆酒製作的味道濃郁的蛋糕十分常見。蛋糕的製作方法，由母親親手傳給女兒，並且各自對其加以修飾。人們把這種蛋糕叫作“一磅”蛋糕，因為製作這種蛋糕需要麵粉、棕糖、黃油、糖霜櫻桃、葡萄乾、李子、紅醋栗各一磅，加上一打雞蛋和調味品。製作蛋糕的乾果要在朗姆酒中浸泡並在瓦罐中儲存兩個星期至6個月。

　　Czech: Friends would sneak into the bride's yard to plant a tree, then decorate it with ribbons and painted eggshells. Legend said she would live as long as the tree. Brides in the countryside carry on the very old custom of wearing a wreath of rosemary, which symbolizes remembrance. The wreath is woven for each bride on her wedding eve by her friends as a wish for wisdom, love, and loyalty.

　　捷克共和國：朋友們溜進新娘的院子去種一棵樹，然後再用綵帶和彩繪的蛋殼將樹加以裝飾。傳說新娘將與這樹活得一樣長。鄉村的新娘還保留著佩帶迷迭香花環的古老習俗，以表懷念之情。花環是在婚禮前夕由新娘的朋友編織而成，它象徵著智慧、愛情和忠誠。

　　Egypt: Families, rather than grooms, propose to the bride. In Egypt, many marriages are arranged. The zaffa, or wedding march, is a musical procession of drums, bagpipes, horns, belly dancers, and men carrying flaming swords. It announces that the marriage is about to begin.

　　埃及：在埃及，由新郎的家人，而不是新郎本人，向新娘求婚。許多婚姻還是父母之命，媒妁之言。Zaffa，也就是婚禮，其實是一個充滿音樂的列隊遊行，有鼓、風笛、號角及肚皮舞，男人們手持火紅的劍。這個儀式宣告，婚姻即將開始。

　　England: Traditionally, the village bride and her wedding party always walk together to the church. Leading the procession: a small girl strewing, blossoms along the road, so the bride's path through life will always be happy and laden with flowers.

　　英格蘭：按照傳統，鄉村的新娘和參加婚禮的人們總是一起步行走向教堂。一個小姑娘走在佇列最前面，她一路拋撒鮮花，預示著新娘一生的道路上也將開滿鮮花，永遠幸福。