Big Ben will fall silent next week for four years as "major conservation works" are carried out on the tower which houses the bell, UK Parliament announced Monday. 

 

英国国会周一宣布，由于大本钟所在的伊丽莎白塔开始大规模维修翻新，大本钟从下周起会停响，并且将“静音”四年。
 

 

The chimes emanating¹ from the bell, one of London's most famous attractions, have kept time in the British capital for 157 years. 

 

At noon on Monday, August 21, Big Ben will sound for the last time until 2021. 

 

The repairs are estimated to cost around £29 million, or more than $42 million. 

 

"Big Ben falling silent is a significant milestone² in this crucial conservation project. This essential programme of works will safeguard the clock on a long term basis, as well as protecting and preserving its home," Keeper of the Great Clock, Steve Jaggs, said in a statement. 

 

Big Ben is the name of the bell inside the tower (St. Stephen's Tower, renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012), and not the building or the clock (simply known as the Great Clock) itself.

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