BBC都市掠影:Somerset House 萨默塞特宫

The script of this programme 本节目台词  

John: The sound of gushing water, but where am I? This is BBC Learning English with another edition of that programme where we visit the sights and taste the delights of London, this is On The Town.
Jean: 在我们今天的节目中，John 现在是正在伦敦市中心的萨默塞特宫和我一起为大家报道今天的热门话题Somerset House. John is at Somerset House at this very moment. John, what’s going on down there?

John: Well Jean, I’m sitting here in the sun enjoying the fountains here at Somerset House.

Jean: The fountains 喷泉 Sounds fun - but what exactly is Somerset House?

John: OK well I’ll keep the history brief. Well the building started out as a great Tudor Palace - that was in the 1500s. The house was built in 1547 for a great member of the aristocracy. By the 18th century the house became the home of some of Britain’s most influential and important societies, the Royal Academy of Arts, the Royal Society, and the Society of Antiquaries. It was also the home of the British Navy. Today it houses an amazing art gallery.

Jean: OK so the house started out as a great Tudor Palace, 当我们说什么东西 started out 意思就是某个东西的起源出处是什么 所以萨默塞特宫原来是一座巨大的都铎 duo 王朝的宫殿 不过那时早在15世纪 到了18世纪，这里就已经成为一些英国当时最重要的团体组织的总部，像英国皇家美术学院, The Royal Academy of Arts 英国皇家学会 The Royal Society 还有英国文物学会。这里还是英国海军的摇篮 the home to the British Navy. So what is Somerset House used for today John?

John: Well, today it's the home of a wonderful art gallery. It is called the Courtauld Institute.

Jean: OK John, at the beginning of the programme you mentioned the fountains that you can see at Somerset House, can you tell us a bit more about them?

John: Sure! Yes, the fountains have only been here a few years, and what’s special about them is that they simply come out of the ground in the middle of a large court yard! Now if you are standing in the court yard you could be caught unawares, and the fountain could spring up around or even underneath you if you are not careful! So I’m sitting here now and all of the fountains are very small at the moment, they are starting to rise higher, there are some children playing near them, and if they are not careful they’ll be blasted by one of the jets of water, because that’s what these fountains are really. Oh and there’s one of the children heading straight for one of the fountains right now!

Jean: So John, there’s nothing stopping anybody from jumping on any of the fountains.

John: Yes that’s right, and there’s lots of young people dashing in and out of the fountains when it's a hot day. It is quite a good way to cool off if you are hot!

Jean: Amazing. Well you’re listening to BBC Learning English time now to update you on what we’ve been talking about so far.