NEWS · B2 Level - Part 7

[Did You Know] The Tower Bridge

Did you know Britain's most famous bridge is actually not called the London Bridge? It's called the Tower Bridge.

Level: B2 · 20 sentences

Transcript

  1. Did you know Britain's most famous bridge is actually not called the London Bridge?
  2. It's called the Tower Bridge.
  3. The original London Bridge isn't even in London.
  4. It was moved brick by brick to Arizona in the 1960s.
  5. Two local architects began construction on the bridge April 22nd, 1886,
  6. and it opened in 1894.
  7. Around 31 million bricks were used to construct the bridge,
  8. which ended up costing 1 million pounds.
  9. That would have been about 166 million pounds today.
  10. Tower Bridge is a bascule bridge from the French word from seesaw or balance.
  11. Instead of using ropes or chains like a typical drawbridge,
  12. the bascules that made up sections of the road move like two giant seesaws.
  13. The sections pivot the bridge open and close, allowing boats to pass through.
  14. Until 1976, the bascules were operated by hydraulics
  15. using steam to power the enormous pumping engines.
  16. Today, the bascules are operated by oil and electricity driven by hydraulic power instead of steam.
  17. It takes 206 steps to reach the top of the bridge.
  18. Once there, you could walk between the two towers on a glass floor.
  19. This addition came in 2014 so that visitors can test their courage
  20. and snap some pictures of the River below.