首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
You will hear an interview with Dr. John Smith, a senior lecturer of astronomy at Westminster University, on the human history o
You will hear an interview with Dr. John Smith, a senior lecturer of astronomy at Westminster University, on the human history o
admin
2019-08-17
51
问题
You will hear an interview with Dr. John Smith, a senior lecturer of astronomy at Westminster University, on the human history of recording time. As you listen, answer the questions or complete the notes in your test booklet for Questions 21 to 30 by writing no more than three words in the space provided on the right. You will hear the interview twice. You now have 1 minute to read Questions 21 to 30.
You will hear an interview with Dr. John Smith, a senior lecturer of astronomy at Westminster University, on the human history of recording time.
As you listen,answer the questions or complete the notes in your test booklet for Questions 21 to 30 by writing not more than three words in the space provided on the right.
You will hear the interview twice.
You now have 1 minute to read Questions 21 to 30.
W: Dr. Smith, How did early humans start to note, or record the passing of time?
M: Well, this is a long story. No one knows what time itself is. But we can notice its passing in a number of ways. In early human history, the only changes that seemed to repeat themselves evenly were the movements of objects in the sky. The most easily seen result of these movements was the difference between light and darkness. The sun rises in the eastern sky, producing light. It moves across the sky and sinks in the west, causing darkness. The periods of light and darkness it created were the first accepted periods of time. We have named each period of light and darkness——one day. People saw the sun rise higher in the sky during the summer than in winter. They counted the days that passed from the sun’s highest position until it returned to that position. They counted 365 days. We now know that is the time Earth takes to move once around the sun. We call this period of time a year.
W: I am sure the moon was also very important to our ancestors.
M: Yes, of course. Early humans also developed a way to use the changing faces of the moon to tell the time. The moon was “full” when its face was bright and round. The early humans counted the number of times the sun appeared between full moons. They learned that this number always remained the same— about 29 suns. 29 suns equaled one moon. We now know this period of time as one month. As early humans learned to plant seeds and grow crops, they had to know when the seasons would change. So, they developed calendars. No one knows when the first calendar was developed. But it seems possible that it was based on moons, or lunar months. The divisions of time we use today were developed in ancient Babylonia 4000 years ago. Babylonian astronomers believed the sun moved around the Earth every 365 days. They divided the trip into twelve equal parts, or months. Each month was thirty days. Then, they divided each day into 24 equal parts, or hours. They divided each hour into sixty minutes, and each minute into 60 seconds. Humans have used many devices to measure time. The sundial was one of the earliest and simplest. A sundial measures the movement of the sun across the sky each day. It has a stick or other object that rises above a flat surface. The stick, blocking sunlight, creates a shadow. As the sun moves,so does the shadow of the stick across the flat surface. Marks on the surface show the passing of hours, and perhaps, minutes.
W: But the sundial works well only when the sun is shining. So, what are the other ways to measure the passing of time?
M; Of course. One device is the hourglass. It uses a thin stream of falling sand to measure time. The hourglass is shaped like the number eight wide at the top and bottom, but very thin in the middle. In a true “hour” glass,it takes exactly one hour for all the sand to drop from the top to the bottom through a very small opening in the middle. When the hourglass is turned with the upside down, it begins to mark the passing of another hour. By the 18th century, people had developed mechanical clocks and watches. And today, many of our clocks and watches are electronic. So, we have devices to mark the passing of time. But what time is it now? Clocks in different parts of the world do not show the same time at the same time. This is because time on Earth is set by the sun’s position in the sky above. As international communications and travel increased, it became clear that it would be necessary to establish a common time for all parts of the world. In 1884, an international conference divided the world into 24 time areas, or zones. Each zone represents one hour. The astronomical observatory in Greenwich, England, was chosen as the starting point for the time zones. Twelve zones are west of Greenwich. Twelve are east. The time at Greenwich—as measured by the sun—is called Universal Time. For many years it was called Greenwich Mean Time.
W: That brings us to the modem time. Thanks very much, Dr. Smith.
选项
答案
365
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/4CWd777K
本试题收录于:
公共英语五级笔试题库公共英语(PETS)分类
0
公共英语五级笔试
公共英语(PETS)
相关试题推荐
Agoodbookmaydrawourattentionsocompletelythatweforgetoursurroundingsandevenouridentityforthetimebeing.
InJapanyoushouldholdabusinesscardwith______andreadthenameandriflecarefully.
InJapanyoushouldholdabusinesscardwith______andreadthenameandriflecarefully.
Answerquestionsbyreferringtothecommentson3differenttypesofmusicinthefollowingmagazinearticle.A=Country&
Somepeoplebelievethatinternationalsportcreatesgoodwill(31)thenationsandthatifcountriesplay(32)togethertheywil
Agoodbookmaydrawourattentionsocompletelythatweforgetoursurroundingsandevenouridentityforthetimebeing.
WithinamonthofmovingtoLondonfromLosAngelesinSeptember2002,JacobSagerWeinsteinstartedsendinglonge-mailstofam
Answerquestionsbyreferringtotheopinionsoffourdifferentpeoplewhoareaskedonlinetotalktoreviewspeedlimitsacro
Somechoicesmayberequiredmorethanonce.SectionAChangecanbeablessingoracurse,dependingonyourperspecti
Malelionsareratherreticentaboutexpendingtheirenergyinhunting—morethanthree-quartersofkillsaremadebylionesses.
随机试题
结石性胆囊炎临床症状明显者的根本治疗方法应用
有关锐利度和模糊度的叙述,错误的是
下列穴位中,可治疗痔疮的是
A.左侧卧位B.坐位身体前倾C.仰卧位D.右侧卧位E.从卧位或下蹲位迅速站立下列疾病,听诊时采用上述哪种呼吸或体位,杂音最清晰
背景资料:某大型水利水电工程由政府投资兴建。项目法人委托某招标代理公司代理施工招标。招标代理公司依据有关规定确定该项目采用公开招标方式招标,招标公告在当地政府规定的招标信息网上发布。招标文件中规定:投标担保可采用投标保证金或投标保函方式担保。评标方法采用
各相关机关和单位在实施工程建设强制性标准的监督管理中的作用是()。
按照《建设工程质量管理条例》的规定,( )单位不得转包或者违法分包工程项目。
下面是天津、上海、北京、重庆四城市某日的天气预报。已知四城市有三种天气情况,天津和北京的天气相同,上海和重庆当天都没有雨,那么,以下判断不正确的是( )
一只蚂蚁发现了一只死螳螂,立刻回洞找来10只蚂蚁搬,搬不动;然后每只蚂蚁回去各找来10只蚂蚁,还是搬不动;于是每只蚂蚁又回去找来10个伙伴,大家齐心协力,终于把死螳螂拖回洞里。问一共有多少只蚂蚁参加了搬运?
MeaninginLiteratureI.AUTHOR—Interpretauthor’sintendedmeaningbya)Readingotherworksby【T1】_____【T1】______b)Knowingc
最新回复
(
0
)