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
52
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
Mechanical clocks / watches.
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/eCWd777K
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.
Answerquestionsbyreferringtothefollowingintroductionsof3coursebooksforreadingcomprehension.A=DevelopingRea
______caresmostaboutpoliticsandsocialproblems?______wasfirstplayedmostlyfordancingthenforlistening?
Atwhattimeoftheyeardoesthisinterviewtakeplace?
Theauthormentionsthatshehashadtodeveloptimemanagementskills.Oldparent-studentsaregoodlisteners,midwaybetween
Somepeoplebelievethatinternationalsportcreatesgoodwill(31)thenationsandthatifcountriesplay(32)togethertheywil
Accordingtothepassage,whatdistinguishesmanypresent-daytheatersfromthosebuiltpriortothenineteenthcentury?Whywa
Somechoicesmayberequiredmorethanonce.SectionAChangecanbeablessingoracurse,dependingonyourperspecti
WhoisJacques1Lalonde?
WhoisJacquesLalonde?
随机试题
腹股沟疝修补术属于
女,15岁,1年前前牙碰伤未治,近3日牙龈肿痛不能咬物。查牙冠近中切角折断,牙冠变黑,叩痛(++),I°松动,唇侧牙龈红肿,该患牙应诊断为()
医疗机构根据医疗需要可以决定或推荐使用()
贾某在抢劫于某的过程中见于某拼命反抗,用刀猛刺了于某一刀,于某大声呼救,贾某怕罪行暴露,遂弃刀逃跑。于某被刺成重伤。贾某的行为构成:
以下属于安全生产相关法律的是()。
Mostparentsprizethediversitywithintheirchildren’spublicschools.Theyknowthatlearningtocooperateandexcelinadiv
请将图4-15中各实体之间的联系补充完整。根据问题1所完成的实体—联系图,完成(1)空缺处的商品关系模式,以及新增加子类型的实体关系模式。
E-R模型向关系模型转换,一个N:M的联系转换成一个关系模式时,该关系模式的主键是()。
[A]classified[B]conducted[C]dieting[D]earlier[E]later[F]less[G]life[H]linked[I]obese[J]observational
Caffeineisadrugthatisnaturallyproducedintheleavesandseedsofmanyplants.It’salsoproduced【S1】______andaddedto
最新回复
(
0
)