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  3. Way back in 1582, some Italian scientists noted, with dismay, that there was something very wrong with their calendar. Watching

Way back in 1582, some Italian scientists noted, with dismay, that there was something very wrong with their calendar. Watching

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问题     Way back in 1582, some Italian scientists noted, with dismay, that there was something very wrong with their calendar. Watching the position of the sun they knew that there was a certain spot on which the sun should shine on March 21, but it actually got there on March 11—ten days too soon.

    For some time it had been known that the calendar was running fast. Finally, Pope Gregory XIII was asked to make an official correction. The Pope agreed that the calendar had to be corrected, and that a better system had to be developed so that it would not run fast in the future.
    It was easy enough to drop ten days from the calendar to make it correct again with the sun. But, how was the calendar to be kept right in the future, year after year?
    The scientists figured one way, and then they figured another. But no matter how much mathematics they did, the answer never came out to an even figure. Finally, it was decided to continue counting every fourth year as a leap year (which the early Romans had introduced), but to skip every century year that cannot be divided by 400.
    For example, the year 1600 was a leap year because it can be divided equally by 400. But 1700 was not: neither was 1800, nor 1900. Is the year 2000 a leap year? Yes, because it can be divided by 400. By this rearrangement of the leap-year schedule the calendar was slowed down.
    This is the system we now use, and our calendar, named after the pope, is called the Gregorian calendar. Although it is not quite perfect (it is 26 seconds fast each year, according to sun time), it will be nearly three thousand years before our calendar will run fast by one whole day. So it won’t worry us, that’s for sure.
    Most countries now use Pope Gregory’s calendar, but it took a long time before many were willing to change their old-style calendars. It was not until 170 years later that the English government corrected its calendar. This was done in 1752, and by that time the calendar had to be set back by eleven whole days. The change was made in September so that the day after September 2 became September 14.
    Of course, some people got confused: some complained: and some were angry. Families who rented houses by the month, or people who had borrowed money on which they paid interest, grumbled that they had been cheated. They had to pay the full rate for a month that had been cut short by eleven days.
    The difficulty of getting accustomed to the new calendar was increased because, at the same time the eleven days were dropped, a new date was fixed for starting a new year. Instead of March 25, people were told that the new year would start on January 1.
    The dates for private celebrations, such as birthdays or anniversaries, also had to be adjusted according to the new-style calendar. Eleven days had to be added. For instance, George Washington’s birthday was February 11 according to the old-style calendar, but according to the new calendar it became February 22. Even today, the letters "0. S. " appear in many books after certain dates. George Washington’s birthday may be printed as February 22 (February 11, O. S.).
    Today, people seem to be content using the Gregorian calendar. There is talk, however, of a new World Calendar in which holidays would always be celebrated on the same day of the week. In order to do this, changes would have to be made in the number of days in each month - changes which most people would probably rather not make.
Questions 71 to 75
Complete the summary below with information from the passage, using no more than three words for each blank.
In 1582, 【R1】______cut down ten days to make an official calendar correction. The scientists decided to continue counting every fourth year as a leap year, but to skip every century year that cannot be divided by 【R2】______. But even the Gregorian calendar is not accurate because it is 26 seconds fast every year according to 【R3】______. In 1752, the English government made the calendar correction in the month of 【R4】______. Due to the changes in calendar, the shortened term "O. S. " , which stands for 【R5】______, appeared in many books. Today, people are happy with the Gregorian calendar, though a new World Calendar is being taken into consideration.
【R5】
选项
答案old style
解析 (O．S．指的是与新日历相对的old style calendar，即旧式日历，应用在了多本书中对人物生卒年的标记。)
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本试题收录于： B类竞赛（英语专业本科专科）题库大学生英语竞赛（NECCS）分类
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B类竞赛（英语专业本科专科）

大学生英语竞赛（NECCS）

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