新西兰英语 532 Samoa first in the world

 　　Samoa is moving the International Date Line and will become the first country in the world to receive the sun instead of the last one. When you cross the International Date Line going east, you go back one day. When you cross going west, you add another day.

　　Samoa is situated¹ around 171 degrees latitude² in the Western Hemisphere³. The International Date Line follows 180 degrees, but not exactly. It bends a little in places.

　　Samoa used to be the first country to receive the sun but in 1892, it changed because it traded with Europe and the US in those days. These days, Samoa trades mostly with Australia and New Zealand. The problem is that when it is Monday in Australia and New Zealand, it is Sunday in Samoa and most Samoans are in church. It is hard for them to do business on that day. When it is Friday in Samoa, it is Saturday in Australia and New Zealand when most businesses are closed. This will change tomorrow – Friday. There will be no Friday. Instead it will be Saturday, the last day of 2011. Perhaps they want to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

　　However, American Samoa, which is east of Samoa, will not change. It will be a day behind.

　　In 2009, Samoa changed from driving on the right like the US and Europe, to driving on the left like Australia and New Zealand. The change did not cause too many problems. Listen to September 7th 2009 to hear more about this change.

　　Grammar

　　used to – Samoa used to be …but

　　“Used to” is used for something that happened in the past but not today. It is often followed by “but” e.g. I used to go to X school but now I go to Y school; I used to play the piano but now I don’t. Can you make your own sentences using “used to … but”?

　　Vocabulary

　　around 171 degrees – about, approximately⁵, close to

　　latitude – lines running north and south of the globe. Longitude⁶ is the word for lines running east to west.

　　bend – not straight

　　hemisphere – half a sphere⁴; a ball is a sphere, the earth is a sphere. It is more common to talk about the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere because the equator⁷ is the middle point. The Western Hemisphere starts at Greenwich in England and includes all the area east of that point to about 180 degrees latitude.

1 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

2 latitude   

n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区

参考例句：

• The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.该岛的纬度是南纬20度。
• The two cities are at approximately the same latitude.这两个城市差不多位于同一纬度上。

3 hemisphere   

n.半球，半球地图

参考例句：

• This animal is to be found only in the Southern Hemisphere.这种动物只有在南半球才能找到。
• In most people,the left hemisphere is bigger than the right.多数人的左脑比右脑大。

4 sphere   

adj.球体的；n.范围，领域；球，球体

参考例句：

• The Earth is not a perfect sphere.地球并不是一个完全的球体。
• I feel I have been accepted as a leader in the international sphere.我觉得人们已经承认我是国际事务中的一个领导人了。

5 approximately   

adv.大约，大致，近乎

参考例句：

• Our English teacher is approximately in her forties.我们英语老师有40岁模样。
• There are approximately one million people in the city.全市人口估计大约有一百万。

6 longitude   

n.经线，经度

参考例句：

• The city is at longitude 21°east.这个城市位于东经21度。
• He noted the latitude and longitude,then made a mark on the admiralty chart.他记下纬度和经度，然后在航海图上做了个标记。

7 equator   

n.赤道，（平分球形物体的面的）圆

参考例句：

• Singapore is near the equator.新加坡位于赤道附近。
• The United States is north of the equator.美国位于赤道以北。