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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
It was in 1918 during the First World War, that the U.S. followed Germany and then Britain in observing daylight-saving time.
There's a bit of controversy1 surrounding who first proposed daylight-saving time. Some credit U.S. founding father Ben Franklin when he wrote about a schedule switch in an essay. A New Zealand entomologist named George Hudson purposed a time shift in 1895. And William Willet, the great-great grandfather of Coldplay's lead singer, also gets credit, as you're about to hear, for daylight-saving time. But regardless of who's to thank or to blame for it, it's been observed by several countries since the First World War, and getting rid of it, at least in the U.S. would take an act of Congress.
JIM BOLDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was a war where every hour counted. On the battlefield and on the home front. By 1916, an old idea had resurfaced, one that was born in Britain near the home of time, the Royal Observatory2 at Greenwich.
DR. LOUISE DEVOY: With the publication of a pamphlet called "The Wasted Daylight". And this was composed by a very entrepreneurial builder called William Willett. He lived in Chislehurst which is about 15 kilometers south of Greenwich. And Willet was a keen horse rider and he used to go for early morning rides in the local woods. And it was on one of his rides that he noticed that all the blinds in the local houses were all down. Eeveryone seemed to be in bed. And as a very industrious3 and productive man, he was appalled4 at this waste of time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Everyone appreciates the long light evenings. Everyone laments5 their shrinkage as the days grow shorter. And nearly everyone has given utterance6 to a regret that the clear bright light of early mornings during spring and summer months is so seldom seen or used. Now, if some of the hours of wasted sunlight could be withdrawn7 from the beginning and added to the end of the day, how many advantages would be gained by all?"
BOLDEN: Willet died before he saw his idea put into action, to save coal for the war effort. But it was adopted at first by the Germans, not the British. Post cards warn the population about the shift, and why they owed it to their country not to forget. The British followed a few weeks later and didn't miss a chance for a dig at the Germans. America came on board in 1918. As DST spread around the world, countries adopted it, dumped it or never tried it.
Still, the daylight debate rages every year. The arguments exist whether it helps or harms our health and the economy. While the war time wisdom of saving energy may no longer apply, for many of us, the long summer evenings still endure. The legacy8 of a war where so much was lost to give us these freedoms. Jim Bolden, CNN, London.
1 controversy | |
n.争论,辩论,争吵 | |
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2 observatory | |
n.天文台,气象台,瞭望台,观测台 | |
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3 industrious | |
adj.勤劳的,刻苦的,奋发的 | |
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4 appalled | |
v.使惊骇,使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的;丧胆的 | |
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5 laments | |
n.悲恸,哀歌,挽歌( lament的名词复数 )v.(为…)哀悼,痛哭,悲伤( lament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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6 utterance | |
n.用言语表达,话语,言语 | |
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7 withdrawn | |
vt.收回;使退出;vi.撤退,退出 | |
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8 legacy | |
n.遗产,遗赠;先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
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