【英语时差8,16】时间之谜--日历的产生

Early humans hunted animals and gathered wild plants. They moved in groups or tribes¹ from place to place in search of food. Then, people learned² to plant seeds and grow crops. They learned to use animals to help them work, and for food. They found they no longer needed to move from one place to another to survive. As farmers, however, they had to plant crops in time to harvest them before winter. They had to know when the seasons would change. So, they developed calendars. When people started farming³, the wise men of the tribes became very important. They studied the sky. They gathered enough information so they could know when the seasons would change. They announced when it was time to plant crops. The divisions⁴ of time we use today were developed in ancient Babylonia four-thousand years ago. Babylonian astronomers⁵ believed the sun moved around the Earth every three-hundred-sixty-five days. They divided the trip into twelve equal parts, or months. Each month was thirty days. Then, they divided each day into twenty-four equal parts, or hours. They divided each hour into sixty minutes, and each minute into sixty seconds.

1 tribes   

n.部落( tribe的名词复数 )；（动、植物的）族；（一）帮；大群

参考例句：

• tribes living in remote areas of the Amazonian rainforest 居住在亚马孙河雨林偏远地区的部落
• In Africa the snake is still sacred with many tribes. 非洲许多部落仍认为蛇是不可冒犯的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

3 farming   

n.农事；耕作

参考例句：

• He lives by farming.他靠务农过活。
• He is farming in Africa.他在非洲经营农场。

4 divisions   

n.分开( division的名词复数 )；分界线；分歧；分离

参考例句：

• The country's political divisions are deep-seated. 这个国家的政治分歧根深蒂固。
• The country's political divisions are deep-seated. 这个国家的政治分歧根深蒂固。

5 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》