【英语时差8,16】时间之谜--年、月的由来

People saw¹ the sun rise² higher in the sky during³ the summer than in winter. They counted the days that passed from the sun's highest position⁵ until⁶ it returned⁷ to that position. They counted three-hundred sixty-five days. We now know that is the time Earth⁸ takes to move once around the sun. We call this period⁹ of time a year. Early humans¹⁰ also noted¹¹ changes in the moon. As⁴ it moved across¹² the night sky, they must have wondered¹³. Why did¹⁴ it look different every night? Why did it disappear¹⁵? Where did it go? Even¹⁶ before they learned¹⁷ the answers to these questions, they developed¹⁸ a way to use the changing faces of the moon to tell time. The moon was¹⁹ "full" when its face was bright and round. The early humans counted the number of times the sun appeared²⁰ between full moons. They learned that this number always remained²¹ the same -- about twenty-nine suns. Twenty-nine suns equaled one moon. We now know this period of time as one month.

1 saw   

vbl.看见(see的过去式)；n.锯；v.用锯子锯

参考例句：

• Would you like to saw a tree for me?你能为我锯棵树吗？
• The moment I saw you,I knew you were angry with me.我一看到你，就知道你在生我的气。

2 rise   

v.(rose,risen)上升；升起；起床；起立

参考例句：

• The sun rises.太阳升起来。
• I always rise with the bell.我总是听到铃声就起床。

3 during   

prep.在…期间，在…时候

参考例句：

• What did you do with yourself during the summer holidays?暑假你是怎样度过的？
• London is full of visitors during May and June.五六月间伦敦挤满了游客。

4 as   

conj.按照；如同

参考例句：

• He got work in a hotel as a waiter.他在一家旅馆找到了当服务生的工作。
• In the hotel,the old men were drinking away as usual.在旅馆里，这些老人和往常一样喝个不停。

5 position   

n.位置，职位；状态，立场；vt.安置，决定...的位置

参考例句：

• He is the only possible man for the position.他是担任该职务的惟一合适人选。
• You don't understand what a difficult position I'm in.你不会明白我的处境多么困难。

6 until   

prep.直到...为止；conj.直到...时才...

参考例句：

• He arrived home until midnight.他直到半夜才到家。
• She didn't sleep until midnight.她直到半夜才睡。

7 returned   

adj.被送回的，归来的v.返回，回来( return的过去式和过去分词 )；恢复；还；归还

参考例句：

• He resigned as Home Secretary and returned to the back benches. 他辞去了内政大臣的职务，回到后座议员席。
• The painting has been returned to its rightful owner . 这幅画已归还给合法所有权人。

8 earth   

n.陆地；大地；地球

参考例句：

• The earth moves round the sun.地球绕着太阳转。
• Spring returns to the earth.大地回春。

9 period   

n.学时，课时；一段时间，时期，周期；句点

参考例句：

• Trade is always good over the Christmas period.圣诞节期间生意一向很好。
• He nursed the company through a difficult period.他帮助公司渡过了一段困难时期。

10 humans   

n.人，人类( human的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Humans cannot digest plants such as grass. 人不能消化草类植物。
• The bacteria are harmless to humans. 这些细菌对人无害。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 across   

adv.横过，使...被理解(或接受)；prep.穿过，横过

参考例句：

• He walked across the road carefully.他小心地过马路。
• You can go across the bridge.你可以越过这座桥。

13 wondered   

vt.对…感到好奇（wonder的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• I wondered uneasily if anything had happened to the children. 我忐忑不安地揣测孩子们是不是出了什么事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mother wondered if she could last out another operation. 母亲怀疑自己是否经得起再动一次手术。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 did   

v.动词do的过去式

参考例句：

• How many goals did you score in the last game?上一场比赛你们进了几个球？
• Why did you choose basketball in the first place?你为何首先选择篮球呢？

15 disappear   

vi.消失，不见了

参考例句：

• How can people suddenly disappear?为何人会突然消失？
• The snow will soon disappear when the warm weather comes.天气变暖时，雪很快就会融化。

16 even   

adj.平坦的，偶数的，相等的；adv.甚至，恰好，正当

参考例句：

• It was cold yesterday,but it's even colder today. 昨天冷，今天更冷了。
• He's the best teacher even though he has the least experience.尽管他经验最少，但教得最好。

17 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。

18 developed   

adj.先进的；发达的（国家或地区）

参考例句：

• financial aid to less developed countries 对欠发达国家的经济援助
• We have developed rapid order processing to expedite deliveries to customers. 我们已创造了快速处理订单的方法以便迅速将货物送达顾客。

19 was   

v.(is,am的过去式)是，在

参考例句：

• He said he was right.他说他是正确的。
• He was cold and hungry.他又冷又饿。

20 appeared   

v.出现( appear的过去式和过去分词 )；出庭（作证或受审）；演出；发表

参考例句：

• Her beauty appeared ageless. 她的美显得经久不衰。
• He appeared at breakfast bleary-eyed and with a hangover. 他吃早餐时两眼迷糊，宿醉未醒。

21 remained   

v.留下( remain的过去式和过去分词 )；保持；留待；仍然是

参考例句：

• She remained quiet and controlled. 她沉默不语保持克制。
• She remained dry-eyed throughout the trial. 整个审讯过程中她没掉一滴眼泪。