新概念英语第1册44课练习（英语外刊拓展阅读）

一、往期回顾

英语外刊拓展阅读：新概念英语第3册第37课

【参考答案】

1. In April, 2004.

2. A joint venture of Siemens and ThyssenKrupp.

3. 486.1kmph.

4. 360kmph.

5. 15kmph.

二、本期内容

【课文主题】

第38课讲的是有关最早日历（the First Calendar）的来源，为此我选了一篇是有关格里高利日历的文章。

【拓展阅读】

一、文章内容

In 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII introduced his Gregorian calendar, Europe adhered to the Julian calendar, first implemented by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C. Since the Roman emperor’s system miscalculated the length of the solar year by 11 minutes, the calendar had since fallen out of sync with the seasons. This concerned Gregory because it meant that Easter, traditionally observed on March 21, fell further away from the spring equinox with each passing year.

The Julian calendar included an extra day in February every four years. But Aloysus Lilius, the Italian scientist who developed the system Pope Gregory would unveil in 1582, realized that the addition of so many days made the calendar slightly too long. He devised a variation that adds leap days in years divisible by four, unless the year is also divisible by 100. If the year is also divisible by 400, a leap day is added regardless. While this formula may sound confusing, it did resolve the lag created by Caesar’s earlier scheme - almost.

Despite Lilius’ ingenious method for syncing the calendar with the seasons, his system is still off by 26 seconds. As a result, in the years since Gregory introduced his calendar in 1582, a discrepancy of several hours has arisen. By the year 4909, the Gregorian calendar will be a full day ahead of the solar year.

According to some accounts, English citizens did not react kindly after an act of Parliament advanced the calendar overnight from September 2 to September 14, 1752. Rioters supposedly took to the streets, demanding that the government “give us our 11 days.” However, most historians now believe that these protests never occurred or were greatly exaggerated. On the other side of the Atlantic, meanwhile, Benjamin Franklin welcomed the change, writing, “It is pleasant for an old man to be able to go to bed on September 2, and not have to get up until September 14.”

Julius Caesar’s calendar reform of 46 B.C. instituted January 1 as the first of the year. During the Middle Ages, however, European countries replaced it with days that carried greater religious significance, such as December 25 (the anniversary of Jesus’ birth) and March 25 (the Feast of the Annunciation). The latter, known as Lady Day because it celebrates the Virgin Mary, marked the beginning of the year in Britain until January 1, 1752.

【词汇注释】

1. Pope Gregory XIII：教皇格里高利十三世

2. Gregorian calendar：格里高利日历

3. adhere to：坚持

4. the Julian calendar：儒略历

5. implement：运用

6. Julius Caesar：尤利乌斯·恺撒（即凯撒大帝）

7. miscalculate：误算

8. sync：同步

9. observe：庆祝

10. spring equinox：春分

11. unveil：推出

12. devise：设计

13. variation：变化；变体

14. divisible：可除尽的

15. lag：滞后

16. ingenious：精巧的

17. discrepancy：差异；不符

18. advance：提前

19. exaggerate：夸大；夸张

20. institute：制定

21. the Middle Ages：中世纪时代

22. annunciation：圣母领报

二、阅读题目

根据短文内容，判断下列句子对（T）错（F）：

31. The original goal of the Gregorian calendar was to change the date of Easter.

32. Leap years occur exactly every four years in the Gregorian calendar.

33. The Gregorian calendar differs from the lunar year by 26 seconds per year.

34. Britain’s adoption of the Gregorian calendar supposedly sparked riots and protest.

35. Before adopting the Gregorian calendar, the English began new year on March 25.

三、参考答案

参考答案将在下期里公布，敬请关注我们的更新。

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