Question

【题目】For thousands of years，we have looked for ways to measure time. Early humans found that the regular movements of the sun，the earth，the moon，and the stars made good ways to measure time. The rising and setting of the sun were used to distinguish（辨别） day from night.

But，eventually，people needed to tell time more accurately，or exactly. So，by using the sun’s position in the sky，they divided the day into dawn，morning，midday and evening.

Then it was noted that the sun cast a changing shadow as it moved across the sky. Time could be told more accurately by setting up a stick and marking the positions of the sun’s shadow. It was the ancient Greeks who divided each position of this “sundial(日晷)” into hours.

But the sun doesn’t always shine. So，for the past 6,000 years，many other ways of keeping time have been tried. Slowburning candles were divided into hours，and the hourglass was invented. When all the sand in the top of an hourglass has shifted to the bottom，an hour has passed.

Later，the pendulum(摆钟)，with its regular backandforth movement of weights，was used to move the hands on a clock. Pendulums are still used in grandfather clocks.

Today，even more accurate clocks are in use，such as batteryoperated quartz clocks（石英钟），digital clocks，and clocks run by electrical tuning forks and tiny atoms. These atomic clocks are the most accurate clocks ever invented. The exact time can be kept to within 1 second a century.

【1】Humans in the old days used ________ to tell day from night.

A．the rising and setting of the sun

B．batteryoperated quartz clocks

C．atomic clocks

D．digital clocks

【2】A sundial works by ________.

A．tracking the movement of the stars around the sun

B．marking a shadow cast by the moving sun

C．burning candles in the sunlight

D．watching the stars

【3】Which of the following was NOT used in the past to measure time?

A．An hourglass.B．A sundial.C．Digital clocks.D．A pendulum.

【4】Which of the following ways of measuring time is ordered from the least accurate to the most accurate?

A．Sundial，pendulum，sun.

B．Atomic clock，quartz clock，sundial.

C．Sun，pendulum，atomic clock.

D．Digital clock，hourglass，slowburning candles.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】B

【3】C

【4】C

【解析】

试题分析:本篇文章主要讲述了人类计量时间方式的发展历史。

【1】A 细节理解题。由第一段最后一句The rising and setting of the sun were used to distinguish day from night.可知，应选A。

【2】B 细节理解题。由第三段第一句Then it was noted that the sun cast a changing shadow as it moved across the sky. 可知，应选B项。

【3】C 推理判断题。由最后一段第一句Today，even more accurate clocks are in use，such as batteryoperated quartz clocks（石英钟），digital clocks，and clocks run by electrical tuning forks and tiny atoms. 可知，石英钟是现代的产物，古代没有，故选C。

【4】C 细节理解题。根据文中各种计量时间的方法出现的顺序可知，应选C。