美国有线新闻 CNN 夏令时的起源及争议

 

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

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

2 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

3 industrious   

adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的

参考例句：

• If the tiller is industrious,the farmland is productive.人勤地不懒。
• She was an industrious and willing worker.她是个勤劳肯干的员工。

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

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• They were appalled by the reports of the nuclear war. 他们被核战争的报道吓坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 )

参考例句：

• In the poem he laments the destruction of the countryside. 在那首诗里他对乡村遭到的破坏流露出悲哀。
• In this book he laments the slight interest shown in his writings. 在该书中他慨叹人们对他的著作兴趣微弱。 来自辞典例句

6 utterance   

n.用言语表达，话语，言语

参考例句：

• This utterance of his was greeted with bursts of uproarious laughter.他的讲话引起阵阵哄然大笑。
• My voice cleaves to my throat,and sob chokes my utterance.我的噪子哽咽，泣不成声。

7 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

8 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。