Question

Let’s say a person gets up at 7:00 in the morning and goes to bed at 11:00 at night. He comes home from work about 6:30, and by the time he has finished with dinner it is after 8:00. He steps outside in the summer to relax — but it’s already getting dark! Not much time to enjoy the summer day.

Now suppose you set the clock ahead one hour. This person still does everything at the same time — but this time, when he steps out at 8:00 there’s still plenty of light to enjoy. An hour of daylight has been “saved” for him!

Daylight saving time doesn’t, of course, add any hours to a day. This is impossible. All it does is to increase the number of useful hours of daylight during the seasons when the sun rises early.

Daylight saving is most popular in cities. It allows the closing of offices, shops, and factories at the end of the working day while the sun is still high. Farmers, who do their work by sun time, usually do not observe daylight saving time. They cannot work in the field before the morning dew(露水) has dried or after it appears in the evening.

Did you know who first thought of daylight saving time? It was Benjamin Franklin! When he was living in France in the 18th century, he suggested the idea to the people in Paris. But it was not adopted then.

Daylight saving laws were first passed during World WarⅠ, when materials for making electricity was hard to find, and when it was necessary to save on artificial light. With daylight saving, the bedtime of many people comes soon after it gets dark, while without it, if people stay up until the same hour they may have to use artificial light.

Germany was the first country to adopt daylight saving time in 1915. Then England used it in 1916, and the United States adopted it in 1918.

1.What does the underlined word “artificial” mean?

A. natural B. man-made

C. bright  D. sun

2.What’s the purpose of adopting daylight saving time?

A. To have more artificial light.

B. To have one more hour to work.

C. To make better use of daylight in certain seasons.

D. To have one more hour to rest.

3.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. Once the idea of daylight saving time is proposed, it was adopted.

B. The idea of daylight saving time went through a long process of being adopted.

C. It was a French scientist that put forward the idea of daylight saving time.

D. The idea of daylight saving time didn’t make any difference at all.

4.What can be inferred from the passage?

A. Winter is a good season for daylight saving time.

B. Daylight saving time is especially good for wars.

C. Daylight saving time is good for anyone in any places.

D. Not all seasons are good for daylight saving time.

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.B

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：这篇文章主要介绍了采用夏时制是为了更好地利用特定季节的日光。从夏时制提出到采纳，经历了很长时间。

1. B猜词题。根据Daylight saving laws were first passed during World WarⅠ, when materials for making electricity was hard to find, and when it was necessary to save on artificial light. With daylight saving, the bedtime of many people comes soon after it gets dark, while without it, if people stay up until the same hour they may have to use artificial light.可知和自然光相对的，自然是人造光。Natural自然的；man-made人造的；bright明亮的；sun太阳。

2. saving time doesn’t, of course, add any hours to a day. This is impossible. All it does is to increase the number of useful hours of daylight during the seasons when the sun rises early.可知采用夏时制是为了更好地利用特定季节的日光。

3. B细节理解题。根据Did you know who first thought of daylight saving time? It was Benjamin Franklin! When he was living in France in the 18th century, he suggested the idea to the people in Paris. But it was not adopted then. Daylight saving laws were first passed during World WarⅠ可知从夏时制提出到采纳，经历了很长时间,。

4.

考点：考查历史文化类阅读