7.Imagine picking apples on Christmas or going skating on May Day.What about going for a swim on Thanksgiving?Without Leap Day(閏日),which takes place every four years,that could happen.
Our calendar is normally 365 days long.It was created to match the cycles of the seasons.But Roman ruler Julius Caesar noticed a problem:The earth doesn't circle the sun in exactly 365 days.It actually takes 365and one-quarter days.He figured out that the extra part of a day would cause the calendar to grow apart from the seasons over time.Over 100 years,the seasons would shift about 24 days.Spring would start on April 13instead of March 20.
Caesar used math to figure out a way to stop the calendar from shifting.He decided to add an extra day to the month of February every four years.His idea helped keep the seasons and calendar matched up.Even so,it still wasn't perfect-his calendar was adding too many days.
In 1582,Pope Gregory XIII worked on Caesar's idea.His calendar,called the Gregorian calendar,declares that every year that is equally divided by 400is a leap year.Turn-of-the-century years,or years ending in"00",would not be leap years unless they could be divided equally by 400.These complicated equations(等式)help keep the calendar in balance with the orbit of the earth.Today,we still use the Gregorian calendar.In about 3,000 years,the calendar will be only one day out of step with the seasons,It's still not perfect,but mathematicians decided it was as close as we could get.
28.Why was Julius Caesar's calendar not good enough?A
A.There would be too many days on the calendar.
B.It would be only one day out of step with the seasons.
C.Spring would start twenty-four days later than usual
D.Leap Day would take place every other year.
29.It can be inferred from the text thatD.
A.the earth circles the sun in exactly 365 days
B.Caesar added an extra day to every February
C.Pope's calendar has been used for 3,000 years
D.Gregorian calendar is more scientific than Caesar's
30.Which of the following years is a leap year according to Pope?C
A.The year 2100.
B.The year 2200.
C.The year 2400.
D.The year 2300.
31.In which section of a website can you probably read this text?C
A.Opinion.B.Policy.C.Science.D.Entertainment.
分析 我們用的日歷通常是365天,但是它的季節(jié)的周期不完全匹配.Pope Gregory 在1582年創(chuàng)造了新的日歷更科學(xué)合理,沿用至今.
解答 28.A 細節(jié)理解題.根據(jù)句子Even so,it still wasn't perfect-his calendar was adding too many days.即便如此,他的日歷還是增加了太多的時間.所以答案選A.
29.D細節(jié)理解題.根據(jù)句子but mathematicians decided it was as close as we could get.但數(shù)學(xué)家們認為這是我們所能做到的.所以答案選D.
30.C細節(jié)理解題.根據(jù)句子Turn-of-the-century years,or years ending in"00",would not be leap years unless they could be divided equally by 400.
世紀之交,或以"00"結(jié)束的年份,除非是400等分,否則將不是閏年.所以答案選C.
31.C 推理判斷題.本文主要講的日歷的來歷和發(fā)展,所以可以推斷出最有可能是科學(xué)類的文章,所以答案選C.
點評 閱讀理解題測試考生在閱讀基礎(chǔ)上的邏輯推理能力,要求考生根據(jù)文章所述事件的邏輯關(guān)系,對未說明的趨勢或結(jié)局作出合理的推斷;或根據(jù)作者所闡述的觀點理論,對文章未涉及的現(xiàn)象、事例給以解釋.考生首先要仔細閱讀短文,完整了解信息,準確把握作者觀點.