17．If you can read a clock，you can know the time of the day．But no one knows what time itself is．One way to think about time is to imagine a world without time．But there could be no movement，because time and movement cannot be separated．
In early human history，the only changes that seemed to repeat themselves evenly（有規(guī)律地）were the movements of objects in the sky．The most easily seen result of these movements was the difference between light and darkness．The sun rises in the eastern sky，producing light．It moves across the sky and sinks in the west，causing darkness．The appearance and disappearance of the sun was even and unfailing．The periods of light and darkness it created were the first accepted periods of time．We have named each period of light and darkness one day．People saw the sun rise higher in the sky during the summer than in winter．They counted the days that passed from the sun's highest position until it returned to that position．They counted 365days．We now know that is the time Earth takes to move once around the sun．We call this period of time a year．
They also developed a way to use the changing faces of the moon to tell time．The moon was"full"when its face was bright and round．The early humans counted the number of times the sun appeared between full moons．They learned that this number always remained the same-about 29suns．We now know this period of time as one month．
Early humans hunted animals and gathered wild plants．They moved in groups or tribes from place to place in search of food．Then，people learned to plant seeds and grow crops．As hunters，people did not need a way to measure time．As farmers，however，they had to plant crops in time to harvest them before winter．They had to know when the seasons would change．So，they developed calendars．
No one knows when the first calendar was developed．But it seems possible that it was based on moons，or lunar months．
29．The underlined word"unfailing"（in para.2）is closest in meaning to"B"．
A．reliable B．everlasting C．limited D．changing
30．Why did people invent the first calendar to measure time？C
A．Because early humans hunted animals and gathered wild plants．
B．Because early people had to plant crops and grow crops．
C．Because early farmers had to grow and harvest crops in time．
D．Because early humans moved in groups or tribes from place to place．
31．Which of the following is true？D
A．Why early people developed calendars is not clear．
B．How early people counted a day is still unknown．
C．What early people based the first calendar on is mysterious．
D．When the calendar was developed remains unknown．
32．It can be concluded from the text thatA．
A．the period of twenty-nine suns is called one month
B．the light and darkness differences of the sun were the only movements in the sky
C．time and movement are loosely related even at present days
D．early humans first accepted periods of time created by the moon．
分析 本文主要介紹了古代的人們利用觀察太陽和月亮的運行規(guī)律創(chuàng)造了日歷．
解答 29．B 猜測詞義題．根據(jù)下文We have named each period of light and darkness one day我們把這種光明和黑暗稱作一天，現(xiàn)在仍然這樣計時，可見太陽的出現(xiàn)和消失是均勻而持久的，unfailing的意思是持久的，everlasting"永恒的"，所以答案選B．
30．C 細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)句子As farmers，however，they had to plant crops in time to harvest them before winter作為農(nóng)民，他們必須及時播種才能在冬天之前收割莊稼，So，they developed calendars．所以答案C．
31．D 細(xì)節(jié)理解題．No one knows when the first calendar was developed．But it seems possible that it was based on moons，or lunar months．沒有人知道第一次日歷是什么時候發(fā)展起來的，但是似乎它是基于月亮或者陰歷月的．所以D選項的說法是正確的．
32．A細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)句子They learned that this number always remained the same-about 29suns．We now know this period of time as one month他們知道，這個數(shù)字一直保持不變，大約29個太陽，我們現(xiàn)在知道這段時間為一個月．所以答案選A．
點評 本文考查細(xì)節(jié)題為主，細(xì)節(jié)題可以在文章中直接找到與答案有關(guān)的信息？或是其變體．搜查信息在閱讀中非常重要它包括理解作者在敘述某事時使用的具體事實、數(shù)據(jù)、圖表等細(xì)節(jié)信息．在一篇短文里大部分篇幅都屬于這類圍繞主體展開的細(xì)節(jié)．做這類題一般采用尋讀法？即先讀題，然后帶著問題快速閱讀短文，找出與問題有關(guān)的詞語或句子，再對相關(guān)部分進(jìn)行分析對比，找出答案．
