What Is Daylight Saving Time?

What Is Daylight Saving Time?

什么是夏令时？

【原文听力】

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

　　By Hai Do

　　02 November 2023

　　As November begins, many countries in North America and Europe are turning the clock back as daylight saving time ends.

　　Daylight saving time is the practice of moving clocks forward by one hour during summer months so daylight lasts longer into the evening.

　　In Europe, the practice is called European Summer Time. The clock usually moves forward in March and turns back at the end of October. Most European countries follow the practice. Georgia, Russia, Turkey, Iceland and a few others are among the exceptions.

　　Across the Atlantic Ocean, Canada, Mexico, Cuba and the United States start daylight saving time in March also. The clock will be set back an hour on November 5 this year.

　　Countries closer to the equator usually do not follow daylight saving time because the period of daylight changes little. Those that do not change the times include countries in Central America, Asia and Africa.

　　How did it start?

　　The idea of changing the clocks with the seasons started with George Hudson, a New Zealand scientist who studied insects. In 1895, Hudson proposed a time change to extend summer daylight hours. The extra time would have helped him with collecting insects after work.

　　The idea did not appeal to anyone until the time of World War I when European countries sought to save energy. Germany was the first country to adopt daylight saving time, in 1916, and the U.S. followed in 1918.

　　Some people believe that the U.S. established daylight saving time to help farmers. But farmers generally do not like the practice. The publication Modern Farmer said American farmers were against the practice but that Congress approved it anyway.

　　Opponents of daylight saving time have pointed to studies that found an increase in traffic accidents, health issues, and lack of sleep in the days after clocks are moved forward every March.

　　As for saving energy, the Congressional Research Service said studies have found little, if any, energy savings from the time change.

　　Arguments to end the practice

　　Daylight saving time has been a fluid issue from the start. Some countries have adopted and rejected it several times. In South America, Uruguay ended the practice in 2015. Chile replaced it with "wintertime" from May to August in 2016.

　　Egypt announced in March it would return to daylight saving time after seven years to save energy. Japan briefly considered adopting the practice for the 2020 Olympics but rejected it due to a lack of popular support.

　　In the U.S. there have been several efforts to make daylight saving time permanent. Last year, a bill called the "Sunshine Protection Act" passed the Senate but got stuck in the House of Representatives. Lawmakers could not agree on whether to keep standard time or permanent daylight saving time.

　　The bill was proposed again this year.

　　I'm Caty Weaver.

　　Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English with additional reporting from Reuters.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

　　海道

　　2023年11月2日

　　随着11月的开始，北美和欧洲的许多国家都在将时钟拨回夏令时。

　　夏令时是指在夏季将时钟拨快一小时，这样白天就能持续到晚上。

　　在欧洲，这种做法被称为欧洲夏令时。时钟通常在三月向前移动，在十月底转回。大多数欧洲国家都遵循这一惯例。格鲁吉亚、俄罗斯、土耳其、冰岛和其他一些国家是例外。

　　在大西洋彼岸，加拿大、墨西哥、古巴和美国也在3月开始实行夏令时。今年11月5日将时钟拨回一小时。

　　靠近赤道的国家通常不采用夏令时，因为夏令时变化很小。那些没有改变时代的包括中美洲、亚洲和非洲的国家。

　　怎么开始的？

　　随着季节变化调整时钟的想法始于乔治·哈德森一位研究昆虫的新西兰科学家。1895年，哈德逊提议改变时间以延长夏季白昼时间。这些额外的时间本可以帮助他在下班后收集昆虫。

　　直到第一次世界大战期间，当欧洲国家寻求节约能源时，这个想法才对任何人有吸引力。德国于1916年成为第一个采用夏令时的国家，美国于1918年紧随其后。

　　一些人认为美国建立夏令时是为了帮助农民。但是农民通常不喜欢这种做法。该出版物现代农民说美国农民反对这种做法，但国会还是批准了。

　　夏令时的反对者指出，研究发现，每年3月时钟调快后，交通事故、健康问题和睡眠不足都会增加。

　　至于节约能源，国会研究服务机构表示，研究发现时间变化带来的能源节约很少，如果有的话。

　　结束这种做法的论据

　　夏令时从一开始就是一个不确定的问题。一些国家已经采纳和拒绝了几次。在南美洲，乌拉圭在2015年结束了这一做法。智利在2016年5月至8月用“冬令时”取而代之。

　　埃及在三月份宣布，为了节约能源，它将在七年后恢复夏令时。日本曾短暂考虑在2020年奥运会上采用这种做法，但由于缺乏公众支持而拒绝了。

　　在美国，为使夏令时永久化已经做了很多努力。去年，一项名为“阳光保护法案”的法案在参议院通过，但在众议院受阻。立法者不能就是否保持标准时间或永久夏令时达成一致。

　　该法案今年再次被提出。

　　我是凯蒂·韦弗。

　　Hai Do为《英语学习》撰写了这篇文章，并附有路透社的补充报道。