【2BU6】Clock

Eason学英文

In the beginning, people used calendars to keep a track of years, which were divided into months and days (not exactly what we use today, but something similar). Later, people started keeping track of the time of the day. They started building various instruments to divide the day into smaller parts. An instrument used to measure time is called a clock.

People used instruments such as sundials and hourglass to keep track of time. The movement of the shadow of a rod stuck upright in the ground, whose shadow changed direction with the movement of the sun across the sky, was used to make crude sundials. An hourglass consisted of two rounded glass bulbs connected by a narrow neck of glass. The top bulb was filled with sand and a measured amount of sand particles streamed down from the top bulb into the bottom bulb, giving the time. An instrument known as water clock was also used in different parts of the world. It worked on the principle of regulated flow of water.

These devices were not very accurate and there was a need to improve accuracy and devise instruments that gave a better measurement of time. A major breakthrough came in 1656, when Christian Huygens made the first pendulum clock. It consisted of weights and a swinging pendulum. These clocks were much more reliable than the earlier ones. Another major advancement in timekeeping was the invention of the atomic clock, which is very accurate.

Today, clocks do not just tell us the time of the day; they are also used as timers in ovens, in stopwatches, in various athletic events, etc. The SI unit of time is the second. Some other units are given in Table.

【来源：你和宝宝说英语】

I. Parts of the Clock

钟表部件
1. Clock face 表盘 2. Hand 表针 3. Hour hand 时针 4. Minute hand 分针 5. Second hand 秒针

II. Look at the Hands
看看表针
1. The short thick hand is the hour hand, which tells the hour. 短针是时针，表示小时。
2. The long thick hand is the minute hand, which tells the minutes. 长针是分针，表示分钟。
3. The long slim / skinny hand that moves quickly around the clock face is the second hand.
在表盘上走得很快的细长针是秒针。

III. How Do Hands Move?
表针如何运转？
1. The second hand moves every second. It moves 60 times per minute. (A second hand makes one revolution per minute.) 秒针一秒钟走一下。一分钟动60次。（秒针一分钟转一圈。）
2. The minute hand moves every minute. It moves 60 times per hour. (A minute hand makes one revolution per hour.) 分针一分钟走一下。一小时动60次。（分针一小时转一圈。）
3. The hour hand moves every hour. It makes two revolutions in a 24-hour day. 时针一小时走一下。一天转两圈。

IV. How Does a Clock Show the Time?
钟表如何显示时间？
1. There are 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour and 60 seconds in a minute. 一天24小时，一小时60分钟，一分钟60秒钟。
2. There are 12 numbers on the clock face. Each number represents an hour. 表盘上有12个数字。每个数字代表一小时。
3. The 12 numbers on the clock face divide a 60-minute hour into 12 5-minute intervals. A 5-minute interval has five small intervals. Each small interval represents a minute or a second. 表盘上的12个数字把1小时60分钟划分成12个5分钟一个的大格。1个5分钟的大格分为5个小格。每个小格代表一分钟或一秒钟。

V. How to Read a Clock?
如何读表？
1. When the minute hand is pointing to 12, read the time as “o’clock”. For example 3:00 is read as three o’clock. 分针指到12读作“整”。比如3:00读作三点整。
2. When the minute hand is pointing to 6, read the time as “half past”, because half of the time has past in an hour. For example 4:30 is read as half past four.分针指到6读作“半”，因为一小时的一半时间已经过去了。比如4:30读作四点半。
3. When the minute hand is pointing to 3, read the time as “(a) quarter past”. For example 5:15 is read as (a) quarter past five, because a quarter of the time / 15 minutes has happened within the hour. 分针指到3读作“一刻”。比如5:15读作五点一刻，因为一小时的一刻钟/15分钟已经过去了。
4. When the minute hand is pointing to 9, read the time as “(a) quarter to”. For example 5:45 is read as (a) quarter to six, because it will take another quarter of the hour / 15 more minutes to get to the hour six. 分针指到9读作“差一刻”。比如5:45读作差一刻六点，因为距离六点还差一刻钟/15分钟。
5. We can also read the clock by simply reading the number of the hour and the minute. For example 6:15 is read as six fifteen; 6:30 is read as six thirty; and 6:45 is read as six forty five. 我们也可以直接通过读小时和分钟的数字来读出时刻。比如6:15读作六点十五；6:30读作六点三十；6:45读作六点四十五。

Strike the clock

M: I'm a pendulum clock. This is the pendulum. Tick, tock, tick, tock. When a clock strikes, its bells ring to show what the time is. Listen carefully. The clock will strike.（Dong dong+拍手两下）The clock struck…
S: The clock struck two.
M: Yes. What time is it?
E: It's two o'clock.

2. 家长边唱儿歌边借用椅子做TPR
M: “Hickory, dickory, dock.” （在椅子前做TPR）
“The mouse ran up the clock.” （家长站上椅子）
“The clock struck...” （家长拍手6下）
“The mouse ran down.” （家长走下椅子）
“Hickory, dickory, dock.” （在椅子前做TPR）
What time is it?

S: It's six o' clock.
M: You are a clock. I'll tell what time it is

What time is it, Mr Wolf?

M：Eason, this time we will play a traditional game all around the world called “what time is it，Mr. wolf”
S：Ok.
M：Do you know how to play? First, someone stands in front of others and faces away,
Then, the other one pretend to be a wolf. The others stand in a line and ask：What time is it, Mr Wolf? The wolf says, 3 o'clock.
Then, others need to move forward 3 steps to get close to the wolf.
If someone touches the wolf first, the wolf lose the game.
When the wolf says, “Dinner time”. The wolf will turn around and chase the others.

[改自Sam妈妈]