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Daylight Savings
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Daylight Savings
夏令时

Learn English with this time English lesson

Date: May 08 2013

Grammar: Gerunds vs. Infinitives

Intro

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In the United States and many other countries around the world, something funny happens to the clocks twice a year. In the fall, on a particular day, you set your clock back an hour. And in the spring, you set it forward. To help remember when to do what, you might use the phrases “spring forward” and “fall back.”

This phenomenon is called daylight savings. Originally, it was done in order to give agricultural workers more daylight to work in during the darker months. But is daylight savings still relevant today? Find out what Lily and Greta think in this time English lesson.

在美国和世界上许多其他国家或地区,时钟每年都会发生两次有趣的调整。在秋天的特定某一天,你将时钟调慢 1 个小时。到了春天再调快。你可能会使用短语“春季前拨”和“秋季后拨”来帮助自己记忆这两次调整。

这种现象称为夏令时。起初,实行夏令时是为了让务农的人在日照时间较短的月份里有更多的白天工作时间。但时至今日,夏令时仍具有重要意义吗?在本节以时间为话题的英语课上,了解莉莉和格里塔的想法。

Dialog

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Lily

Lily

Greta

Greta

Lily:  I think daylight savings time is my least favorite day of the year. At least in Spring.

Greta:  When you spring forward?

Lily:  Instead of falling back. That extra hour just disappears.

Greta:  It’s so strange. I know that it’s sort of a relic of our agricultural past in that we set the clocks forward in the springtime, and we set them back an hour in the fall, to make the most of our daylight, and kind of allow people to have the most time to labor in the fields during the sunlight. But, you know, we’re not a nation of agricultural laborers anymore, and it seems a little outdated.

Lily:  It’s kind of arbitrary, right? Yeah, it is outdated. Though apparently not everywhere has daylight savings time, right?

Greta:  That’s true. There are many countries that don’t have daylight savings time, and even Hawaii, which is a United State, doesn’t observe daylight savings time.

Lily:  What?

 

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Discussion

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Lily hates daylight savings time. Specifically, she hates the end of daylight savings in the spring, when you have to lose an hour and turn the clocks forward. She feels as if the extra hour just vanishes.

Greta thinks the whole daylight savings thing is strange. It’s a tradition from the past that may not be relevant anymore because, in the US at least, not that many people are working in the fields.

They acknowledge that not everywhere has daylight savings, however. In fact, some states in the US don’t even observe it.

Does your country observe daylight savings? What do you think about it? Is it relevant today, or just a relic from the past?

 

Comments

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VOLTS

VOLTSSuper Member!

Brazil

If someone has been thinking about coming to Brazil it would be good to be careful. We have 2 different “daylight saving times” depending on which part of country. Some places the clock doesnt change, other the clock is set forward 1 hour.


the days become longer and the nights become shorter in springs and summers.


Sun rises earlier so, “daylight saving time” uses that daylight which isnt used earlier (when we are sleeping) and put that later (when we wake up).  


these kind of thing make the country saves eletric power. Lamps can be turned on later and for a shorter time during the nights. 


I think that is a big deal. Brazil saves about 5% of energy in this season and diminish the burden of eletric power system.

04:06 AM Jun 27 2013 |

Orchestra

Orchestra

Russian Federation

Russia doesn’t observe dayligth saving any longer since previous year or something. However, due to us giving up moving time back and forth in a sort of not really appropriate manner, the russian clock is outrunnig significantly in comparison with European time.


Our president said that “cows and other animals don’t realize what’s going on when farmers come to milk or feed, etc. them an hour earlier than usually which results in reducing the amount of milk produced”


He’d probably better take care of his citizens more than cows))

12:26 AM May 12 2013 |

1 person likes this

TranceSoul

TranceSoul

Poland

Yes, Poland does observe daylight savings.Actually I got used to that and it doesn’t problem for me. It is hard to get up 1 hour earlier but only first (maybe second) day and then it’s fine. I like when I wake up and I can see the sun shinning through my window. I don’t know if it is relevant today but for sure I don’t wanna change this :)


A short time ago we thought about stopping observe it but we haven’t so far.

07:00 PM May 10 2013 |

Empty smile

Greece

what about nightlight savings :$

03:50 PM May 09 2013 |

manu_wj

manu_wj

Italy

Ok, I’ve read the lesson and your posts too. Dispite what tells the lesson I guess from your message that the real reason TODAY for going on with the Daylight Savings is not for agricolture but for saving electricity.



So I agree this system expecially in those Cauntries where are fightening against the crisis, which are a lot nowdays

06:47 AM May 09 2013 |

1 person likes this

xiaoen613

China

we don’t have daylight saving in china .it is my first time to know  daylight saving. The famer in old china don’t rely on clock. they get up farming when the rooster  crow, and they come back for relaxing when the sun sets.

03:43 AM May 09 2013 |

1 person likes this

sai10kuni16

Japan

In Japan we don’t observe daylight savings. I have an experience that I was confused by daylaight saving when I had a tele conference with Australian coworkers. I was misunderstood the time when the conference starts. It was about more than ten years ago, I didn’t familier with when was the date change to daylight saving. But now we can check by the internet when the daylight saving starts in each country.  I have found a home page which shows the daylight saving around the world;


http://www.timeanddate.com/time/dst/2013.html

09:45 PM May 08 2013 |

1 person likes this

pirate006

pirate006

Turkey

IN TURKEY WE OBSERVE DAYLIGHT SAVING BUT I THINK IT IS  UNNECESSARY AND NONSENSICAL APPLICATION BECAUSE THERE IS ANY BENEFIT OF IT EXCEPT PLAYING WITH THE WATCH!.)

08:47 PM May 08 2013 |

Francescobisca

Italy

I live in Italy where we observe daylight savings and i believe that’s a very smart decision setting the clock either back or forward because it helps to save energy and consequently avoid waste of energy. That’s very important considering the fossil combustible burned for produce electric energy feeding light bulbs. So, people who think daylight savings is old-fashioned don’t know very well what means pay the energy bill and They don’t care to keep the World clean.

03:58 PM May 08 2013 |

CyrilCui

CyrilCui

China

My country doesn’t observe daylight savings. I think the farmers here can adjust the work and relax time in spring and autumn freely.


I don’t know why the daylight savings time still exists in the US now. I agree with Lily and Greta. It really a little outdated.

03:08 PM May 08 2013 |

struggling

struggling

Tunisia

I think daylight savings is as good for agricultural as for other workers in any field. Tunisia has used it since 9 years.

02:38 PM May 08 2013 |

1 person likes this

saba2

saba2

Iraq

BEFORE 10 YEARS THER WAS ADAYLIGHT IN MY COUNTRY ,BUT NOW WE DONT HAVE IT ,BUT AS I SEE ITS IMPORTANT AND WE NEED IT.

02:00 PM May 08 2013 |

dreadslayer

Turkey

i get that why countries are supposed to do that saving some daylight thus they’ll save some money as well .at house’s lamps are going to on later 1 hour than usual times i mean springs we set forward 1 hour ,i support that idea but i really dont understand why do countries set back in fall no sense our government has been referring about not setting back next fall but they never carry out this idea.we’re fallowing other EU countries as before

01:32 PM May 08 2013 |

shaerwan

shaerwan

Syrian Arab Republic

yes here in Syria we have daylight saving


and i think we need it


its important for the peaple here


01:19 PM May 08 2013 |

Ya Nina

Kazakhstan

During many years we used daylight savings in our country. Some years ago our government decided that action was a relic and we stopped to turn the clocks ahead and back. 


For me now I don’t see a big difference without using daylight savings. Although I need to agree that I feel better without using this action. Certainly you don’t feel happiness at fall but you don’t feel any disappointment at spring. On the other hand you live, wake up and work without any commotion. Definitely that fact is very pleasant and become a great virtue in that question.


It is very pity to see how sometimes in those countries where daylight savings work people feel a lot discomfort. They live a half day in quiet darkness. In such cases all positive sides of that action don’t exist for them.


I suppose that the authorities must consider that question keep in mind the specific characteristics of that region where using daylight savings. Certainly it is the ideal solution:)


12:00 PM May 08 2013 |

IMOdraude

Brazil


Here in Brazil, daylight savings is faced as a way to save electrical energy, because people usually turn the lights on later (the daylight is longer).



 



Then, in times when electrical energy consumption normally reaches its peak, during daylight savings there is an economy of about 4,5%. It represents an economy of US$2 milion during these 3 months (data from 2012-2013 daylight saving)



 



I really like daylight savings (except the few days after it starts, because my biological clock still remains in the “normal” schedule). It’s really good to leave my job and see the sun! It seems like I am leaving earlier, and I think I could spend the rest of my day in an opened place.


11:54 AM May 08 2013 |

nfrtary

nfrtary

Egypt

our country was used to do that but not more, about me i love the fall bakc not the spring forward but both of them are not exist now here in Egypt :)

11:14 AM May 08 2013 |

ola33

ola33

Japan

For me it’s ok, I’m so busy that these slight changes doesn’t affect me more or less.


It’s just done to extend daylight hours, to conserve fuel, there’s less need to use artificial light; howerver these changes takes its toll on people health. Got to break the habbit of rising earlly or sleeping in one more hour.


Some blame the  growing number of heart attacks on DayLight savings. Especially when you spring forward.


The only not fair thing is that we’re granted one more hour for only 4 months and for 8 months got to sleep with an hour missing :)

10:29 AM May 08 2013 |

 julito

julito

Argentina

In my country ,except in one province , daylight saving  is not observed  anymore.  Unlike Manu,  I agree with Inetika,  the day  we  fall back our  clocks  we sleep one extra hour, but  I am not 100 per cent sure if my guess is correct. 

10:22 AM May 08 2013 |

katyushka

katyushka

Ukraine

<p>In my country we have daylight saving. But I think that it is not useful. Our agricultural workers always wake up with sun. And don’t matter what time it is. But most people in country have problems with there biological clocks.</p>

09:43 AM May 08 2013 |

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