How did people tell the time before clocks were invented?
At first, the ancient people looked up at the sun and could tell it was the middle of the day when the sun was directly overhead in the sky. They also knew when it was morning or evening.
Later, the Egyptians used sticks. These sticks measured (测量) time during the day. The sun shone on the tall stick and the stick made a shadow (阴影). As the sun moved across the sky, the position (位置) of the shadow changed. This would let people tell what time it was.
Over time, the Chinese first used sundials instead of shadow sticks. The sundial has a type of shadow stick on it. As the sun shines on it, a shadow appears on the numbers. Each number stands for an hour of the day. But sundials don't work at night or on a cloudy day! There are no shadows unless the sun is out.
Water clocks used water to measure time at night. Water dripped (滴落) slowly from one bowl into another. The level of the water in the bowls showed the time.
People also used sand-glasses. You may have seen one. Some games still use sand-glasses. The sand falls from the top of the sand-glasses to the bottom. It measures short amounts of the time. The more sand falls, the more time has passed. When the sand has finished falling, you have to turn the sand-glasses over.
11．At first, the ancient people told the time by looking at ________.
A．the stick B．the shadow C．the sun D．the moon
12．Which picture can be a "sundial"?
A．
B．
C．
D．
13．Sundials can be used to tell the time when it is ________.
A．sunny B．rainy C．cloudy D．snowy
14．Which is right according to the passage?
A．Sticks measured time in Egypt day and night.
B．Sundials were first used in ancient Egypt.
C．Sand-glasses usually measure a long time.
D．The water clock told the time by the water level in the bowls.
15．What's the main idea of the passage?
A．Something about sundials.
B．How to tell the time by looking at the sun.
C．How to tell the time in the past.
D．Some inventions in China.
答案
11．C
12．B
13．A
14．D
15．C
【解析】
本文是一篇说明文，介绍了在钟表发明出来之前，人们都是利用什么来计时和看时间的。
11．细节理解题。根据“At first, the ancient people looked up at the sun and could tell it was the middle of the day when the sun was directly overhead in the sky”可知起初古代人是通过看太阳来计算时间的，故选C。
12．推理判断题。根据“The sundial has a type of shadow stick on it. As the sun shines on it, a shadow appears on the numbers”，可知日晷有一根阴影棒，太阳照射后阴影会出现在数字上，根据图片所示，可判断是B图，故选B。
13．细节理解题。根据“But sundials don't work at night or on a cloudy day! There are no shadows unless the sun is out”，可知必须要有太阳，故选A。
14．判断正误题。根据“These sticks measured (测量) time during the day”，可知小棍子只在白天测量时间，晚上不行，A选项表述错误，排除；根据“Over time, the Chinese first used sundials instead of shadow sticks”，可知是中国人率先使用日晷，而不是埃及人，B选项表述错误，排除；根据“The sand falls from the top of the sand-glasses to the bottom. It measures short amounts of the time”，可知沙漏只能测量短的时间，而不是长的时间，C选项表述错误，排除；根据“The level of the water in the bowls showed the time”，可知水时钟是通过水平面来展示时间的，D选项表述正确，故选D。
15．文章主旨题。通读全文，可知文章主要介绍了在钟表发明出来之前，人们都是利用什么来计时和看时间的，故选C。
