CD2: Tracks 3 6 -3 9
T rack 38
Katie:
Well, we w ere th in k in g of presenting each a nim a l w ith a picture and describing th e ir physical
ch aracte ristics.
Tutor:
OK, but not in too m uch detail. T ha t’s ju s t background inform a tion .
Ian:
W e 'll s ta rt w ith the jaguar. I'll introduce it by saying th a t the ja g u a r is a n o c tu rn a l a n im a l and the only
species of the genus
Panthera
to be found in the Am ericas. Like any cat, it has w h iske rs and it can move
quickly. Its spine has great m ovem ent, m eaning a jaguar can take long strides, so m e tim e s up to five
and a h alf m e tre s . This can make it a deadly p re da to r as you can im agine! Moving on to the fu r ... Its fu r
is quite distinct. The m arking s are like black doughnut-shaped spots on its otherw ise yellow fur. People
often confuse th em w ith the leopard fo r th is reason. Now the ta il is interesting. Although people th in k
th a t the ta il has stripe s on it, the fu r on the ta il a ctua lly is s im ila r to the body w ith black circle s around
the low e r section. The ja g u a r is generally a creature to be feared. ... Oh, yes, I should have m entioned
th is earlier. Sorry. Like m ost cats, it has sharp, retractable c la w s.
Tutor:
Yes, th at's fine, but be careful. The ja g u a r is usually th ou gh t of as noctu rn a l, but s tric tly speaking, it's
crepuscular, in o th e r w ords, m ost active between dusk and dawn. But as long as you m ention this, you
can put it u nd er the u m b re lla of n octu rn a l. Is th a t all?
Katie:
Yes, I th in k so. Thanks, Professor.
T rack 39
Lecturer:
The subject of th is series of lectures is horology, the science of m easuring tim e, and w e 'll be looking at
a few basic concepts in th is lecture.
The m easurem ent of tim e has come a long way since ancient tim es. It began w ith such devices as
the sundial, w here the position of the sun's shadow m arked the hour. Daylight was divided into twelve
'te m p o ra ry hours’ - these te m p o ra ry hours w ere lon ge r in the s u m m e r and s h o rte r in the w in te r,
sim p ly because the am ount of daylight changes w ith the seasons.
The e a rlie s t su nd ia l we know com es fro m Egypt. It was made of stone and is th ou gh t to date from
1500
b c
.
S undials w ere used th ro u g h o u t the classica l w orld, and w ith tim e, evolved into m ore elaborate
devices th a t could take into account seasonal changes and geographical positioning and refle ct the
hours accurately, no m a tte r w ha t the tim e of year. This was quite an achievem ent in technology. Today,
sundials can be seen as decorative pieces in many gardens.
In the eleventh century, the Chinese invented the firs t m echanical clocks. Thev w ere large and
expensive, and ce rta inly not intended fo r ind ivid u a ls. However, th is is the type of clock we are fa m ilia r
w ith today. There have been m any developm ents in clocks and w atches since then, and they have been
greatly improved, but if your clock o r w atch m akes a ticking sound, then it could w e ll be based on the
m echanical m ovem ents the Chinese developed a thousand years ago!
However, tim ekeeping has moved on from the m echanical clock. Tim e has become so im p o rta n t
th a t there is a series of atom ic clocks around the w o rld w hich m easure In te rn a tio n a l A tom ic Time.
Even though many co un trie s have th e ir own calendars, g lobalisation has made it essential th a t we
m easure tim e u n ifo rm ly , so th a t we know, fo r exam ple, th a t w hen it's 6 a.m. in the United Kingdom , it's
2 p.m. in Beijing. This standard was set in 1958. Now these atom ic clocks are situated in over seventy
la b o ra to rie s a ll over the w o rld .
There is so m uch to cover about the developm ent of tim e m easurem ent th a t I w ould like to refe r
you to the reading list. The core text is
The Development o f Time: Theory and Practice,
but there are
m any o the r u sefu l texts. A good grounding in the subject is given in
Understanding Time
by J. R. Beale.
Although som e sections lack detailed analyses, it does o ffe r a good foundation. Also
Time: Concepts
and Conventions
is quite a u sefu l read. You m ig h t th in k fro m the title th a t it is about the philosophy of
tim e, but th is is n 't the case. Rather, it gives a good d escription of how d ifferen t co un trie s have d ifferen t
approaches to tim e in te rm s of calendars and days. Lastly.
The Story of Time
by David H a rris analyses
tim e in great detail, and I w ould recom m end th is book if you are aim ing to specialise in horology.
Now, w e 're going to continue w ith an in-depth look at lu n a r and s o la r cycles.
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: 
