Conception of Time
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Description Info Download Parts (20) Audio Readings IPA Script
Welcome to this British English reading and listening comprehension exercise, designed to help you improve your English language reading and listening skills as well as your vocabulary and grammar. In this lesson, we will explore the topic of Conception of Time. As you read the text, Conception of Time, pay close attention to vocabulary and content as after reading or listening, you will test your understanding of Conception of Time with multiple-choice questions. This exercise will not only enhance your reading and listening comprehension but also provide you with valuable knowledge about Conception of Time. Good luck and enjoy the exercises!
The concept of 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and 24 hours in a day originated from ancient civilizations and their understanding of mathematics and astronomy. The ancient Sumerians created the sexagesimal system, based on the number 60, a highly composite number ideal for calculations and divisions. Simultaneously, the Egyptians, using a duodecimal system, divided the day into two 12-hour cycles. This system was later adopted and further refined by Hellenistic astronomers like Ptolemy, who divided the celestial circle into 360 degrees and the hour into 60 parts. During the Middle Ages, scholars used these systems widely after they were translated from Arabic into Latin, and the invention of mechanical clocks solidified these time divisions. Thus, the structures of time we use today are a result of the enduring legacy of these ancient systems of measurement.
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The Conception of Time: Understanding the 60-Second Minute, 60-Minute Hour, and 24-Hour Day
Ever wondered why a minute has 60 seconds, an hour 60 minutes, and a day comprises 24 hours? The answers lie deep in the annals of history, stretching back thousands of years, and span multiple civilizations, including those of the ancient Sumerians and Egyptians.
The story begins in ancient Sumer, a civilization that existed around 2000 BCE in what is now southern Iraq. The Sumerians were among the first to develop a form of writing and, importantly for our subject, a numerical system. This system, known as sexagesimal, was based on the number 60. It was this system that set the groundwork for our 60-second minute and 60-minute hour.
The choice of 60 was not entirely arbitrary. The number 60 is a highly composite number, meaning it has more divisors than any smaller positive integer. This makes it extremely flexible for calculations and divisions, explaining its utility to the Sumerians in the creation of their mathematical and astronomical calculations.
However, the 60-minute hour did not come directly from the Sumerians. The ancient Egyptians, who lived concurrently but separately from the Sumerians, used a system based around the number 12. This is known as a duodecimal system, and the Egyptians applied it to their understanding of time. They divided the day into two cycles of 12 hours: 12 for daytime and 12 for night-time. Their sundials and water clocks reflected this division, marking the beginning of the 24-hour day.
The intermingling of these two systems, sexagesimal and duodecimal, didn't occur until much later in history. The Hellenistic astronomers, most notably Hipparchus and later Ptolemy, adopted the Sumerian sexagesimal system for their intricate astronomical calculations. Using this system, they divided the celestial circle into 360 degrees. In their works, notably in Ptolemy's Almagest, they further divided the degree, as well as the hour, into 60 parts, giving rise to the 60-minute hour and indirectly the 60-second minute.
It was during the Middle Ages that the amalgamation of these time measurements solidified in the Western world. The scholars of this time had access to the works of the Hellenistic astronomers via translations from Arabic into Latin. The 24-hour day, along with the 60-minute hour and 60-second minute, began to be used widely and documented in various manuscripts. With the invention of mechanical clocks in the late Middle Ages, these time divisions became physically manifest, and over centuries, have been universally adopted.
So, the answer to why we have 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and 24 hours in a day is a tale of ancient civilizations, mathematical systems, and the slow development of timekeeping methods. These constructs of time, formulated thousands of years ago, continue to shape our modern understanding of the world around us, illustrating the enduring legacy of our ancestors' ingenious systems of measurement.
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Conception of Time Comprehension Questions
To read the text, click the Readings button above. To listen to the audio, click the Audio button above. To read the IPA transcript, click the IPA Script button above. See if you can answer the comprehension questions below.
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