正文
This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. com.
这里是bbclearningenglish. com英语六分钟节目。
Alice:
Hello and welcome to
6 Minute English from BBC Learning English: we'll be talking about a
story in the news and learning some vocabulary along the way. I'm Alice
and joining me today is Kaz. Hi Kaz.
大家好。在这期的节目里，我们看一个新闻故事，同时教给大家一些新的词汇和短语。我是爱丽丝，今天和我一起主持节目的是卡兹。
Kaz:
Hi there Alice.
你好，爱丽丝。
Alice:
Now, if you're
listening to this programme on the 21 December 2012 or after, then I'm
very happy to say that the world hasn't ended.
如果你是在2012年12月21日或该日之后收听的本节目，那么我要很高兴地告诉你世界末日并未到来。
Kaz:
Alice, what do you mean the world hasn't ended?
爱丽丝，我所说的是世界末日是什么意思？
Alice:
Well, according to
the ancient Mayan civilisation, the people who lived in Central America
4,000 years ago, the world was supposed to end on December 21, 2012.
是这样的。古玛雅文明预测，2012年12月21日将是世界末日。而所谓玛雅人，则是4000年前生活在中美洲的人类。
Kaz:
Well, thank goodness they got the day wrong.
谢天谢地，他们把日期弄错了。
Alice:
It's very
interesting though, because the ancient Mayan calendar said December 21
2012 marked the end of a 5,000 year cycle. We'll find out more in a
minute, but first my question of the day. Kaz, December 21 is an
important day in the calendar because it is usually the shortest day of
the year in the northern hemisphere. Now, what's the word in English for
this? Is it: a) the winter equinox b) the winter solstice c) midwinter
但是这很有趣，因为古玛雅日历上显示2012年12月21日标志着为期5000年的周期结束了。稍后我们再讨论这件事，先来看看今天的问题。在日历中，12月21日是很重要的日子，因为这通常是北半球白昼最短的一天。那么卡兹，你知道这用英语怎么表达吗？是冬分，冬至还是仲冬呢？
Kaz:
I'd say midwinter.
恩，我觉得是仲冬。
