单选题 I was born on the last day of February. I've always felt sorry for February, squeezed between the big months of January (named for the Roman god Janus, keeper of gateways) and March (after Mars, the god of war).
The first Roman calendar, legend has it, had 10 months and no February. Beginning at the vernal equinox (春分) with March, it ended with December. In an agricultural society, winter was of little importance, and thus went undivided.
January and February were added about 700 B.C. by the second king of Rome, Numa Pompilius. He made all the months 29 or 31 days, but shortened February, the last month of the year, by giving it only 28.
By the time of Julius Caesar, the calendar was three months out of sync with the solar year. This prompted Caesar to announce a new calendar in 46 B.C. Although there is some dispute-some historians say Caesar gave February 29 days-most believe his calendar preserved a 28-day February (with 29 days only in a leap year).
Next, it was the church's turn. In 1582 Pope Gregory
单选题 1t is said that in the first Roman calendar, ______.
  • A. all months were equally divided
  • B. December was the longest month
  • C. February was the shortest month
  • D. January and February were merged into one
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 第二段介绍了第一个罗马历法。据说这部历法中只有10个月，并没有2月。它起自春分即3月，到12月结束。在农业社会中，冬天没有什么重要意义，因此没有将12月再细分。也就是说从12月到3月是一个月，因此一年中12月的时间最长，相当于12月、1月和2月的总和。
单选题 The 12-month calendar was first announced by ______. A. Julius Caesar B. Pope Gregory
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 第三段说在公元前700年，第二任罗马皇帝Numa Pompilius在历法中加入1月和2月，使历法中的月份正式成为12个月。
单选题 According to most historians, the new calendar in 46 B.C. ______.
  • A. gave February 29 days for the first time
  • B. unveiled many mysteries surrounding February
  • C. followed the tradition on February
  • D. made February equal with other months
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 第四段最后一句说虽然仍有争议，一些历史学家认为恺撒在新历法中将2月定为29天，但多数历史学家相信在恺撒的新历法中还是保留了只有28天的2月。
单选题 It is implied in the passage that ______.
  • A. most people today are not interested in changing the calendar
  • B. there is no point in changing the current calendar
  • C. people have been trying to make changes to the calendar
  • D. it is urgent for us to make improvements to the calendar
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 第六段说的是人们一直在试图修改历法，教皇格里高力绝不是最后一个。国际联盟收到过150多个新设计，联合国收到的建议则更多。
单选题 The author suggests in the last paragraph that his proposal ______.
  • A. is easy to carry out
  • B. is simpler than the others
  • C. will trigger little dispute
  • D. makes scientific sense
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 最后一段第一句作者说如果将每年的前三个月都改为30天，历法就会更加吻合月球周期，也就是说历法会更加科学。
单选题 The author's purpose in writing the passage is to ______.
  • A. emphasize that February should be extended
  • B. rewrite the history of February in the calendar
  • C. explain why February should be the shortest month
  • D. compare various proposals to make February longer
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】