Universidad Nacional Autnoma De

Mxico

Alumna:
Chvez Gmez Ruth Noem
Materia:
Comprensin de lectura de Ingles
Tema:
Idea principal

MAPPING TIME: THE CALENDAR AND ITS HISTORY

by E. G. Richards
Oxjord University Press. 1998
438 pages
I. Like channel markers form a river, calendars are human inventions, determined to revealor
perhaps imposea pattern in the flow of time. The numerous attempts to make a calendar have
never been entirely satisfactory, but they have generated some remarkable exercises in human
ingenuity; and the commands of the local calendar have shaped commerce, culture and science
since the earliest historical times. E. G. Richardss compendious history of the calendar reflects the
infinite range of the subject, connecting topics as diverse as the origin of writing, the French
revolution, Hindu astronomy and various proposals for a thirteen-month year.
II. It is not easy to make a calendar because time vigorously resists being restricted. Although
repetitive cycles such as day and night, the phases of the moon, the patterns of the seasons remain
at hand, none of them are really constant. The day, for instance, changes in length, not only from
season to season, but it is also gradually increasing about half a millisecond per century due to the
friction
of
tides
on
the
ocean
bottom.
III. Whats worse, nothing divides evenly into anything else, If you express a year in days you have
six hours left over. If you express a lunar month in weeks there are lost days and hours that have to
be
forced
down
into
the
next
cycle.
IV. A given date doesnt fall on the same day of the week from one year to the next. The phases of
the moon wander around the months so calendar makers have to add a leap day now and again to
make
the
seasons
agree
with
the
calendar.
V. Ideally, a mathematician might be able to devise a perfect calendar. But of course thats not how
calendars come into being. The making of time has evolved the way species do, by gradual
adjustments; historically, new calendars have been invented whenever the deficits of the old
calendars
became
too
pronounced.
VI. Julius Caesars calendar, for instance, added a leap day every four years to keep everything on
schedule, but still increased about eleven minutes on the solar year with each passing year. By
1582 the first day of spring was falling ten days ahead. Pope Gregory XIII, following the
recommendations of astronomers, issued a papal bull that year declaring the elimination of leap
days from three out of every four century years. Specifically 1700, 1800 and 1900 (but not 2000).
That seemed no great loss, but Gregory also dropped ten days from the current year to bring the
seasons back in line. For creditor with bills due from October 5 to October 14, 1582, the decree was
no doubt a source of great distress, and some European nations unwilling to take orders from the
pope, did not adopt the reform for centuries. Russia remained on the Julian calendar until the 1917
revolution; as a result, the Imperial Russian Olympic team arrived almost two weeks late for the
London games in 1908.

PRRAF
O
I

ORACIN TPICO
Like channel markers form a river, calendars are
human inventions, determined to revealor perhaps
imposea pattern in the flow of time.

DETALLE DE
APOYO
2 Los intentos y
formas del calendario
3 La historia del
calendario de EG
Richard

II

It is not easy to make a calendar because time

vigorously resists being restricted.

2 Explicacin de los
ciclos
3 Ejemplo del da

III

-------------------------------------

1 Explicacin del ao
en el da
2 Explicacin de un
mes lunar en semanas

IV

A given date doesnt fall on the same day of the week

from one year to the next.

2 Explicacin de las
fases de la luna y
consecuencias en el
calendario

The making of time has evolved the way species do,

by gradual adjustments; historically, new calendars
have been invented whenever the deficits of the old
calendars became too pronounced.
Pope Gregory XIII, following the recommendations of
astronomers, issued a papal bull that year declaring
the elimination of leap days from three out of every
four century years.

1 Diseo del
calendario perfecto

VI

1 Ejemplo del
calendario de Julio
Cesar
2 Dato del primer da
de la primavera en
1582
4 Dato de fechas
5 Dato de los das de
la bula papal
6 Consecuencias de la
bula papal
7 Dato de Rusia

IDEA PRINCIPAL
El calendario es una invencin
humana que ha pasado por
nmeros intentos, los cuales han
dado forma a diferentes aspectos,
y poder experimentar los diversos
temas de la historia compendiada
de EG Richard del calendario
El calendario no es fcil de hacer
ya que hay ciclos repetitivos como
por ejemplo todos los aspectos
del da.
Un ao en el da tiene a seis
horas a la izquierda otra vez y un
mes lunar de semana hay das
perdidos y hora que tienen que
ser forzada hacia abajo en el
siguiente ciclo.
Las fechas no caen igual todos
los aos, es por eso que los
fabricantes de calendario tienen
que agregar un da de salto de
vez en cuando.
El calendario perfecto podra ser
diseado por un matemtico, pero
no es as los calendarios han ido
evolucionando con el tiempo.
En el calendario de Julio cesar se
agreg un da bisiesto y como
consecuencia el primer da de la
primavera caa como diez das
antes, despus el papa emiti una
bula papal con la eliminacin de
los das bisiestos pero tambin
trajo consecuencias como el
atraso de los das, as que Rusia
sigui usando el calendario de
Julio.