2025届高考英语时文精读课程冬至-CNN旅游频道介绍--20241218-阅读理解+语法填空+词汇拓展 导学案（含答案）.docxVIP

（2025年）

2024-2025学年高中英语时文精读课程外刊改编Week16阅读+语填

CNN旅游频道介绍冬至

一、阅读理解。（共4小题，每小题2.5分，记10分）（难度：白银——题源：美国有线电视新闻网CNN2024-12-18EST12:24）

Wintersolstice:Theshortestdayandlongestnightoftheyear

冬至：一年中白天最短、夜晚最长的一天(1292words,5minuteread)

ByForrestBrown,CNN,Updated12:24PMEST,WedDecember18,2024

SincethesummersolsticebackinJune,thedayshavegrownsteadilyshorterandthenightshavegrownsteadilylongerintheNorthernHemisphere.Butthat’sabouttoreverseitself.

Wintersolstice,theshortestdayoftheyearandtheofficialfirstdayofwinter,isonSaturday,December21,thisyear(well,forthevastbulkoftheworld’spopulationanyway).Howthesolstices—alongwiththespringandfallequinoxes—workhasfascinatedcuriouspeopleforthousandsofyears.

It’sadaywhenscienceintermixeswithancienttraditionsaroundtheworld.

PeoplevisittheChristmasfairinFrankfurt,Germany,onDecember21,2023.Sittingalittleover50degreeslatitudenorth,thisbusiness-orientedcitywillgetjusteighthoursandthreeminutesofdaylightonwintersolstice.

KirillKudryavtsev/AFP/GettyImages

SolsticesandEarth’shemispheres

ThewintersolsticemarkstheshortestdayoftheyearandthelongestnightintheNorthernHemisphere,whenthesunappearsatitsmostsoutherlyposition,directlyoverheadattheTropicofCapricorn.

ThesituationisthereverseintheSouthernHemisphere,whereonlyabout10%oftheworld’spopulationlives.

There,theDecembersolsticemarksthelongestdayoftheyear–andthebeginningofsummer–inplacessuchasAustralia,BotswanaandChile.

Whenexactlydoeswintersolsticeoccur?

FolksgatheraroundafireduringawintersolsticecelebrationinNorthAndover,Massachusetts,onDecember21,2021.

RebaSaldanha/Reuters

Thesolsticeusually–butnotalways–takesplaceonDecember21.Thedatethatthesolsticeoccurscanmoveforwardorbackbyadaybecausethesolaryear(thetimeittakesfor