Early fifth-century philosopher St. Augustine famously wrote that he knew what time was unless someone asked him. Albert Einstein added another wrinkle when he theorized that time varies depending on where you measure it. Today’s state-of-the-art atomic (原子的) clocks have proven Einstein right. Even advanced physics can’t decisively tell us what time is, because the answer depends on the question you’re asking.
翻译：公元五世纪早期的哲学家圣奥古斯丁曾写过一句名言：他知晓时光是何，但若某公问询，他亦难于词辨。爱因斯坦提出了另一个问题，根据他的理论，时间会因测量地点的不同而改变。当今先进的原子时钟已经证明爱因斯坦是正确的。即使高等物理学也无法明确告知我们什么是时间，因为答案取决于你提出的问题。
Forget about time as an absolute. What if, instead of considering time in terms of astronomy, we related time to ecology? What if we allowed environmental conditions to set the tempo (节奏) of human life? We’re increasingly aware of the fact that we can’t control Earth systems with engineering alone, and realizing that we need to moderate (调节) our actions if we hope to live in balance. What if our definition of time reflected that?
翻译：不要以为时间是绝对的。如果我们把时间与生态联系起来，而不是从天文学的角度来考虑时间，将会如何? 如果我们允许环境条件来设定人类生活的节奏，将会如何? 我们越来越意识到一个事实：我们不能仅仅依靠工程来控制地球系统,而且我们越来越意识到如果我们希望与自然和谐共处，我们就要调节我们的所作所为。如果我们对时间的定义体现了这一点，又将会如何?
Recently, I conceptualized a new approach to timekeeping that’s connected to circumstances on our planet, conditions that might change as a result of global warming. We’re now building a clock at the Anchorage Museum that reflects the total flow of several major Alaskan rivers, which are sensitive to local and global environmental changes. We’ve programmed it to match an atomic clock if the waterways continue to flow at their present rate. If the rivers run faster in the future on average, the clock will get ahead of standard time. If they run slower, you’ll see the opposite effect.
翻译：最近，我构想了一种计时的新方法，它与我们星球的环境有关。由于全球变暖，星球的环境可能会发生变化。我们现在正在安克雷奇博物馆建造一个时钟，它反映了阿拉斯加几条主要河流的总流量，这些河流对当地环境以及全球环境的变化颇为敏感。我们给时钟编了程序，如果河流继续以现在的速度流动的话，那么就让它与原子钟相匹配。如果未来的河流平均流速加快，时钟就会比标准时间走得快。如果河流流速变慢些，你将看到相反的效果。
翻译：The clock registers both short-term irregularities and long-term trends in river dynamics. It’s a sort of observatory that reveals how the rivers are behaving from their own temporal frame (时间框架), and allows us to witness those changes on our smartwatches or phones. Anyone who opts to go on Alaska Mean River Time will live in harmony with the planet. Anyone who considers river time in relation to atomic time will encounter a major imbalance and may be motivated to counteract it by consuming less fuel or supporting greener policies.
翻译：时钟记录了河流动态方面的短期的无规则变化和长期趋势。它是一种观测台,按照河流自身的时间框架揭示了河流的“行为”,并让我们能够通过智能手表或智能手机见证这些变化。任何选择阿拉斯加平均河流时间的人将与地球和谐相处。任何认为河流时间应与原子时间对应的人都会遇到严重的失衡，他们也许会通过减少燃料消耗或支持更环保的政策来抵消这种不平衡。
Even if this method of timekeeping is novel in its particulars, early agricultural societies also connected time to natural phenomena. In pre-Classical Greece, for instance, people “corrected” official calendars by shifting dates forward or backward to reflect the change of season. Temporal connection to the environment was vital to their survival. Likewise, river time and other timekeeping systems we’re developing may encourage environmental awareness.
翻译：即使这种计时方法在其细节上是新奇的，早期农业社会也是将时间与自然现象联系起来。例如，在前古典时期的希腊，人们通过将日期向前或向后移动来“修正”官方的日历，以反映季节的变化。时间与环境相联对人们的生存至关重要。同样，我们正在开发的河流时间和其他计时系统也许会鼓励环境意识。
When St. Augustine admitted his inability to define time, he highlighted one of time’s most noticeable qualities: Time becomes meaningful only in a defined context. Any timekeeping system is valid, and each is as praiseworthy as its purpose.
翻译：当圣奥古斯丁承认他无法定义时间时，他强调了时间的一个最显著的特性: 时间只有在特定的背景下才有意义。任何一种计时系统都是有效的，每一种都与其作用一样值得称赞。
31. What is the main idea of Paragraph 1?
A. Timekeeping is increasingly related to nature.
B. Everyone can define time on their own terms.
C. The qualities of time vary with how you measure it.
D. Time is a major concern of philosophers and scientists.
31. 第一段的段落大意是什么？
A. 计时与自然的关系越来越密切。
B. 每个人都可以用自己的方式定义时间。
C. 时间的质量根据你如何衡量而变化。
D. 时间是哲学家和科学家关心的主要问题。
32. The author raises three questions in Paragraph 2 mainly to ______.
A. present an assumption
B. evaluate an argument
C. highlight an experiment
D. introduce an approach
32. 作者在第二段提出了三个问题，其主要目的是：
A. 提出假设
B. 评估一个论点
C. 强调一个实验
D. 介绍一种方法
33. What can we learn from this passage?
A. Those who do not go on river time will live an imbalanced life.
B. New ways of measuring time can help to control Earth systems.
C. Atomic time will get ahead of river time if the rivers run slower.
D. Modern technology may help to shape the rivers’ temporal frame.
33. 我们能从这篇文章中了解到什么?
A. 那些不遵守河流时间的人将过着一种不平衡的生活。
B. 测量时间的新方法有助于控制地球系统。
C. 如果河流运行得更慢，原子时间将快于河流时间。
D. 现代技术可能有助于形成河流的时间框架。
34. What can we infer from this passage?
A. It is crucial to improve the definition of time.
B. A fixed frame will make time meaningless.
C. We should live in harmony with nature.
D. History is a mirror reflecting reality.
34. 我们能从这段文章推断出什么?
A. 改进时间的定义是至关重要的。
B. 固定的时间框架会使时间变得毫无意义。
C. 我们应该与自然和谐相处。
D. 历史是反映现实的一面镜子。
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