双语新闻：什么是日光节约时间

As November begins, many countries in North America and Europe are turning the clock back as daylight saving time ends.

随着11月的开始，北美和欧洲的许多国家都在把时钟拨回去，因为夏令时结束了。

Daylight saving time is the practice of moving clocks forward by one hour during summer months so daylight lasts longer into the evening.

夏令时是在夏季将时钟拨快一小时的做法，这样白天持续到晚上的时间更长。

In Europe, the practice is called European Summer Time. The clock usually moves forward in March and turns back at the end of October. Most European countries follow the practice. Georgia, Russia, Turkey, Iceland and a few others are among the exceptions.

在欧洲，这种做法被称为欧洲夏令时。时钟通常在三月向前移动，在十月底向后转动。大多数欧洲国家都遵循这种做法。格鲁吉亚、俄罗斯、土耳其、冰岛和其他一些国家是例外。

Across the Atlantic Ocean, Canada, Mexico, Cuba and the United States start daylight saving time in March also. The clock will be set back an hour on November 5 this year.

在大西洋的另一边，加拿大、墨西哥、古巴和美国也在3月开始实行日光节约时间。今年11月5日，大本钟将拨慢一小时。

Countries closer to the equator usually do not follow daylight saving time because the period of daylight changes little. Those that do not change the times include countries in Central America, Asia and Africa.

靠近赤道的国家通常不采用日光节约时间，因为日光的周期变化不大。那些不改变时代的国家包括中美洲、亚洲和非洲国家。

How did it start?

它是怎么开始的?

The idea of changing the clocks with the seasons started with George Hudson, a New Zealand scientist who studied insects. In 1895, Hudson proposed a time change to extend summer daylight hours. The extra time would have helped him with collecting insects after work.

根据季节改变时钟的想法是由研究昆虫的新西兰科学家乔治·哈德森提出的。1895年，哈德逊提议改变时间，延长夏季白昼时间。这些额外的时间可以帮助他在下班后收集昆虫。

The idea did not appeal to anyone until the time of World War I when European countries sought to save energy. Germany was the first country to adopt daylight saving time, in 1916, and the U.S. followed in 1918.

直到第一次世界大战期间，当欧洲国家寻求节约能源时，这个想法才吸引了任何人。1916年，德国是第一个采用夏令时的国家，1918年，美国紧随其后。

Some people believe that the U.S. established daylight saving time to help farmers. But farmers generally do not like the practice. The publication Modern Farmer said American farmers were against the practice but that Congress approved it anyway.

一些人认为，美国建立夏令时是为了帮助农民。但农民们普遍不喜欢这种做法。《现代农民》杂志说，美国农民反对这种做法，但国会还是批准了。

Opponents of daylight saving time have pointed to studies that found an increase in traffic accidents, health issues, and lack of sleep in the days after clocks are moved forward every March.

反对夏令时的人指出，研究发现，每年3月时钟提前后的日子里，交通事故、健康问题和睡眠不足的情况有所增加。

As for saving energy, the Congressional Research Service said studies have found little, if any, energy savings from the time change.

至于节约能源，国会研究服务处说，研究发现，从时间变化中节省的能源很少，如果有的话。

Arguments to end the practice

争论结束这种做法

Daylight saving time has been a fluid issue from the start. Some countries have adopted and rejected it several times. In South America, Uruguay ended the practice in 2015. Chile replaced it with "wintertime" from May to August in 2016.

日光节约时间从一开始就是一个不确定的问题。一些国家曾多次通过和拒绝。在南美洲，乌拉圭于2015年结束了这种做法。2016年5月至8月，智利将其改为“冬季”。

Egypt announced in March it would return to daylight saving time after seven years to save energy. Japan briefly considered adopting the practice for the 2020 Olympics but rejected it due to a lack of popular support.

今年3月，埃及宣布将在7年后恢复夏令时，以节约能源。日本曾一度考虑在2020年奥运会上采用这种做法，但由于缺乏民众支持而拒绝了。

In the U.S. there have been several efforts to make daylight saving time permanent. Last year, a bill called the "Sunshine Protection Act" passed the Senate but got stuck in the House of Representatives. Lawmakers could not agree on whether to keep standard time or permanent daylight saving time.

在美国，已经有几次努力使日光节约时间永久化。去年，一项名为“阳光保护法案”的法案在参议院获得通过，但在众议院却陷入了僵局。议员们无法就是保留标准时间还是永久夏令时达成一致。