評(píng)論
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Now, the way they used to count time was based on the phases of the moon, which, regularly and predictably, goes through a cycle, starting with a new moon, then to a full moon, and back again to the new moon.
嗯，他們往往通過(guò)月亮的相位來(lái)記錄時(shí)間，相位的變化是有規(guī)律且可預(yù)測(cè)，這個(gè)周期以新月開(kāi)始，接著是滿月，再重新回到新月。
Now this cycle was then used to determine the length of their month.
它被用來(lái)他們?nèi)諝v里每個(gè)月的長(zhǎng)度。
So, um, one lunar cycle was one Egyptian month, and about four of the months would constitute a season.
所以，按照這種算法，一整個(gè)月相變化構(gòu)成一個(gè)完整的埃及月，四個(gè)埃及月構(gòu)成一個(gè)季。
Now, 12 of these months was an approximately 354-day year.
這樣的話，12個(gè)月構(gòu)成了一個(gè)長(zhǎng)度大約為354天的“年”。
So they had a 354-day agricultural calendar that was designed to help them determine when the Nile would inundate the land.
所以他們有354天的農(nóng)業(yè)日歷，幫助他們來(lái)決定什么時(shí)候，這個(gè)大陸什么時(shí)候被淹沒(méi)。
Well, of course it had to be more complicated than that.
嗯，當(dāng)然實(shí)際上，它比我們講的要復(fù)雜。
The average amount of time between floodings wasn't actually 354 days.
兩次淹沒(méi)的時(shí)間間隔實(shí)際上不是354天。
I mean, although it varies, the average was clearly longer than 354 days.
我的意思是，雖然這個(gè)間隔會(huì)有所變化，但很清楚它比354天要長(zhǎng)。
So how did they keep this short calendar in step with the actual flooding of the Nile?
這樣的話，就產(chǎn)生了一個(gè)問(wèn)題：他們是如何讓這個(gè)短的日期與尼羅河的淹沒(méi)保持一致呢。
Well, their astronomers had discovered that at a certain time of year the brightest star, Sirius, would disappear.
埃及人的天文學(xué)家發(fā)現(xiàn)，在一年的某些時(shí)間，最亮的行星，即天狼星將會(huì)從天空消失。
Actually, it'd be hidden in the glare of the Sun.
實(shí)際上，它是被太陽(yáng)光的光亮給蓋住了。
And then, a couple of months later, one morning in the eastern sky just before dawn, Sirius would reappear.
幾個(gè)月之后的某一天的大清早晨，黎明之前東方，天狼星又會(huì)重新出現(xiàn)。
And it happened regularly, about every 365 days.
這個(gè)周期很有規(guī)律，長(zhǎng)度大約為365天。
Even more significantly, the reappearance of Sirius would occur around the same time as the Nile's flooding.
更重要的是，天狼星的出現(xiàn)基本與尼羅河水漲潮同步，
And this annual event is called a heliacal rising.
所以每年的這個(gè)事件都被稱作“偕日出”。
The heliacal rising was a fair indicator of when the Nile would flood.
偕日出能夠很好地告訴我們尼羅河將在何時(shí)被淹沒(méi)。
