英語視頻暢談歐美人文風情106：日光節(jié)約時間

　　Every year some countries move their clocks forward in the spring only to move them back in the autumn. To the vast majority of the world who doesn't participate in this odd clock fiddling, it seems a baffling thing to do. So what's the reason behind it?

　　有些國家每年在春天時要將時鐘調(diào)快，就是為了在秋天時調(diào)回來。對世界上絕大多數(shù)沒有參與這奇怪的竄改時間活動的國家來說，這似乎是一件令人困惑的事。所以它背后的原因是什么?

　　The original idea, proposed by George Hudson, was to give people more sunlight in the summer. Of course, it's important to note that changing a clock doesn't actually make more sunlight. That's not how physics works.

　　原先的概念，是由George Hudson提出的，為的是要讓人們在夏天時享受更多日光。當然，有一點很重要的是，調(diào)了時鐘實際上不會制造更多陽光。這不是物理學運作的方式。

　　But, by moving the clocks forward an hour, compared to all other human activity, the sun will seem to both rise and set later. The time when the clocks are moved forward is called Daylight Saving Time, and the rest of the year is called Standard Time.

　　但是，把時鐘調(diào)快一個鐘頭，相對于人類的其他活動，太陽似乎能晚點升起也晚點下山。時鐘調(diào)快的那一個小時叫做“日光節(jié)約時間”，一年中剩下的時間則叫做“標準時間”。

　　This switch effectively gives people more time to enjoy the sunshine and nice summer weather after work. Hudson, in particular, wanted more sunlight so he could spend more time adding to his insect collection.

　　這樣的轉換有效地讓人們下班后能享受更多陽光和宜人的夏日氣候。Hudson特別想要更多陽光，這樣他就能有更多時間增加他的昆蟲標本收藏。

　　When winter is coming, the clocks move back, presumably because people don't want to go outside anymore. But, winter doesn't have this effect on everyone. If you live in a tropical place like Hawaii, you really don't have to worry about seasons, because they pretty much don't happen.

　　當冬天來臨，時鐘就調(diào)回來，推測是因為人們再也不想到外頭去了。但是，冬天不是在每個人身上都有這種效果。如果你住在像是夏威夷的熱帶地區(qū)，你實在不必擔心季節(jié)變換，因為季節(jié)變換大多不會發(fā)生。

　　Every day, all year, it's sunny and beautiful, so Christmas is just as good of a day to hit the beach as any other. And so, Hawaii is one of two states in the Union that ignore Daylight Saving Time.

　　整年的每一天，都是晴朗的美好天氣，所以圣誕節(jié)就像其它日子一樣都很適合到海邊。所以，夏威夷是美國聯(lián)邦內(nèi)無視日光節(jié)約時間的兩個州之一。

　　But, the further you travel from the equator in either direction, the more the seasons assert themselves, and you get colder and darker winters, making summer time much more valuable to the locals. So it's no surprise that the further a country is from the equator, the more likely it uses Daylight Saving Time.

　　但，不論哪個方向，你離赤道越遠，四季就越加明顯，你的冬天會更寒冷、更陰暗，讓夏季光陰對當?shù)厝藖碚f更加珍貴。所以不意外的，距離赤道越遠的國家，越有可能會使用日光節(jié)約時間。

　　Hudson proposed his idea in Wellington in 1895, but it wasn't well received, and it took until 1916 for Germany to be the first country to put it into practice.

　　1895年時Hudson在威靈頓提出了他的想法，但并不受好評，直到1916年德國才成為第一個實行的國家。雖然超級勤奮的德國人關心的不是在舒適的夏日午后來抓抓蝴蝶，而是關心要節(jié)省煤炭供給戰(zhàn)爭機器使用。

　　Though, the uber-industrious Germans were less concerned with catching butterflies on a fine summer evening than they were with saving coal to feed the war machine.

　　德國人認為日光節(jié)約時間可以節(jié)省能源。理由是它能鼓勵人們在夏天時待在戶外久一點，因此能少用人工照明。

　　The Germans thought Daylight Saving Time would conserve energy. The reasoning goes that it encourages people to stay out later in the summer and thus use less artificial lighting.

　　這聽起來很合邏輯，在一百年前嚴格管制的社會也許行得通，但它在現(xiàn)代世界也可行嗎?結果很意外地是個很難回答的問題。

　　This sounds logical, and it may have worked in the more regimented society of a hundred years ago, but does it still work in the modern world? That turns out to be a surprisingly difficult question to answer.

　　拿人類最偉大的發(fā)明：冷氣作為例子。這個神奇的涼爽盒子讓世界上一些若無冷氣不宜居住的區(qū)域變成蠻適合居住的所在。但是，將熱氣從家里抽出并不便宜，而且打開一臺冷氣機等同于使用數(shù)打鎢絲燈泡。

　　For example, take mankind's greatest invention: Air Conditioning. The magic box of cool that makes otherwise uninhabitable sections of the world quite tolerable places to live. But, pumping heat out of your house isn't cheap, and turning on one air conditioner is the same as running dozens of Tungsten light bulbs.

　　如果人們有更多陽光，卻不出門使用，日光節(jié)約時間實際上可能會耗費電力，而不是節(jié)省。這在像是鳳凰城的地方特別正確，那里平均夏日高溫是華氏一百零七度(約攝氏四十一度)，最高記錄是一百二十二度(約攝氏五十度)。

　　If people get more sunshine, but don't use it to go outside, then Daylight Saving Time might actually cost electricity, not save it. This is particularly true in a place like Phoenix, where the Average Summer High is a hundred and seven degrees, and the record is a hundred and twenty-two.

　　如果你建議一名亞利桑那州居民在夏天調(diào)時鐘來得到更多陽光，他們會當著你的面大笑。太陽和更貴的電費帳單不是他們想要的，這也是為什么亞利桑那州是第二個從未調(diào)整時鐘的州。

　　If you suggest to an Arizonian to change their clocks in the summer to get more sunshine, they'll laugh in your face. Sun and higher electricity bills are not what they want, which is why Arizona is the second state that never changes their clocks.

　　另一個試著研究日光節(jié)約時間的問題是科技和用電的急劇變化?？萍歼M步、進步、再進步，越來越多的電力就用在不是燈泡的東西上。

　　Another problem with trying to study Daylight Saving Time is rapid changes in technology and electrical use. As technology gets better and better and better, more electricity is dedicated to things that aren't light bulbs.

　　而室外炎熱、汗流浹背、充滿蚊子的白晝魅力，可不比科技娛樂以及空調(diào)舒適的室內(nèi)來的有吸引力。

　　And the lure of a hot, sweaty, mosquito-filled day outside is less appealing than technological entertainments and climate-controlled comfort inside.

　　還有已經(jīng)留存一世紀沒有變化、能源效能奇低的鎢絲燈泡，正讓路給CFL和LED節(jié)能燈，大大地減少需要照亮一間房的能源量。

　　Also the horrifically energy inefficient Tungsten light bulbs that have remained unchanged for a century are giving way to CFLs and LEDs, greatly reducing the amount of energy required to light a room.

　　所以，即便假設日光節(jié)約時間是有效的，可能每過一年效果就會差一點。

　　So, even assuming that Daylight Saving Time is effective, it's probably less effective with every passing year.

　　最后的結果是，雖然有些研究表示日光節(jié)約時間耗費更多電力，有些則說節(jié)省電力，他們都同意的一件事是效果大?。翰皇前俜种膊皇前俜种?，而是百分之一甚至更少，在美國，結果每戶約是四美元。

　　The bottom line is while some studies say DST costs more electricity, and others say it saves electricity, the one thing they agree on is the effect size: not twenty percent or ten percent but one percent or less, which, in the United States, works out to be about four dollars per household.

　　一整年省下或是多付四美元的電費不管怎樣實在都不是一件大事。所以現(xiàn)在問題變成：一年調(diào)兩次時鐘這麻煩值得嗎?

　　Four dollars saved or spent on electricity over an entire year is not really a huge deal either way. So the question now becomes: is the hassle of switching the clocks twice a year worth it?

　　最明顯的麻煩來自于睡眠剝奪，一個西方世界已經(jīng)非常普遍的反思，日光節(jié)約時間讓它更加糟糕。

　　The most obvious trouble comes from sleep deprivation, an already too common reflection in the western world that DST makes measurably worse.

　　透過時間追蹤軟體，我們可以實際看到人們在調(diào)完時鐘后的那個禮拜是比較沒生產(chǎn)力的。這帶來了巨大的相關成本。

　　With time-tracking software we can actually see that people are less productive the week after the clock changes. This comes with huge associated costs.

　　讓情況更糟的是，大部分國家?guī)ё吡诵瞧谝辉缟弦恍r的睡眠時間。睡眠剝奪可能會導致心臟病和自殺，而在日光節(jié)約時間內(nèi)的周一，兩者發(fā)生的機會都比平常更高。

　　To make things worse, most countries take away that hour of sleep on a Monday morning. Sleep deprivation can lead to heart attacks and suicides, and the Daylight

　　其他麻煩則來自于跨時區(qū)會議的時間安排。比方說你試著要在紐約、倫敦和悉尼間安排一場三方會議，在最佳的情況之下也不是件容易做的事，但當他們在日光節(jié)約時間應該何時開始和結束沒有取得一致，就變得格外困難了。

　　Saving Time Monday has a higher than normal spike in both.

　　在春天，悉尼比倫敦快十一個小時，而紐約慢五個小時。但接著紐約是第一個進入日光節(jié)約時間，并把時鐘調(diào)快一小時的。兩周后倫敦做了相同的事。再過一周，悉尼，在世界的另外一端，離開日光節(jié)約時間，并將時鐘調(diào)慢一小時。

　　Other troubles come from scheduling meetings across time zones. Let's say that you're trying to plan a three-way conference between New York, London and Sydney, not an easy thing to do under the best of circumstances, but made extra difficult when they don't agree on when Daylight Saving Time should start and end.

　　所以在這三周的時間，紐約比倫敦晚了五小時，然后晚四小時，又再次晚五小時。而悉尼要不就是比倫敦早了十一、十、或九個小時，要不就是早紐約十六、十五或十四小時。這整件瘋狂的事在六個月之后又會反轉過來再次發(fā)生。

　　In the spring, Sydney is eleven hours ahead of London, and New York is five hours behind. But then New York is the first to enter Daylight Saving Time and moves its clock forward an hour. Two weeks later London does the same. In one more week, Sydney, being on the opposite side of the world, leaves Daylight Saving Time and moves its clock back an hour.

　　如果回到黑暗時期，這可能不是那么重要，但在現(xiàn)代相互連結的世界，國際會議的安排每天都會發(fā)生幾千次。持續(xù)變換、不一致的時區(qū)不會幫上網(wǎng)友們?nèi)魏蚊Α?/p>

　　So in the space of three weeks, New York is five hours behind London, then four hours and then five hours again. And Sydney is either eleven, ten or nine hours from

　　而且，許多國家在自己境內(nèi)甚至也沒有就日光節(jié)約時間取得一致。

　　London, and sixteen, fifteen or fourteen hours from New York. And this whole crazy thing happens again in reverse six months later.

　　巴西使用日光節(jié)約時間，但只有你住在南部才會用到。加拿大也有，但Saskatchewan省沒有。大部分的澳洲人使用日光節(jié)約時間，但西澳、北領地或昆士蘭則沒有。

　　Back in the dark ages, this might not have mattered so much, but in the modern, interconnected world, planning international meetings happens thousands and thousands of times daily. Shifting and inconsistent time zones isn't doing Netizens any favors.

　　還有，當然，美國的確有使用日光節(jié)約時間，除非你住在波多黎各、維京群島、美屬薩摩亞、關島、北馬利安納群島，或是...先前提過的，夏威夷和亞利桑那州。但亞利桑那州自己境內(nèi)也不一致。

　　And, countries aren't even consistent about Daylight Saving Time within their own borders.

　　雖然亞利桑那州無視日光節(jié)約時間，但境內(nèi)的Navaho Nation卻遵循著它。而Navaho Nation內(nèi)的Hopi原住民保留區(qū)，就像亞利桑那州一樣無視日光節(jié)約時間。

　　Brazil has Daylight Saving Time, but only if you live in the south. Canada has it too, but not Saskatchewan. Most of Oz does DST, but not Western Australia, The Northern Territory or Queensland.

　　更深入點，在Hopi 保留區(qū)里有Navaho Nation的另一部分，遵循日光節(jié)約時間。最后，在Navaho Nation內(nèi)另外一部分的Hopi保留區(qū)則沒有遵循它。所以開車開過這綿延百里的土地，技術上會需要七次時間變換，這很瘋狂。

　　And, of course, the United States does have Daylight Saving Time, unless you live in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Marianas Islands or...as mentioned before, Hawaii and Arizona. But Arizona isn't even consistent within itself.

　　盡管這是個不正常的當?shù)毓质?，這是一張地圖，從他們繁復的豐功偉業(yè)之中，展示出不同的日光節(jié)約和時區(qū)規(guī)范。這真是亂七八糟，當國家修改法律時也需要持續(xù)更新。這就是為什么不意外的，甚至連我們的數(shù)位小工具有時也跟不上時間變換。

　　While Arizona ignores Daylight Saving Time, the Navaho Nation inside of Arizona follows it. Inside of the Navaho Nation is the Hopi Reservation, which like Arizona, ignores daylight saving time.

　　所以來復習一下：日光節(jié)約時間在夏天下班后給你更多陽光，要看你住在哪里，可能是好處也可能不是?？赡芤部赡懿粫?jié)省能源。

　　Going deeper, inside of the Hopi Reservation is another part of the Navaho Nation, which does follow Daylight Saving Time. And finally, there is also part of the Hopi Reservation elsewhere in the Navaho Nation which doesn't. So driving across this hundred-mile stretch would technically necessitate seven clock changes, which is insane.

　　但有件事是確定的：它必定將原本應該要簡單、能掌握時間的事情變得相當復雜，這就是為什么當要調(diào)整時鐘的時候，總是有我們該不該這么做的爭論。

　　While this is an unusual local oddity, here is a map showing the different daylight saving and time zone rules in all their complicated glory. It's a huge mess, and constantly needs updating as countries change their laws. Which is why it shouldn't be surprising that even our digital gadgets can't keep the time straight occasionally.

　　So to review: Daylight Saving Time gives more sunlight in the summer after work, which depending on where you live, might be in advantage or not. And it may or may not save electricity.

　　But one thing is for sure: it's guaranteed to make something that should be simple, keeping track of time, quite complicated, which is why when it comes time to change the clocks, there's always a debate about whether or not we should.