Comic : Earth's rotation
【明報專訊】The Smarties are going on holiday. They are leaving for England.
■Know more
While the earth and other planets orbit the sun, the earth also rotates on its axis (地軸). It is an imaginary line which goes through from the North Pole to the South Pole.
Every 24 hours, the earth spins once on its axis. As the earth spins, one side faces the sun and another side faces away. Therefore, some parts of the world receive sunlight and some do not. While some countries are in the daytime, the other ones are at nighttime. We divide the earth into 24 time zones to indicate time differences among different countries. For example, Hong Kong is eight hours ahead of London.
Our planet moves at about 460 metres per second. It is very fast as the fastest runners in the world need around 43 seconds to complete a 400-metre race. We cannot feel the earth's rotation because we are constantly pulled by gravity towards the ground.
■English highway
As
is a conjunction which is similar to "when" and "while". These words mean "during" and they connect two events happening at the same time. We can also use ''as'' to show a cause-effect relationship.
e.g. We were reading as our little sister was sleeping.
■Glossary
imaginary (adj) 想像中的
indicate (v) 顯示
rotation (n) 轉動
gravity (n) 地心引力
(Criticisms on this publication, if any, are aimed at pointing out the errors or defects of certain systems or policies with a view to rectifying or eradicating such errors or defects, as well as prompting improvement or remedy for them via lawful means. There is absolutely no intention of inciting hatred, discontent or hostility towards the government or other classes of the community.)
[Smarties' Power English 第359期]
