Should the permanent daylight saving time bill currently being advanced by the U.S. Congress be enacted, the biannual ritual of adjusting clocks may well become a relic of the past.
倘若美國國會現行推動的永久夏令時間法案獲得通過,每年兩度調整時鐘的慣例或將成為歷史。
Nevertheless, even if some members of the public find the seasonal time shifts vexing, it does not necessarily follow that the wholesale adoption of a single time standard would be universally embraced.
然而,即便部分民眾對春秋兩季的時間轉換感到困擾,這並不必然意味著統一採用單一時間制會廣受歡迎。
The United States has previously attempted such a measure, most recently in the 1970s, yet it ultimately failed to sustain its implementation.
美國過去曾嘗試過此舉,最近一次是在1970年代,但最終未能持續實施。
The present era has metamorphosed into a novel epoch, teeming with an unprecedented cohort of remote workers—who are no longer required to operate within conventional office environments—while, concurrently, the substantial advancements in sleep science have furnished insights of a far more nuanced and intricate nature.
當今時代已然蛻變為一個嶄新的紀元,充斥著前所未見的遠程工作者——他們無需再於傳統辦公場所內工作——同時,睡眠科學的長足進展,亦提供了更為精微細膩的洞見。
Currently, the system of advancing clocks in spring and reverting to standard time in autumn is designed to extend daylight hours during summer evenings.
目前,春季時鐘撥快、秋季調回標準時間的制度,旨在於夏季傍晚時分延長日照時數。
However, this biannual adjustment rarely garners favour—according to a poll conducted last year by AP-NORC, merely 12% of American adults expressed approval, while nearly half of the respondents held dissenting views.
然而,此一年兩度的調整鮮少獲得青睞——根據去年AP-NORC進行的一項民調,僅有12%的美國成年人表示贊成,而將近半數受訪者持反對意見。
Institutions advocating for the adoption of a single time system include the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine—organisations that place considerable emphasis on the impact on circadian rhythms.
支持採用單一時間制的機構包括美國醫學會與美國睡眠醫學學會——這些組織對於晝夜節律的影響極為重視。
The Senate must pass the bill before it can be submitted to the President for signature, thereby formally taking effect as law.
參議院必須通過該法案,始得呈交總統簽署,從而正式生效為法律。
The incumbent President, Donald Trump, has publicly expressed his endorsement of the bill.
現任總統唐納德·特朗普已公開表態,對該法案表示支持。
One must not act with undue haste.
切勿操之過急。
While individuals may be reluctant to embrace adjustments, historical evidence suggests that during the winter months, when daylight hours are shorter than in summer, they are equally averse to forfeiting additional morning light.
人們或許不樂於接受調整,然而歷史經驗揭示,在日照時數較夏季為短的冬季月份,他們同樣不願失去更多的晨光。
In 1973, Congress enacted legislation to permanently adopt daylight saving time, with the trial period originally scheduled from January 1974 to April 1975.
1973年,國會通過一項法律,永久實施夏令時間,原定試行期為1974年1月至1975年4月。
However, the law was repealed as early as October of the same year, owing to vehement public opposition.
然而,該法於同年10月即遭廢除,原因在於公眾強烈抗議。
A principal concern was that students might be compelled to attend school in darkness.
其中一項主要憂慮,係學生恐需在黑暗中上學。
As of the present day, school start times have begun to be postponed.
時至今日,學校的上課時間已開始延後。
Kevin Birth, a professor of anthropology at Queens College whose research centres on the cultural conception of time, retains a vivid recollection of his own childhood experience attending primary school in Syracuse, New York.
皇后學院人類學教授凱文·伯斯(Kevin Birth)的研究聚焦於時間的文化概念,他對幼時在紐約州錫拉丘茲就讀小學的經歷記憶猶新。
He recounts: 'I had to get up and go to school, and it felt as though it were the middle of the night.'
他描述道:「我必須起床去上學,感覺就像半夜一樣。
The sky was utterly black, and that persisted all the way until it was time for school.'
天色完全漆黑,而且一直持續到上學時間。」
He contends that should the United States resolve to make another attempt, the requisite changes would extend far beyond merely adjusting the clocks; the nation's time zones would also require a comprehensive reconfiguration.
他論斷道,倘若美國決意再度嘗試,所需變革絕非僅止於時鐘之調整;全國的時區亦須重新規劃。
The current division into four time zones is patently inadequate—their coverage is so excessively vast that within each zone, there exists a pronounced disparity in sunrise times between the western and eastern extremities.
現行劃分之四個時區實屬不足——其涵蓋範圍過於遼闊,以致每個時區內西部與東部的日出時間存在顯著差異。