"Two Children Debating Day"

Category: Education/Science gt; gt; Science and Technology

Question description:

The answer to this question is to answer the question "Two Children" in the first volume of the sixth grade of primary school Detailed explanation of the opinions of both sides of the "Sun Debate", such as: what factors determine the temperature difference of the earth's temperature; what kind of scientific explanation should be used to answer the opinions raised by the two children; what is the difference in the size of the sun in human vision, etc. .

I hope the answerer can give me a more detailed answer, but because I urgently need this valuable material, please complete the answer before November 15, 2006, and adopt the opinions.

A reward of 20 points will be given to the best answerer. Thank you for participating. (Reward points are limited)

Analysis:

Shen Boyu, a PhD in earth sciences at the University of Western Ontario in London, and two scientists from the University of Michigan in the United States, published " A research report on the temperature rise in the Northern Hemisphere was published in the journal Nature. The report pointed out that the temperature of the earth is rising much faster than previously expected, and the temperature growth rate in the Northern Hemisphere is the fastest.

Based on the study of ground hole temperatures at more than 600 different locations around the world, scientists found that the temperature on the earth has increased significantly by about 1 degree Celsius since 1500, with the 20th century accounting for half of the increase. Rate.

In the Northern Hemisphere, temperatures have increased by 1.1 degrees Celsius in the past five centuries, and by 0.6 degrees Celsius in the 20th century.

Scientists extended sensitive thermometers into underground caves to collect the earth’s temperature data for analysis. “The underground caves are underground archives,” said Dr. Shen Boyu, because temperature changes on the ground will be transmitted to the underground. "It takes 1,000 years to reach 500 feet underground." If you drill a hole anywhere on the land, you can observe the temperature profile and climate at that location. Changes that have been made. ”

Scientists have studied tree rings, seafloor sediments and coral growth to explore and predict temperature trends. Canadian environmental and meteorologists believe that in this century, because of various This man-made factor will cause the earth's temperature to continue to rise.

Dr. Shen Boyu is an earth science researcher at Xi'an University. He immigrated to Canada from Taiwan in 1968 and studied for a master's degree in British Columbia. He obtained his master's degree at Western University in 1975. He has a PhD degree and is engaged in many high-value research projects. He is an erudite but low-key Chinese scientist

[Canadian "Nature" Magazine]

In recent years, the temperature of the earth has been increasing. rising, and most of the world's scientists believe that this phenomenon will continue for decades to come

The Earth is naturally warm and pleasant when exposed to sunlight, and what we refer to as Earth's temperature. Rising is another phenomenon, which is relatively new because the temperature of the earth is not due to its natural causes, but due to human activities. In the past 100 years, the temperature of the earth is anything but natural. The ground has risen by 0.5 degrees Celsius, which worries scientists. Scientists believe that the rapid development of industry is the main reason for the increase in the temperature of the earth.

The increase in the temperature of the earth refers to. The increase in the average temperature of the earth. In this episode, we will discuss the impact of the increase in the earth's temperature, and hope that people will pay enough attention to this phenomenon and the threats it will bring.

The rising temperature of the earth has gradually evolved over the past few decades into a crisis that has had many impacts on human life, including changes in rainfall patterns, expansion of oceans, and shrinkage of inland lakes. Animals, plants and even human life have also changed accordingly. After investigation and research, most scientists believe that global warming is the result of the emission of greenhouse gases, which are mostly emitted from the use of non-renewable energy sources such as oil or natural gas. Exhaust gas.

Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. In addition, another reason for the warming of the earth is that the solar energy that shines on the earth is stored on the surface.

If these gases did not exist in the Earth's atmosphere, the solar energy shining on the Earth would be reverse-radiated back into space. In this case, the earth's temperature would be 32 degrees Celsius cooler than the current temperature. Greenhouse gases thus maintain temperatures to a certain extent, making the earth suitable for human life and plant and animal growth. But if greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, the temperature of the earth may rise to a level that humans, animals and plants cannot bear.

A large amount of data proves that the water temperature of the world's oceans has also increased by 1 degree in the past 100 years. It is speculated that in the next 100 years, as greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, the water temperature in each ocean will increase by about 3 degrees.

The continuous expansion of the ocean area and the pollution of the ocean by human activities have turned some sea areas into "dead zones". In addition, world climate change has also brought threats and pressure to the ecological environment and species, causing many species to become extinct or on the verge of extinction.

According to relevant reports by researchers, the frequent El Ni?o phenomena in the past 20 years are also the result of the earth's long-term high temperature. El Ni?o refers to a large-scale abnormal increase in sea water temperature that occurs every few years in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. This phenomenon has led to a decrease in marine life, an increase in the frequency of severe typhoons, and the frequent occurrence of huge waves along ocean coasts.

Most experts believe that the rise in Earth's temperatures in recent years and the continuation of this phenomenon in the coming decades will cause Antarctic glaciers to melt. If things go on like this, many islands, cities and even some countries will sink to the bottom of the sea. Environmentalists believe that the continued warming of the earth will also be a disaster for animals and plants. The continued melting of Antarctic glaciers has deprived terrestrial mammals such as penguins of their living environment, and has also led to a sharp decline in the algae that produce plankton. As the glaciers continue to melt, the food chain in the area will also change. Not only will the plankton decrease, but the number of seabirds, seals and penguins will also decrease.

According to a report recently released by environmental protection activists, factors such as indiscriminate fishing and killing of marine life, pollution of the marine ecological environment, and rising earth temperatures are seriously threatening the growth and life of marine life. The report points out that many marine species are already on the verge of extinction.

Climate change has also had a serious impact on migratory birds. As the wetland areas inhabited by migratory birds continue to decrease due to drought and temperatures continue to rise, many migratory birds have become extinct.

Another impact of the continued warming of the earth is the harm to crop growth, ultimately leading to less food for humans. Hot weather turns more water into water vapor, depleting fresh water resources for human consumption. The reduction of water resources also makes it difficult for livestock to drink water and irrigate crops.

Turkish scientists warned not long ago that the consequences of nearly a century of climate change will gradually become apparent in the next 150 years.

These Turkish scientists pointed out that the increase in earth temperature has melted the ice and snow in the mountainous areas of eastern Turkey, which will eventually lead to unoptimistic changes in the natural environment of the region. These experts predict that Turkey will gradually be included in the desert zone of the earth. If emergency measures are not taken, Turkey will become a desert country like Saudi Arabia in the next 200 years.

Of course, Turkish scientists have only touched on one aspect of the global warming phenomenon that people are paying attention to. People should pay more attention to environmental protection issues than ever before and work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

25 Two short articles

Text discussion

1. Overall grasp

1. "Kuafu Chasing the Sun"

"Kuafu Chasing the Sun" is one of the earliest myths in my country. In this myth, the giant Kuafu dared to race with the sun, and finally died of thirst, and his stick turned into a forest of peach trees. This wonderful myth expresses Kuafu's incomparable heroism and reflects the ancient people's strong desire and tenacious will to explore and conquer nature.

Kuafu is a very magical person. He is a giant who is good at running, and he "drives away" from the sun. He was so thirsty that even though he drank up the Yellow River and the Wei River, his thirst was still not quenched. He rushed to Daze again, but finally died of thirst before he could drink the water in Daze. The walking stick he left behind turned into a peach forest and can also benefit mankind. Kuafu dares to compete with the sun, he can gallop across the sky and the earth, he can drink up the rivers, and he can turn his stick into a peach forest. He is truly extraordinary in spirit and ability. Kuafu, a mythical figure, has a surreal imagination and exaggerated romantic charm.

This myth had a great influence on later generations. People often use "Kuafu chasing the sun" or "Kuafu chasing the sun" and "Zhuri" to describe people who have great ambitions or great strength and courage. For example, Tao Qian's poem "Reading the Classic of Mountains and Seas" contains the sentence "Kuafu was born with great ambitions, and he raced against the sun"; Liu Zongyuan's poem "Traveling is Difficult" contains the sentence "Kuafu glances at Yuyuan day by day, jumping to the North Sea to surpass Kunlun". Sometimes "Kuafu Zhuri" is also used as a metaphor for overestimating one's own abilities, but this is a negative understanding of this myth and does not conform to the essentially positive meaning of "Kuafu Zhuri" as a myth.

2. "Two Children Debating the Sun"

This short article is about two children who have different views on the distance of the sun from people on the earth in the morning and noon. They each hold one side and can't argue. Not even Confucius can Make judgments to show that what people know is always limited and knowledge is endless. Even the knowledgeable Confucius will not know something. This short article also reflects the ancient spirit of independent thinking and bold questioning in order to understand nature and explore objective truth.

This article first writes about Confucius' encounter with two children arguing on the road, then presents the two children's different views, and then presents the basis for the two children's views. Finally, it writes that Confucius was unable to make judgments and was ridiculed. The full text is only over a hundred words long, with concise language and clear layers. It mainly expresses the characters and develops the plot through dialogue.

2. Problem Research

1. How should we understand the ending of "Kuafu Zhuri", "Abandoning his staff and turning into Deng Lin"?

Kuafu died of thirst, "abandoned his staff and transformed into Deng Lin". So, what is "Deng Lin"? "Denglin" actually has its own place, located at the junction of Henan, Hubei and Anhui provinces near the present Dabie Mountains. According to research by Bi Yuan, a scholar from the Qing Dynasty, "Deng" and "Tao" have similar pronunciations, and "Deng Lin" means "Peach Forest". The theory that "Denglin" is a place name is not inconsistent with the theory that "Denglin" is "Taolin". We can think that "Denglin" is both a place name and a "peach forest". The place name "Denglin" is named after the meaning of "Denglin", which means "peach forest". In addition, the "stick" and the "peach forest" are both trees, and they have similar images; Kuafu's burning thirst and the "peach forest" that provides sweet and juicy fruits and patches of greenery are also similar in content. of. The ending of the cane left by Kuafu turning into a forest of peach trees enriches the connotation of the myth "Kuafu Chasing the Sun" with a high degree of poetic imagination, enriches the image of Kuafu, and expresses a kind of brave pursuit, death and death. And the spirit of being endless and willing to benefit mankind makes the whole myth more romantically charming.

2. What do you think of the two children’s ridicule of Confucius?

The story of "Two Children Debating the Sun" is made up and not true. According to expert research, this story written in Liezi does have the intention of ridiculing Confucius. This is because Liezi is a Taoist work, and Confucius is a Confucian with a different school of thought, so the Taoists ridiculed Confucius in this story. But when we study this article, we should start from the article itself to understand its ideological value. From the perspective of this article, Confucius's inability to answer a difficult question does not mean that he does not "know a lot." But the ridicule of the two children is also justified, because it does show that Confucius does not know everything, and people can be inspired by this: even a very knowledgeable person like Confucius does not know something, which shows that people cannot know everything. . Therefore, it is not appropriate to understand the two children’s ridicule of Confucius as the main theme of the story.

Exercise instructions

1. Recite "Kuafu Chasing the Sun" and talk about your understanding of the mythical character Kuafu.

The purpose of this question is to make students familiar with the text and accumulate language materials by reciting "Kuafu Zhuri", and to understand the content of the text from the perspective of myth, and to have an understanding of the mythical character Kuafu.

2. Read "Two Children Debating the Sun" thoroughly. Think about it, what inspiration does the "debate" between the two children have for you, and what does "Confucius cannot decide" mean.

This is an open question, which mainly guides students to think about the truth contained in the article based on familiarity. Students can talk about their experiences from different aspects. For example, for the "debate" between two children, students can think that the two children love to explore and have a commendable spirit, or that the two children understand things from different angles and have different standards, so the results are inconsistent; for "Confucius cannot decide", students can think Knowledge is endless, and even great scholars still don't know something, or they think that Confucius can treat children's problems correctly and seek truth from facts. There is no "forcing what you don't know to know," but "knowing what you know, and not knowing what you don't know." The answer is informal, as long as it makes sense.

3. Translate the following sentences and fill in the omitted words in the sentences. Pay attention to the meaning of the underlined words.

The purpose of setting questions is to check students’ understanding of words and sentences, and to make students pay attention to the omission of words in classical Chinese texts.

1. Go with the sun and enter the sun; thirsty and want to drink, drink from the river and Wei; if the river and Wei are insufficient, drink from Daze in the north.

Chase away: race, race.

2. I use the time when the sun rises to go out and people are near, and when the sun is at midday (people go away) to be far away.

To: think. Go to: distance.

3. It's cool in Cangcang at the beginning of the day, and it's like a soup in the middle of the day. Isn't it hot for those who are near and cool for those who are far away?

Soup: hot water.

4. Who do you know so much about?

Wei: think, think.

Teaching Suggestions

When teaching these two short articles, we should pay attention to recitation, and guide students to discuss them in combination with Exercises 1 and 2 to deepen their understanding of the content. During the discussion, students may have different perspectives and understandings. As long as what they say makes sense, they should be affirmed and encouraged to activate students' thoughts and broaden their thinking. When teaching "Kuafu Zhuri", we should guide students to pay attention to its mythological characteristics. There is no need to talk too much about the scientific knowledge involved in "Two Children Debate the Sun", just give a brief explanation to avoid overwhelming the subject.

Relevant information

1. Introduction to the work

1. Translation of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", title of the book. 18 articles. The author is unknown, and the age of each work is uncertain. Most modern scholars believe that it was written by one person at a time. 14 of them were written during the Warring States Period, and four of the "Hai Nei Jing" were written in the early Western Han Dynasty. The content is mainly geographical knowledge in folklore, including mountains and rivers, geography, ethnic groups, products, medicines, sacrifices, witch doctors, etc., and many ancient myths and legends have been preserved. It has reference value for research on ancient history, geography, culture, Chinese and foreign transportation, folk customs, mythology, etc. The mineral records among them are the earliest relevant documents in the world. Guo Pu of the Jin Dynasty made annotations and wrote "Pictures and Praises". Today, the pictures are lost and preserved; later textual research annotators include Bi Yuan of the Qing Dynasty's "New Correction of the Classic of Mountains and Seas" and Hao Yixing's "Shanhaijing Jian Shu", and today's Yuan Ke " "Compilation and Notes of the Classic of Mountains and Seas" and so on.

2. "Liezi" is said to have been written by Lieyu Kou (also known as Yu Kou, Yu Kou, 450 BC - 375 BC), a native of the Zheng State during the Warring States Period. "Hanshu Yiwenzhi" records eight chapters of Liezi, which were lost early. Judging from the ideological content and language use of the eight chapters of the present edition of Liezi, it is possible that they were compiled by Jin people based on ancient materials. The content is mostly folk tales, fables and myths and legends.

2. About Kuafu

1. Kuafu is a giant who is good at running in ancient Chinese mythology. "Book of Mountains and Seas: Overseas Northern Classic" also records a "Bofu Country". According to previous research, "Kaofu" is "Bofu", and the people in the country are all giants. Therefore, Mao Dun believes in "ABC of Chinese Mythology" that Kuafu is not only a person's name, but also the name of a tribe.

2. In the wilderness, there is a mountain named Chengdu, Zaitian (that is, "Dai Tian", the top of the mountain is connected to the sky, describing extremely high) with people, and Er (an ornament worn on the ear).

Used here as a verb) two yellow snakes, holding (holding) two yellow snakes in his hand, named Kuafu. Hou Tu gave birth to Xin ("Houtu" and "Xin" are both names in mythology), and Xin gave birth to Kuafu. Kuafu, regardless of his ability, wanted to chase the sun's shadow (sun shadow, that is, sunlight), and caught (caught him) in Yu Valley (Yu Valley), also called "Yu Yuan", which is the place where the sun enters in mythology. When the general [Jiang] was there, he drank from the river but did not have enough. He was about to go to Daze, but he died here before he arrived (Jin Guo Pu's Notes on the Classic of Mountains and Seas: Death of Thirst). ("The Classic of Mountains and Seas·The Great Wilderness Northern Classic")

3. Marx on Greek Mythology

"As we all know, Greek mythology is not only the treasure house of Greek art, but also its soil. Become Could the view of nature and of social relations which were the basis of Greek fantasy, and thus of Greek 'myth', coexist with the automatic spinning machine, the railroad, the locomotive and the telegraph? Where is the hurdle? Where is Jupiter in front of the lightning rod? Where is Hermes in front of the Chattel Credit Company? Any myth uses imagination and the help of imagination to conquer, dominate and visualize natural forces. Therefore, as these natural forces are actually controlled, the myth disappears. Next to the Printing House Square, what is the premise of Greek art? The natural and social forms themselves processed by the artistic method..."

(Excerpted from Marx's "Introduction to Critique of Political Economy")

4. "Two Children Debating the Sun". 》Appreciation (Zhou Zhenfu)

Liezi belongs to the Taoist school, and Confucius belongs to the Confucian school, and they are famous for their erudition. Therefore Liezi wrote this story to ridicule Confucius for his ignorance and inability to judge the questions raised by the two children. In fact, the questions raised by the two children were also questions raised by Liezi. Liezi cannot solve this question. Because both questions arise from feelings. From a visual perspective, the sun is bigger in the morning and smaller at noon. This vision is not correct. Because there are clouds on the surface of the earth in the morning, when you look at the sun through the clouds, it looks bigger. When the clouds dissipate at noon, the sun appears smaller. In fact, the size of the sun has not changed. It is not correct to describe the distance between the ground and the sun based on different sensations.

A child said that the sun is cool in the morning and hot at noon. It is not correct to use the body's feeling of temperature to explain the distance between the sun and the ground. Because the heat from the sun on the ground dissipates at night, it feels cool in the morning; at noon, the heat from the sun shines on the ground, so it feels hot. The coolness or hotness of this temperature does not indicate the distance of the sun from the ground.

This story was made up by Liezi and is not true. The book "Liezi" has been studied by experts and was compiled by people in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. There may be pre-Qin legends and thoughts from the Wei and Jin Dynasties. The problems raised in this article were probably not solved by people in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and even less by Confucius in the Spring and Autumn Period. Liezi raised this question to laugh at Confucius' ignorance. In fact, he, like Confucius, was unable to solve this problem. This was a problem that people at that time could not solve. Inspired by this, some of the problems people thought of could not be solved at the time. For example, Zhang Hua of the Jin Dynasty said in his "Natural History": "The people of Qigong State are good at ingenuity and can kill hundreds of birds to make flying cars travel far away from the wind." It is said that in the Shang and Tang Dynasties, there were already people who could build flying cars. Until Zhang Hua's Jin Dynasty, no one knew how to build a flying car. But at least back then, there was the idea of ??a flying car. This idea finally came true, and people finally built airplanes. Regarding the distance between the sun and the earth, it could not be solved correctly in the era of Lieh Tzu, but later scientists finally calculated that the average distance between the earth and the sun is 149.6 million kilometers. The progress of science is sometimes affected by various imaginations. Therefore, it is also good to come up with various imaginations in life. In this sense, the story is also desirable. The advantage of this story is that it can inspire people to consider the problem from multiple aspects. The two boys considered the problem from two different angles, which brought up difficult-to-solve problems. It raises a problem that is difficult to solve, which is useful for promoting science.

This story was written in Liezi to ridicule Confucius' ignorance.

This is because Liezi is a Taoist work, and Confucius is a Confucianist with a different school of thought, so the Taoists want to ridicule Confucius. This is very clear. Therefore, the conclusion of this article: "Who knows so much about you!" This sarcastic statement is incorrect.

Let’s look at the way this article is written: first put forward the conclusion, and then add explanations. This way of writing is simple and clear. Just to explain, it is good to write it in a specific and clear way based on people's experience. Therefore, although this problem is difficult to solve, it is still written in a simple, concise, specific and clear way to achieve the purpose of what I want to say. In the explanation, the author used two metaphors at one place, one "like a wheel" and the other "like a pan". These two metaphors specifically explain the shape and size of the sun, combining "the beginning of the day" and "the middle of the day". , the reason for the conclusion is clearly explained. This reason comes from people’s vision, so it is powerful. Because people's knowledge at that time did not yet feel that vision was unreliable in certain situations. Another description describes a feeling as "cangcang coolness" and a metaphor as "like exploring soup". In this way, we talk about a feeling and a metaphor, combining "the sun rises" and "the sun rises", and also explains the reasons for the conclusion. This comes from people's feelings and is also persuasive. At that time, people did not realize that people's feelings were affected by various conditions. Therefore, for a long time, this "Bianri" had an impact on people's understanding. It now seems that raising this question is still useful for future generations of scientists to discuss.

5. Relevant knowledge

1. When does the sun get closer to people?

Is the sun closer to people at noon? Or is it closer to people in the morning and evening? The fact that the sun is brighter in the morning and evening than at noon is due to people's misconceptions; the reason why the sun is hotter at noon than in the morning and evening is because the sun is directly shining at noon. The distance traveled by the sun in the atmosphere is shorter and less heat is absorbed. First, we should understand why people observe the sun from different distances at noon and in the morning and evening. There are many reasons: (1) The earth is spherical and rotates continuously. If the earth has no other motion except rotation, and the axis of rotation is perpendicular to the straight line between the sun and the earth, then for a person on the equator, the sun will always be closer at noon than in the morning and evening. That is to say, the closer distance is equivalent to the earth's radius of 6,400 kilometers. . (2) Depending on the latitude of the earth, the observer may not be on the equator. The greater the latitude, the further away from the equator, the smaller the distance difference between the sun at noon and morning and evening. (3) The earth not only rotates, but also orbits the sun. The axis of rotation and the axis of revolution form an angle of 23.5°. The direction of the spin axis changes very slowly. Therefore the height of the sun at noon in the sky changes throughout the year. (4) The earth’s orbit is elliptical, so the distance between the earth’s center and the heliocenter changes day by day. (5) The sunrise and sunset times change day by day throughout the year, and the sunrise and sunset times on the same day vary with latitude. (6) Due to the slow change in the direction of the Earth's rotation axis and the impact of planetary gravity on the Earth's orbit, the date when the geocenter and the heliocenter are closest is not fixed. (At present, the closest distance between the heliocenter and the earth's center is January 2, and thereafter it advances by 17 and a half days every thousand years.) Taking into account the above reasons, appropriate formulas can be derived to calculate the distance between the sun and the observer at noon, morning and evening Difference. The necessary information can be found in the astronomical almanac. The calculation results are as follows: For a city such as Beijing with a latitude of 40 degrees north, currently from January 22 to June 5 at noon every year, the sun is farther than when it rises. It is 1,000 kilometers farther in early February, 4,000 kilometers farther in early March, and 4,000 kilometers farther in early March. At the beginning of the month it was as far as 6,400 kilometers, and later the difference was reduced to zero. After June 5th, the sun is closer at noon than at sunrise. It is nearly 5,800 kilometers in early July and 16,000 kilometers in mid-September. After that, the difference decreases to January 22nd of the next year. The difference between noon and evening is very different. From August 1st to December 15th, noon is farther than evening, and in the remaining seven and a half months, noon is closer than evening. In mid-April, the distance reaches 17,000 kilometers. …The above calculations were made in 1954. However, since the sixth cause has little impact in a short period of time, the above calculation results are still applicable to the next hundred years. It can be seen that all phenomena must be explained by science to be correct.

(Devense "Is the sun closer to us at noon than in the morning and evening")

2. What's the reason why it's cold when it's close in the morning and hot when it's far away at noon?

The sun looks bigger in the morning than at noon. Is it because the sun is closer to us in the morning and farther away from us at noon? No.

Under certain conditions, people's vision of objects will cause illusions. An object will appear larger among some small objects, and an object will appear larger among some large objects. Smaller.

Similarly, in the morning sun, only a corner of the horizon is the sky, while the rest is backed by trees, houses, etc. At noon, the sun is extremely large overhead. The sky serves as its backing, so the sun at noon appears smaller than the sun in the morning.

In addition, we see white graphics larger than black graphics of the same size. This is called "light penetration" in physics. When the sun first rises, the surrounding sky is dark, so the sun appears bright. However, at noon, the surrounding sky is very bright. In contrast, the brightness difference between the sun and the background is not that great. This also makes us look The reason why the sun is larger in the morning than at noon. In short, the distance of the sun from us is the same in the morning and at noon, so its size is also the same. The fact that the sun in the morning seems larger than at noon is an illusion of the eyes.

Also, it is hotter at noon than in the morning. Is it because the sun is closer to us at noon than in the morning? Neither. So why?

It is hotter at noon than in the morning because the sun shines directly on the ground at noon, while the sun shines obliquely on the ground in the morning. It can be seen that when the sun shines directly, the ground and air are at the same time. The same area receives more radiant heat from the sun than when the morning sun is slanting, so the heating is the strongest. Therefore, it is hotter at noon than in the morning.

In fact, the hot or cold weather is mainly determined by the air temperature. The main factor affecting air temperature is determined by the radiation intensity of the sun, but solar heat is not the main reason that directly increases the temperature. Because the heat energy directly absorbed by the air is only a small part of the total heat energy of solar radiation, most of which is absorbed by the ground. After the ground absorbs the solar radiation heat, it is then conducted upward to the air through heat transfer methods such as radiation and convection. This is the main reason for the increase in temperature.

In short, it is hotter at noon and colder in the morning every day, not because the sun is far or near from our ground.

(Huang Wencheng's "Scientific Knowledge in "Two Children's Debate")

6. Translation

1. "Kuafu Chasing the Sun"

Kuafu raced with the sun until it set. He felt thirsty and wanted to drink water, so he went to the Yellow River and the Wei River to drink. There was not enough water in the Yellow River and the Wei River, so they went to the big lakes in the north to drink water. Before reaching the big lake, I died of thirst halfway. The walking stick he abandoned turned into a peach forest.

2. "Two Children Debating the Sun"

When Confucius went to the East to study, he saw two children arguing. Confucius asked them the reason for the argument.

A child said: "I think the sun is close to people when it first rises, but it is far away from people at noon."

Another child thought that the sun is far away from people when it first rises, and it is far away from people at noon. Stay close to people at noon.

A child said: "When the sun first rises, it looks like a big round car hood, and when it reaches noon, it looks like a plate or a bowl. Isn't this how small it is in the distance and how big it is up close?"

Another child said: "It's cool and cool when the sun comes out. But at noon, it's as hot as stretching your hand into hot water. Isn't it just that when you are close, you feel hot, but when you are far away, you feel cool?"

Confucius could not decide who was right and who was wrong.

The two children smiled and said: "Who said you know many things?"