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TODAY’S English lesson:
World
Time Zones
Regardless of where you live in the world, you live in a time zone. Time zones can be confusing, so let’s talk about them. Time zones vary between countries, regions and cities, and is an important topic, especially in the context of travel.
If you are looking for a resource on the different time zones of the world, check out the website 24 Time Zones. This site provides detailed information on time zones, and has a choice of multiple languages available for browsing. We recommend that you run a simulation so that you better understand what we are talking about.
In this article, we’ll also talk about U.S. time zones. If you are studying English and are always researching a lot about this country, you will love to know this information to include in your travel preparation itinerary.
Tell us more about the region where you live or where you would like to travel. Are the times compatible? While it’s night in your city, is the country you want to visit wide awake because it’s mid-day? Tell us more about it here in the comments we’d love to share experiences with you. If you have any questions about the content presented here, you can contact us in the comments and Instagram @studyenglishwithandrea
What are Time Zones?
The earth is divided into twenty-four areas that connect to standard time. Time zones are a way to standardize time, so that it’s consistent around the world. Because the sun rises and sets at different moments around the globe, a system was set in place to make sure that time could be kept around the world, so that different parts of the world could communicated better together.
A time zone is an area that observes a uniform standard time for legal, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between countries and their subdivisions instead of strictly following longitude, because it is convenient for areas in frequent communication to keep the same time.
Local time within a time zone is defined using Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the world time standard. All time zones are defined as offsets from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), ranging from UTC−12:00 to UTC+14:00. The offsets are usually a whole number of hours, but a few zones are offset by an additional 30 or 45 minutes, such as in India, South Australia and Nepal.
Some areas of higher latitude use daylight saving time for part of the year, typically by adding one hour to local time during spring and summer.
What is Daylight Savings Time?
Many countries, and sometimes just certain regions of countries, adopt daylight saving time (DST), also known as summer time, during part of the year. This typically involves advancing clocks by an hour near the start of spring and adjusting back in autumn (“spring forward”, “fall back”). Modern DST was first proposed in 1907 and was in widespread use in 1916 as a wartime measure aimed at conserving coal. Despite controversy, many countries have used it off and on since then; details vary by location and change occasionally. Countries around the equator usually do not observe daylight saving time, since the seasonal difference in sunlight there is minimal.
History of U.S. Time Zones
The division of the U.S. into 4 standard time zones was accomplished on November 18, 1883, with jurisdiction for these time zones given by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). Since 1967, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) controls the country’s time zones. As you can see from the governing bodies, much of the reason time zones originally existed was because of transportation reasons. Almost all US states use daylight saving time (DST).
The time zones of the U.S.
In the United States there are 9 time zones by law. This count can also include the time zones of 2 uninhabited US territories, Howland Island and Baker Island, which would increase this range to 11 time zones.
Time Zone Abbreviation / Name / Offset
PT / Pacific Time / UTC -8:00 / -7:00
MT / Mountain Time / UTC -7:00 / -6:00
CT / Central Time / UTC -6:00 / -5:00
ET / Eastern Time / UTC -5:00 / -4:00
Time zones in use in the United States
Offset Time Zone Abbreviation & Name
UTC -10 / HST / Hawaii Standard Time
UTC -9 AKST Alaska Standard Time
UTC -8 PST Pacific Standard Time
UTC -7 MST Mountain Standard Time
UTC -6 CST Central Standard Time
UTC -5 EST Eastern Standard Time
Tell us about what time zone you live and and which time zones you hope to visit!
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Jhessika Nascimento
Director of International Partnerships
Jhessika Nascimento is the Director of International Partnerships for Study With Andrea and lives in Brasilia, Brazil.
Jhessika is a bilingual teacher of English and Portuguese, studying for a Master's Degree in Strategic Management in Information Technologies at the Universidad Internacional Iberoamericana.
Graduation in Letters - Portuguese and English.
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The following is a TOEFL Reading practice test to help you prepare for the Reading section of the TOEFL test.
Instructions: Read the sample passage below and then answer the questions that follow.
TOEFL Reading Practice Passage
Gorillas are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forest of central Sub-Saharan Africa. The genus Gorilla is divided into two species: the eastern gorillas and the western gorillas (both critically endangered), and either four or five subspecies. They are the largest living primates. The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from 95 to 99% depending on what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after the chimpanzees and bonobos.
Gorillas' natural habitats cover tropical or subtropical forest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although their range covers a small percentage of Sub-Saharan Africa, gorillas cover a wide range of elevations. The mountain gorilla inhabits the Albertine Rift montane cloud forests of the Virunga Volcanoes, ranging in altitude from 2,200 to 4,300 metres (7,200 to 14,100 ft). Lowland gorillas live in dense forests and lowland swamps and marshes as low as sea level, with western lowland gorillas living in Central West African countries and eastern lowland gorillas living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo near its border with Rwanda.
(#1) Gorillas move around by knuckle-walking, although they sometimes walk upright for short distances, typically while carrying food or in defensive situations. (#2) A 2018 study investigating the hand posture of 77 mountain gorillas at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (8% of the population) found that knuckle walking was done only 60% of the time, and they also supported their weight on their fists, the backs of their hands/feet, and on their palms/soles (with the digits flexed). (#3) Studies of gorilla handedness have yielded varying results, with some arguing for no preference for either hand, and others right-hand dominance for the general population. (#4)
The eastern gorilla is more darkly colored than the western gorilla, with the mountain gorilla being the darkest of all. The mountain gorilla also has the thickest hair. The western lowland gorilla can be brown or grayish with a reddish forehead. In addition, gorillas that live in lowland forest are more slender and agile than the more bulky mountain gorillas. The eastern gorilla also has a longer face and broader chest than the western gorilla. Like humans, gorillas have individual fingerprints. Their eye color is dark brown, framed by a black ring around the iris. Gorilla facial structure is described as mandibular prognathism, that is, the mandible protrudes farther out than the maxilla. Adult males also have a prominent sagittal crest.
A gorilla's lifespan is normally between 35 and 40 years, although zoo gorillas may live for 50 years or more. Colo, a female western gorilla at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, was the oldest known gorilla at 60 years of age when she died on 17 January 2017.
Questions
1. According to the passage, gorillas can live in
a. a variety of altitudes.
b. several different countries in Africa.
c. thick forests.
d. lowland forests only.
2. All of the following is true about gorillas EXCEPT
a. they primarily eat smaller animals.
b. they live in a forest habitat.
c. their genetics are similar to humans.
d. their diet consists of vegetation.
3. Look at the word predominantly in paragraph 1. The word predominantly in this passage refers to
a. impulsively
b. unfortunately
c. mainly
d. lastly
4. Look at the word inhabits in paragraph 2. The word inhabits in this passage refers to
a. lives in
b. protects
c. goes
d. works
5. The author implies that
a. most gorillas prefer using their left hand over their right.
b. gorillas rarely walk on their knuckles.
c. gorillas regularly walk upright for long distances.
d. studies haven't solidly proven which hand gorillas prefer using.
6. Why does the writer mention that the eastern gorilla also has a longer face and broader chest than the western gorilla?
a. To validate the importance a broad chest in western gorillas
b. To define the meaning of "broad"
c. To highlight a physical difference between types of gorillas
d. To demonstrate that most gorillas are identical in physical build
7. Which of the following statements is true for BOTH eastern and western gorillas.
a. Both eastern and western gorrilas are brown with red foreheads.
b. Both eastern and western gorrilas have unique fingerprints.
c. Both eastern and western gorrilas have thin hair.
d. Both eastern and western gorrilas have light brown eyes.
8. In Paragraph 3, look at the four numbers (#1, #2, #3, #4) that indicate where the following sentence would be added to the passage.
Such a range of hand postures was previously thought to have been used by only orangutans.
Where would the sentence best fit?
(View all the correct answers below.)
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Answers: 1. d 2. a 3. c 4. a 5. d 6. c 7. b 8. #3
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Andrea Giordano is the founder of StudyWithAndrea.com and has taught more than 1,000,000 students from 180 countries. Andrea holds a Master of Education (TESOL) from Shenandoah University, and is the former Executive Director of TESOL and ESL programs at Campbellsville University. Andrea is a proven leader in online English teaching and is driven by her passion to help you speak English clearly.
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