A lot of animals are afraid during an eclipse1 of the sun. Birds stop singing. Sometimes people too are afraid. Astronomers2 know the dates of eclipses⁴ and they are not afraid. The old astronomers³ of Babylon and Egypt had no telescopes3； but the sky in those countries is usually clear， and so they could watch the stars easily. They studied everything in the sky and they also noticed both total and partial⁶ eclipses.

　　Because they knew the dates of eclipses， they had great power. People believed that the sky was important. They believed that an eclipse¹ could kill a man.

　　About 2500 years ago there was a very long war. One battle followed another， and the end never came. During one of the battles， there was a partial eclipse of the sun. The day got very dark， and the soldiers on both sides were filled with fear. They believed that the gods were angry. So they stopped fighting， and ended their long war.

　　There is a story about Christopher Columbus and an eclipse of the moon. The men of the island of Hispaniola4 suddenly refused to bring any more food. Columbus needed food and he called the men together. He had studied one of his books， and he knew the date of the next eclipse. He told the men that God was angry. God was going to make the moon dark to show this. Columbus then pointed⁷ to the sky， and the men looked up. They saw the beginning of an eclipse， and the moon got darker and darker. They were afraid， and asked Columbus to help them. So he left them and went to his room in the ship. He waited there alone and then returned. He was smiling now， and he told the men not to be sad. He said that God had forgiven them. Then he pointed to the moon. The eclipse was ending； the earth's shadow was beginning to move away. The light got brighter. Then all the men were glad and they promised to bring some food. They were so afraid of Columbus that they never stopped the supply of food again.

　　The sun is a star. It appears to be bigger than any other star. That is because it is near us； but the other stars are far away. The sun shines because it is very hot， but the moon shines because it reflects the sun's light. It is like a big mirror. If we visited the moon， we should see the earth. It is also like a mirror and it reflects the light of the sun.

　　Sometimes the earth moves between the sun and the moon. Then the earth's shadow falls on the moon； no light from the sun can then reach the moon. The moon gets dark because it cannot reflect the sun's light. We call this an eclipse of the moon.

　　Does the sun ever get dark during the day？ It does so when the moon hides it. Sometimes the moon goes in front of the sun. We can watch its edge⁸ when it slowly crosses the sun's disc5. Everything gets darker and darker； then， at last， we cannot see any part of the sun's disc⁹. The moon is hiding it completely¹⁰. That is a total eclipse of the sun； sometimes only part of the sun's disc is hidden； that is not a total eclipse. It is a partial eclipse of the sun.

　　Eclipses are not seen in every part of the world. There was a total eclipse of the moon on January 9，2001.That event was visible¹¹ from Europe， Africa and Asia. There were about 20 total eclipses of the sun between 1970 and 1999. The latest was seen on June 21 this year in Angola6， Zambia7，Zimbabwe8，Mozambique9 and Madagascar10.

　　不少动物在遇到日食时会感到恐惧。比如鸟儿会停止鸣唱。有时人也会感到恐慌。天文学家能预知日食和月食的日期，所以他们没有恐惧心理。古巴比伦和古埃及的天文学家没有天文望远镜，但这些国家的天空通常晴朗，所以他们能很容易地观测星体。他们研究星空中的一切现象，他们也观察到了日全食和月全食以及日偏食和月偏食。

　　由于这些天文学家能预知日食和月食的日期，他们便有着相当大的权力。当时人们相信天空是重要的，他们还相信一次日食或月食能夺去一个人的生命。

　　大约2500年以前，有一场旷日持久的战争。战役接连不断，尾声遥遥无期。一场战役中发生了日偏食。天暗下来，双方士兵都充满了恐惧，他们深信天神发怒了。结果他们停止战斗，结束了漫长的战争。

　　还有一个关于克里斯托弗·哥伦布和月食的故事。伊斯帕尼奥拉岛的岛民突然间中断了食物的供应。哥伦布急需食物，他把所有的人召集了起来。他已研究过一本书，知道了下次月食的时间。他告诉这些人说上帝发怒了，上帝将把月亮变黑以示愤怒。然后哥伦布指向天空，人们抬头仰望，看见月食开始了。月亮变得越来越黑。他们畏惧了，请求哥伦布的帮助。于是哥伦布离开他们走到船上自己的房间。他独自在那里待了一会儿，然后回来，面露微笑地告诉他们不必忧愁，说上帝已宽恕了他们。然后，他指指月亮，月食正接近尾声，地球的阴影开始移开，光线越来越亮。所有的人都高兴起来并保证送来一些食物。他们如此惧怕哥伦布，以后再也没有停止过食物的供应。

　　太阳是一颗恒星，它看上去比其他星球要大，这是因为它离我们比较近，而其他星球则很遥远。太阳会发光，这是因为它自身很热。而月亮发光却是因为它反射了太阳光。月亮就像一面大镜子。如果我们能去游览月球，我们就可以在那里看到地球。地球也像一面大镜子一样反射太阳光。

　　有时，地球会运转到太阳和月亮之间。这样地球的影子就会投到月亮上，太阳光也就抵达不到月亮上了。月亮由于反射不到太阳的光而变黑，我们称之为月食。

　　太阳白天也会变黑吗？答案是当月亮遮挡了它时就会变黑。有时，月亮运转到太阳的前面。当月亮慢慢地越过日轮时我们还能看到它的边缘。万物变得越来越黑，最终，日轮的所有部分从我们的视线消失。月亮把它完全遮挡住了。这就是日全食。有时候，只有部分日轮被遮挡住，那就不是日全食，而是日偏食。

　　并非世界上的每个地方都能看到日食和月食。2001年1月9日有过一次月全食。那次月全食在欧洲、非洲和亚洲都曾看到。从1970年到1999年共有过约 20次日全食。最近的一次日全食发生在今年6月21日，在安哥拉、赞比亚、津巴布韦、莫桑比克和马达加斯加等国都曾看到。

　　注释：

　　1.eclipse n.[天]食

　　2.astronomer² n.天文学家

　　3.telescope⁵ n.望远镜

　　4.Hispaniola 伊斯帕尼奥拉岛（海地岛Haiti）

　　5.sun disc 日轮

　　6.Angola 安哥拉

　　7.Zambia 赞比亚

　　8.Zimbabwe 津巴布韦

　　9.Mozambique 莫桑比克

　　10.Madagascar 马达加斯加