高考英语《流行话题 语境识词4500》Unit 51　Basics of Horoscope素材.docVIP

　Unit 51　　Basics of Horoscope　　Astrology is the study of how events on Earth are influenced by the Sun, Moon, stars and planets. Technically, horoscope is the term astrologers use for a chart showing the relative positions of stars and planets at a specific time. It is like a snapshot of a particular place in Time and Space. But for most people, a horoscope is the forecast astrologers make based on that chart. The future forecasts on the Web or in newspapers are often referred to as a horoscope.　　If you are interested in (or intrigued by) astrology, the first thing you need to know is your sun sign (also known as the zodiac sign). Sign -- as in Whats my sign? -- is a word the average reader of horoscope columns in newspapers thinks of as a label for a stereotype applied to him simply because he was born in a certain one-month time period. This is NOT exactly true. Sign is a term used by astrologers to define a sector of the sky (like the segments of a peeled orange). Each of the twelve signs of the zodiac is a 30-degree arc in a 360-degree imaginary belt around the Earth (360/12=30). It is one of the twelve sections of Space in which we observe the Sun (by day) and Moon and the other planets which are visible to the naked eye. Most people know their zodiac sign already. Its based on your birthday. Once you know your zodiac sign, you can start reading your horoscopes: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly.　　Those daily horoscope columns for the 12 zodiac signs are only based on an assumed month and day of birth which falls within a range of dates when the Sun is in a particular sign. They are generalized Sun Sign horoscopes, but they do not take into account the year (or hour and minute) you were born, or the town and country you were born in. Since your Time and Space are not really known, these so-called horoscopes are only based on an estimate of where the Sun was located on your date of birth, and thus are far less detailed and accurate than a Personal Horoscope Rea