英语课程计划-Pi Day

Pi Day is on March 14. This is the day when mathematicians² and geometry enthusiasts³ around the world get together and celebrate the mathematical constant of Pi. There are two good reasons to hold Pi Day on March 14. The first is that in the American date format⁴, it is 3/14 and Pi, to two decimal places, is 3.14. The other reason is that March 14 is Albert Einstein’s birthday, and he knew a thing or two about numbers. Pi Day started in 1988 at the San Francisco Exploratorium. The museum staff walked around the circular spaces in the building eating fruit pies. Cherry and apple pies have very little to do with Pi, unless you want to calculate the circumference⁵ of your fruity treat.

Pi is a letter of the Greek alphabet. The symbol was first used in mathematical calculations in 1737 by the Swiss mathematician¹ Leonhard Euler. It is used for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Computers have calculated Pi to over one trillion digits⁶. It has countless⁷ numbers of digits. Perhaps more impressive is the feat⁸ of British autism sufferer Daniel Tammet. He holds the European record for reciting Pi from memory to 22,514 digits in just over five hours. He also suffers from a condition in which he sees numbers as colours. He says Pi is particularly beautiful. The worlds of science, engineering and mathematics would be lost without it. Celebrate today with your favourite pie!

1 mathematician   

n.数学家

参考例句：

• The man with his back to the camera is a mathematician.背对着照相机的人是位数学家。
• The mathematician analyzed his figures again.这位数学家再次分析研究了他的这些数字。

2 mathematicians   

数学家( mathematician的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Do you suppose our mathematicians are unequal to that? 你以为我们的数学家做不到这一点吗？ 来自英汉文学
• Mathematicians can solve problems with two variables. 数学家们可以用两个变数来解决问题。 来自哲学部分

3 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

4 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

5 circumference   

n.圆周，周长，圆周线

参考例句：

• It's a mile round the circumference of the field.运动场周长一英里。
• The diameter and the circumference of a circle correlate.圆的直径与圆周有相互关系。

6 digits   

n.数字( digit的名词复数 )；手指，足趾

参考例句：

• The number 1000 contains four digits. 1000是四位数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The number 410 contains three digits. 数字 410 中包括三个数目字。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

8 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。