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a sundial
sundial 是可数名词，前面通常用冠词或限定词。
A sundial uses the sun's shadow to tell the time.
日晷利用太阳的影子来报时。
日晷；日规
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
日晷；日规
a timepiece that shows the time by the shadow of a gnomon on a calibrated dial
A sundial uses the sun's shadow to tell the time.
日晷利用太阳的影子来报时。
A device measuring the time of day by the position of a shadow cast by a pole or plate (gnomon) upon an engraved series of marks.
通过日晷指针在刻度盘上的阴影指示白昼时间的计时器
timepiece that indicates the daylight hours by the shadow that the gnomon casts on a calibrated dial
A sea snail of the genus Heliacus.
The old garden has a stone sundial that shows the time only when the sun is shining.
这座老花园里有一个石头日晷，只有阳光照射时才能显示时间。
Grandpa taught us how to read the shadow on the sundial.
爷爷教我们怎么看日晷上的影子。
People used sundials long before clocks were invented.
在钟表发明之前很久，人们就使用日晷了。
sundial 是可数名词，前面通常用冠词或限定词。
A sundial uses the sun's shadow to tell the time.
日晷利用太阳的影子来报时。
表示“在日晷上”时，介词用 on。
The shadow on a sundial moves as the sun crosses the sky.
日晷上的影子随着太阳越过天空而移动。
read 在这里表示“读取（刻度）”。
Can you read a sundial without a manual?
没有说明书你会读日晷吗？
Not this
Sundial is an instrument for measuring time by the sun.
Use this
A sundial is an instrument for measuring time by the sun.
sundial 是单数可数名词，在泛指某一类事物时通常需要加 a/an 或 the；汉语没有冠词，所以容易漏掉。
Not this
There are many sundial in the museum.
Use this
There are many sundials in the museum.
sundial 是可数名词，被 many 修饰时必须用复数形式 sundials；汉语名词没有复数变化，所以容易漏掉 -s。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
看日晷计时
The gardener read the sundial to know when to stop working.
园丁看日晷以知道何时停止工作。
日晷所示的时间
Sundial time is different from clock time.
日晷时间与钟表时间不同。
古代日晷
The museum displayed an ancient sundial from Egypt.
博物馆展出了一座来自埃及的古代日晷。
花园日晷
They bought a bronze garden sundial for their backyard.
他们为后院买了一座青铜花园日晷。
日晷的影子
The sundial shadow falls on the hour mark.
日晷的影子落在小时刻度上。
校准日晷
You need to set the sundial according to the local latitude.
你需要根据当地纬度来校准日晷。
我是一座日晷，却把钟表远比我做得好的事情弄得一团糟。
In this famous epigram by Hilaire Belloc, the sundial humorously admits that a mechanical clock measures time far better.
在这首希拉里·贝洛克的著名短诗中，日晷幽默地承认机械钟计时要准确得多。
Use sundial naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
拆分记忆：sun（太阳）+ dial（表盘），太阳在表盘上投下影子就是日晷。
语域：neutral 常见场景：描述日晷的计时原理或历史、庭院或公园中的日晷陈设、天文或科学教学场合 sundial 属于中性词，正式与非正式语境都可用；多用于介绍日晷的工作原理、历史遗迹或庭院陈设，在书面说明中比较常见。
The final element of sundial is pronounced /daɪl/. Mile (/maɪl/), style (/staɪl/), smile (/smaɪl/), and while (/waɪl/) match that /-aɪl/ sound, though they do not rhyme with the whole word because sundial's main stress is on the first syllable. Dial (/ˈdaɪəl/) and trial (/ˈtraɪəl/) are spelling lookalikes ending in -ial, but they have an extra schwa sound and so do not sound like the -dial in sundial as transcribed here.
Dictionary facts from DICTIONARY_API_DEV, ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.