2.钟的指针指在八点半上, 我们该让孩子们上床睡觉了。
The hands of the clock pointed to half past was time we put our children to bed.
3.那天早上八点半，我正在《纽约客》编辑部的办公室写一篇有关印度艾滋病情况的稿件。
At eight-thirty that morning I was in my office at The New Yorker working on a story about AIDSin India.
时间的英文快速表达方法
一 最直接的读法：“小时 + 分钟”：
5:10 five ten
7:30 seven thirty
2:40 two forty
二 巧用介词法：
（1）所表述的时间在30分钟之内，用“分钟 + past/after + 小时”：
6:10 ten past six（英式） / ten after six(美式)
4:20 twenty past four / twenty after four
10:25 twenty-five past ten / twenty-five after ten
（2）所表述的`时间在30分钟之后，用“（相差的）分钟 + to/before + （下一）小时”：
10:35 twenty-five to eleven（英式 ） / twenty-five before eleven（美式）
5:50 ten to six / ten before six
9:49 eleven to ten / eleven before ten
（3） 所表述的时间恰好为半小时，用“half + past + 小时”：
11:30 half past eleven
2:30 half past two
（4） 所表述的分钟和15有关，有三种表达法：
（15分钟又叫一刻钟：a quarter）
9:15 - nine fifteen ; fifteen past nine ; a quarter past nine（英式）/
a quarter after nine(美式)
3:45 - three forty-five ; fifteen to four ; a quarter to four/a quarter before four
(5)整点
现在是五点整。
It's five.
It's five o'clock.
It's five o'clock sharp.
It's five o'clock on the dot.
It's five o'clock on the nose.
It's exactly five o'clock.