Question

Usually, when your teacher asks a question, there is only one correct answer. But there is one question that has millions of current answers. That question is "What's your name?" Everyone gives a different answer, but everyone is correct.

Have you ever wondered about people's names? Where do they come from? What do they

mean?

People's first names, or given names, are chosen by their parents. Sometimes the name of a grandparent or other member of the family is used. Some parents choose the name of a well-known person. A boy could be named George Washington Smith; a girl could be named Helen Keller Jones.

Some people give their children names that mean good things. Clara means "bright"; Beatrice means "one who gives happiness"; Donald means "world ruler"; Leonard means "as brave as a lion".

The earliest last names, or surnames, were taken from place names. A family with the name Brook or Brooks probably lived near brook (С?); someone who was called Longstreet probably lived on a long, paved road. The Greenwood family lived in or near a leafy forest.

Other early surnames came from people's occupations. The most common occupational name is Smith, which means a person who makes things with iron or other metals. In the past, smiths were very important workers in every town and village. Some other occupational names are: Carter - a person who owned or drove a cart（手推車）； Potter -a person who made pots and pans.

The ancestors (祖先) of the Baker family probably baked bread for their neighbors in their native village. The Carpenter's great-great-great-grandfather probably built houses and furniture.

Sometimes people were known for the color of their hair or skin, or their size, or their special abilities. When there were two men who were named John in the same village, the John with the gray hair probably became John Gray. Or the John was very tall could call himself John

Tallman. John Fish was probably an excellent swimmer and John Lightfoot was probably a fast

runner or a good dancer.

Some family names were made by adding something to the father's name. English-speaking people added -s or -son. The Johnsons are descendants of John; the Roberts family's ancestor was Robert. Irish and Scottish people added Mac or Mc or O. Perhaps all of the MacDonnells and the McDonnells and the O'Donnells are descendants of the same Donnell.

1.Which of the following aspects（方面）do the surnames in the passage NOT cover?

A. Places where people lived.

B. People's characters.

C. Talents that people had.

D. People's occupations.

2. According to the passage, the ancestors of the Potter family most probably _______.

A. owned or drove a cart

B. made things with metals

C. made kitchen tools or contains

D. built houses and furniture

3.If an English couple whose ancestors lived near a leafy forest wanted their new-born son to become a world leader, the baby might be named _______.

A. Beatrice Smith

B. Leonard Carter

C. George Longstreet

D. Donald Greenwood

4. The underlined word "descendants" in the last paragraph means a person's _______.

A.后代 B.朋友 C.同事 D.同伴

 

Answer 1

1.B

2.C

3.D

4.A

【解析】

試題分析：這篇短文中作者告訴了我們人們的名字是從哪里來的。通過閱讀這篇短文我們可以知道，一些人的名字來源于一些名人，有的人的名字跟他們住的地方有關，還有的跟他們祖先從事的職業有關。甚至我們還能從人們的名字上知道這個人頭發、皮膚的顏色、特點等。還有些人的名字是在父親名字的后面加上一些東西變來的。

1.

2.

3.

4.

考點：文化類短文閱讀。