Question

Did you know that the first documented use of OMG(oh my god)was in 1917, or that LOL was once a common term meaning little old ladies in 1960? That's what the world learned when OMG, LOL, and FYI (for your information) were added to the Oxford English Dictionary last week. This dictionary is considered by many to be the reference book that defines the English language.

Words added to the Oxford English Dictionary are truly considered new members of the language. People invent new words all the time, but only a few become popular enough to get defined in dictionaries.

Typed online or in text messages, LOL, FYI, and OMG are initialisms,_which can be said aloud letter by letter, like LOL, which now stands for Laugh Out Loud.Faster to type than the full phrases, initialisms like these have been used online since the 1990s. But these three online terms are now spoken outside the Internet too, making them different from other online lingo( 行話). Dictionary editors decided the words are used so commonly that they had to be defined this year.

Another important addition to the dictionary this year was ?， as in “I ? NY.” This is the first graphic (圖形的 ) symbol ever defined in the Oxford English Dictionary.The editors added ? as a verb under the definition of “heart”， meaning “to love”．

Some slang words — informal language used more commonly in speech than in writing — were also added, like wassup, a shortened way to say “What's up”. Even words that have been in use for many years like biker and happy camper were finally added to the dictionary.

The Oxford English Dictionary now defines more than 600,000 words.That adds up to more than 21,730 pages! Guinness World Records calls it the longest dictionary in the world.The Oxford English Dictionary is known for recording words of all kinds—popular, outdated, and even foreign words used by English speakers throughout the language's long history.

1.The text is mainly about that ________.

A．expressions like LOL and FYI have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary

B．English words change their meaning as time goes by

C．English language is becoming more and more difficult to learn

D．the Oxford English Dictionary breaks the Guinness World Record

2.Which of the following is NOT included in the facts that the Oxford English Dictionary has been updated?

A．Some online terms are added to it.

B．A graphic symbol is first introduced into it.

C．Some slang words are collected in it.

D．Some old words are left out.

3.What does the underlined word “initialisms” refer to?

A．Words having foreign origins.

B．Words made from the first letters of several words in a phrase.

C．Uncommon words frequently appearing on the Internet.

D．Official words used in formal documents with capital letters.

4.Before any new word is added to the Oxford English Dictionary, it must be ________.

A．spread widely across the Internet

B．used commonly by the dictionary editors

C．used commonly in either spoken or written language

D．a short word

 

Answer 1

1.A

2.D

3.B

4.C

【解析】這是一篇文化類說明文。在交際領域中被廣泛使用的一些首字母縮略詞、俚語等最近被收入《牛津英語詞典》。

1.

2.2】解析　細節歸納題。短文第三段講述一些網絡縮略詞LOL，FYI，OMG被收入詞典；第四段講述一個圖形符號被收入詞典；第五段講述一些俚語被收入詞典。而D項“一些舊詞被刪除”，在短文中沒有提到。答案　D

3.3】解析　詞義猜測題。根據短文中出現的“OMG(oh my god)；FYI(for your information)；LOL，which now stands for Laugh Out Loud”關鍵信息可知，initialisms指的是“一個短語中幾個單詞的首字母縮略詞”。答案　B

4.4】解析　推理判斷題。根據第三段最后一句“Dictionary editors decided the words are used so commonly that they had to be defined this year.”及第五段第一句中的“informal language used more commonly in speech than in writing”可知，一個新詞被收入《牛津英語詞典》之前，它必須在人們的口語或書面語中被廣泛運用。答案　C。