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( 行话). 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 (图形的 ) 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it the longest dictionary in the world.The Oxford English Dictionary is known for recording words of all kinds—popular, outdated, and even foreign words used by English speakers throughout the language's long history.The text is mainly about that ________.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 |
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. |
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. |
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 |
Increasingly, over the past ten years, people--- especially young people –have become aware of the need to change their eating habits, because much of the food they eat, especially processed food(加工过的食品), is not good for the health. As a result, there has been a growing interest in natural foods: foods which do not contain chemical additives(添加剂) and which have not been affected by chemical fertilizers(化肥), widely used in farming today.
Natural foods, for example, are vegetables, fruit and grain which have been grown in soil that is rich in organic matter. In simple words, this means that the soil has been nourished(给…营养) by unused vegetable matter, which provides it with vitamins and minerals. This in itself is a natural process compared with the use of chemicals and fertilizers, the main purpose of which is to increase the amount—but not the quality—of foods grown in commercial farming area.
Natural foods also include animals which have been allowed to feed move freely in healthy pastures(牧场). Compare this with what happens in the mass production of poultry(家禽)：there are battery farms, for example, where thousands of chickens live crowded together in one building and are fed on food which is little better than rubbish. Chickens kept in this way are not only tasteless as food; they also produce eggs which lack important vitamins.
There are other sides of healthy eating which are now receiving increasing attention from experts on diet. Take, for example, the question of sugar. This is actually unnecessary food. It is not that sugar is harmful in itself. But it does seem to be addictive: the quantity we use has grown steadily over the last two centuries and in Britain today each person consumes an average of 200 pounds a year! Yet all it does is provide us with energy, in the form of calories. There are no vitamins in it, no minerals, and no fibre.People have become more interested in natural foods because______.
| A．they want to keep healthy |
| B．they want to taste all kinds of foods |
| C．natural foods are more delicious than processed foods |
| D．they want to return to nature |
Chickens raised in poultry farms are all of the following EXCEPT that _____.
| A．they are fed on food which is little better than garbage |
| B．they live in very crowded condition |
| C．the eggs they produce lack vitamins |
| D．they are allowed to move about and eat freely |
According to the passage, ______.
| A．people can only find sugar to give them energy |
| B．sugar is bad for the health |
| C．the use of sugar is habit forming |
| D．sugar only sweetens food, but provides us with nothing useful |
At times we all get angry when we are driving. It might be because we are stuck in a traffic jam or stuck behind a very slow driver. It might be because we think another driver has done something very stupid and dangerous. Whatever the reason, it seems that getting angry in a car is something which happens more and more often and there is now a special term for it “road rage”. Some experts even think that road rage is a kind of mental illness! How can we recognize this “illness” of road rage?
There are two kinds of road rage: aggressive driving and aggressive reactions to the way other people are driving. Aggressive driving can take different forms:
●Driving much faster than the speed limit.
●Increasing your speed very quickly.
●Driving very close behind the car in front and sounding the horn or flashing the headlights.
●Changing lanes very suddenly and blocking another car.
●Moving into a parking space where another car is trying to park.
There are also different reactions to the way other people are driving. These include:
●Making rude signs at people.
●Shouting at people and threatening them.
●Deliberately driving into another person’s car.
●Hitting somebody.
●Using a weapon such as a baseball bat, or even a gun or a knife.
Road rage is certainly not a joke. There have been incidents of road rage which have led to serious injuries and even murder.
Experts think that one reason for road rage is that films show a lot of examples of fast and aggressive driving such as car chases where this kind of driving seems to be positive.
Experts also think that the punishments for dangerous driving are not serious enough.
Experience shows that driving problems can be controlled, but it takes a long time. In the UK in the last 30 years, the police have been quite successful in reducing the number of people who drink and drive. They are now working to stop people using mobile phones when they are driving. Let’s hope they can have the same success with the road rage.Which of the following statements does NOT describe aggressive driving?
| A．Driving much faster than the speed limit. |
| B．Drinking and driving |
| C．Moving into a parking space where another car is trying to park. |
| D．Changing lanes very suddenly and blocking another car. |
Road rage happens possibly because______.
| A．the drivers are drunk |
| B．it won’t cause serious injuries or death |
| C．we’re in a fast-changing society |
| D．the punishments are not serious enough |
What’s the tone（语气）of the last paragraph?
| A．Sad | B．Cold | C． Optimistic | D．Exciting |
As you move around your home, take a good look at the things you have. It is likely that your living room will have a television set and a video, and your kitchen a washing machine and a microwave oven. Your bedroom drawers will be filled with almost three times as many clothes as you need. You almost certainly own a car and possibly a home computer, holiday abroad at least once a year and eat out at least once a week.
Now, perhaps, more than ever before, people are wondering what life is all about, and what it is for. Seeking material success is beginning to trouble large numbers of people around the world. They feel that the long hours work culture to make more money is eating up their lives, leaving them very little time or energy for family or pastimes. Many are turning to other ways of living and downshifting is one of them. Six percent of workers in Britain took the decision to downshift last year.
One couple who downshifted is Daniel and Liz. They used to work in central London. He was a newspaper reporter and she used to work for an international bank. They would go to work by train every day from their large house in the suburbs, leaving their two children with a nanny. Most evenings Daniel wouldn’t get home until eight or nine o’clock and nearly twice a month he would have to fly to New York for meetings. They both earned a large amount of money but began to feel that life was passing them by.
Nowadays, they run a farm in the mountains of Wales. “I always wanted to have a farm then,” says Daniel, “and we took almost a year to make the decision to downshift. It’s taken some time getting used to, but it’s been worth it. We have to think twice now about spending money on car repairs and we no longer have any holidays. However, I think it’s made us stronger as a family, and the children are much happier.
Liz, however, is not quite sure. “I used to enjoy my job, even though it was hard work and long hours. I’m not really a country girl, but I suppose I’m gradually getting used to looking after the animals. One thing I do like, however, is being able to see more of my children. My advice for other people wanting to do the same is not to think about it too much, or you might not do it at all.”The passage tells us that .
| A．people seldom work long hours to make money |
| B．people hardly buy more things than necessary |
| C．people are sure everything they own is in the right place |
| D．people realize there is more to life than just making money |
When Daniel was a reporter, he ______.
| A．lived in central London | B．was well paid |
| C．missed his children | D．disliked his job |
Daniel and Liz both agree that the move to the farm ______.
| A．was easy to organize | B．was extremely expensive |
| C．has improved family life | D．has been a total success |
The underlined word “downshifting” in the 2nd paragraph refers to ______.
| A．repairing your car by yourself |
| B．spending money carefully |
| C．moving out to the countryside to live a simpler and better life |
| D．living in a big house in the suburbs and dining out once a week |
Parents are a child’s first teachers. But some parents never learned from good examples. In New York City, a nonprofit agency called Covenant House tries to help homeless young mothers become good parents.
The twelve or so teenagers who live at the shelter attend parenting classes four days a week. The class is called Mommy and Me. Teacher Delores Clemens is a mother of five and a grandmother. She teaches basic skills, like how to give a baby a bath and how to dress a baby depending on the season.
She remembers one student who learned from her mother not to pick up a crying baby. The mother said that would only make the child needy and overly demanding. Delores Clemens says, “That’s not true. You have to hold your baby! He is crying for a reason. If you never pick him up, he’s going to keep crying. Pick your baby up. Cuddle your baby. Hug him! And she started to do that. They just want a little cuddling and a little love. And it works!”
Delores Clemens says her students also learn how to be good mothers by letting themselves be mothered. Around three hundred fifty teenage mothers graduate from Covenant House's Mommy and Me class every year.
In class, with her baby son is Natasha．She lived on the streets. She is glad not only for the warmth and shelter of Covenant House. As she told reporter Adam Phillips, she is also glad for the help they offer in seeking a more secure life.
The World Health Organization says the United States has forty-one births for every one thousand girls age fifteen to nineteen. That is higher than other developed countries, as well as some developing ones. By comparison, northern neighbor Canada has fourteen births and southern neighbor Mexico has eighty-two.What is the text mainly about?
| A．Parents who are a child’s first teachers. |
| B．A nonprofit agency that offers a more secure（安全的）life. |
| C．A class where teens learn mothering and are mothered. |
| D．A kind teacher who helps homeless young mothers. |
Covenant Houses’ Mommy and Me class is intended to _____.
| A．provide homeless young mothers with a warm shelter |
| B．help homeless young mothers become good parents |
| C．help mothers in New York be good parents |
| D．teach some parents how to love their children |
What can we know about Delores Clemens from the text?
| A．She thinks a crying baby should be picked up and hugged. |
| B．She has a mother of five and a grandmother. |
| C．She teaches advanced skills on how to be good mothers. |
| D．She is very glad for the warmth and shelter of Covenant House. |
According to the World Health Organization, which country has the highest births for girls age fifteen to nineteen?
| A．Canada |
| B．The United States of America |
| C．Britain |
| D．Mexico |
Once there was an 11-year-old boy who went fishing with his father in the middle of a New Hampshire lake. On the day before bass(巴斯鱼) season opened, they were fishing early in the evening, catching other fish with worms. Then the boy tied a small silver lure(鱼饵) and put it into the lake. Suddenly he felt that something very big pulling on the lure. His father watched with admiration as the boy skillfully brought the fish beside the bank. Finally he lifted the tired fish from the water. It was the largest one he had ever seen, but it was a bass.
The boy and his father looked at the big fish. The father lit a match and looked at his watch. It was 10 p.m.—two hours before the season opened. He looked at the fish, then at the boy. “You’ll have to put it back, son,” he said.
“Dad!” cried the boy. “There will be other fish,” said his father. “Not as big as this one,” cried the boy. He looked around the lake. No other fishermen or boats were in sight in the moonlight. He looked again at his father.
Even though no one had seen them, nor could anyone ever know what time he had caught the fish, the boy could tell from his father’s voice that the decision couldn’t be changed. He threw the huge bass into the black water. The big fish disappeared. The boy thought that he would never again see such a big fish.
That was 34 years ago. Today the boy is a successful architect in New York City. He often takes his own son and daughters to fish at the same place.
And he was right. He has never again caught such a large fish as the one he got that night long ago. But he does see that same fish ... again and again ... every time he has an ethical (道德的) decision to make. For, as his father had taught him, ethics are simple matters of right and wrong. It is only the practice of ethics that is difficult. What happened when the big fish turned out to be a bass?
| A．The boy and his father didn’t know what to do with the big fish. |
| B．The father lit a match in order to check the time. |
| C．The boy threw the bass back into the water willingly. |
| D．They worried other fishermen might discover what they had done. |
From the text we know that the father _________.
| A．didn’t love his son |
| B．always disagreed with his son |
| C．disliked the huge fish |
| D．was firm and stubborn |
The successful architect went fishing with his children at the same place because _______.
| A．they might catch a big fish there |
| B．it was a most popular fishing spot |
| C．he was taught a moral lesson there |
| D．their children enjoyed fishing there |
What does the story imply (suggest）?
| A．It is easy to say something, but difficult to do. |
| B．An ethical decision is always easy to make. |
| C．It’s hard to tell right from wrong sometimes. |
| D．Fishing can help one to make right decisions. |