Does your local town have a nickname (绰号)? If so, what does it say about the area and the people who live there?
Many cities are recognized across the world by their unofficial titles. New York is the Big Apple, London is the Big Smoke, and Los Angles is famously called La La Land (used to mean that the people who live there are slightly crazy).
Now Britain’s national mapping agency, Ordnance Survey, and the British linguistics charity (语言学慈善机构), the English Project, are launching a project to uncover the nicknames people use for local places.
The project, which got started last week to coincide with English Language Day, is called Location Lingo. It aims to identify the names people use every day, whether it’s a term of endearment(昵称) or a hate name.
The University of Winchester’s Professor Bill Lucas is a supporter of the English Project. He explains that unofficial place names often show what people think about a place. “The name that people create for a place forms an emotional connection,” he says. “So Basingstoke becomes Amazingstoke, Swindon is known as Swindump and Padstow, hometown of chef Rick Stein, is nicknamed Padstein.”
Basingstoke is a town in central England. The local nickname, Amazingstoke, shows the affection that locals seem to have for the area Swindon, on the other hand, is sometimes called, Swindump, showing that some people think it’s a dump (垃圾场). Stanford Le Hope in Essex is called Stanford No Hope by locals. And Padstow in Cornwall is so closely associated with the local celebrity Rick Stein that it’s become known as Padstein.
Since launching the online database last week, the creators have already received 3,000 alternative titles for places and famous buildings.
Glen Hart, Ordnance Survey’s head Of research, says the information could be very helpful to the emergency services. For example, “By having the most complete set of nicknames we could help the emergency services quickly locate the right place, and maybe even save lives,” he says.
According to Bill Lucas, unofficial place names ___________.

A．are mostly positive

B．make many people confused

C．don’t show the real condition of a place

D．are a good way for people to express their feelings

We can learn from the passage that Swindump is probably ___________.

A．a hate name	B．a place of interest
C．a term of endearment	D．a famous person’s name

In the opinion of Glen Hart, Britain’s nickname survey ___________.

A．is of little value

B．has a practical use

C．will face lots of difficulties

D．will honor local celebrities

Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．London is called La La Land.

B．Swindon has many nicknames.

C．People consider Basingstoke a dangerous place.

D．People in Stanford Le Hope are disappointed with it.

What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Organizations collect unofficial place names.

B．Cities across Britain have special features.

C．Unofficial titles are bringing cities trouble.

D．People have a great affection for their cities.

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