Question

   One of the greatest contributors to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual. In 1879,Oxford University in England asked Prof James Murray to serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language. It would include every English word possible and would give not only the definition but also the history of the word and quotations (引文) showing how it was used.

   This was a huge task,so Murray had to find volunteers from Britain,the United States,and the British colonies to search every newspaper,magazine,and book ever written in English. Hundreds of volunteers responded,including William Chester Minor. Dr Minor was an American surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England. He gave his address as uBroadmoor,Crowthome,Berkshire”，50 miles from Oxford- Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray. Over the next 17 years,he became one of the staffs most valued contributors.

    But he was also a mystery. In spite of many invitations,he would always decline to visit Oxford. So in 1897,Murray finally decided to travel to Crowthome himself. When he arrived,he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell at the Broadmoor Asylum (精神病院) for the Criminally Insane.

Murray and Minor became friends,sharing their love of words. Minor continued contributing to the dictionary,sending in more than 10,000 submissions in 20 years. Murray continued to visit Minor regularly,sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds.

   In 1910,Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum in his native America. Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable friend.

Minor died in 1920,seven years before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed. The 12 volumes defined 414,825 words,and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient.

45. According to the text,the first Oxford English Dictionary.

   A. came out before Minor died

   B. was edited by an American volunteer

   C. included the English words invented by Murray

   D. was intended to be the most ambitious English dictionary

46. How did Dr Minor contribute to the dictionary?

   A. He helped Murray to find hundreds of volunteers.

   B. He sent newspapers,magazines and books to Murray.

   C. He provided a great number of words and quotations.

   D. He went to England to work with Murray.

47. Why did Dr Minor refuse to visit Oxford?

   A. He was shut in an asylum.

   B. He lived far from Oxford.

   C. He was busy writing a book.

   D. He disliked travelling.

48. Prof Murray and Dr Minor became friends mainly because.

   A. they both served in the Civil War

   B. they had a common interest in words

   C. Minor recovered with the help of Murray

   D. Murray went to America regularly to visit Minor

49. Which of the following best describes Dr Minor?

   A. Brave and determined.

   B. Cautious and friendly.

   C. Considerate and optimistic.

   D. Unusual and scholarly.

50. What does the text mainly talk about?

   A. The history of the English language.

   B. The friendship between Murray and Minor.

   C. Minor and the first Oxford English Dictionary.

   D. Broadmoor Asylum and its patients.

   Whether you are a native English speaker or are learning English as a second language,you can benefit from learning how to improve English language skills. This article delivers the top five methods of improving your English language skill set in the shortest amount of time. 51

   Get a Dictionary

A dictionary can be a great way to improve your vocabulary—after all,it is filled with words. 52 Wherever it is,as long as you find yourself with a few extra free moments,take out your pocket dictionary and learn a new word.

53

    Two quick examples are Elements of Grammar by Strunk & White and Essentials of English by Hopper,Gale & Foote. Grammar books typically help with not only grammar,but also with the correct usage of punctuation and even tips to improve the clarity of your speech or writing.

Learn to Use Words in the Correct Order Words are used in different orders in different languages in the world when trying to express the same meaning. In order to speak English fluently as a native would speak,you are going to have to learn the proper order of words in English sentences. 54

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   A. Improve Your Grammar

   B. How to Learn English

   C. Get a Book on Grammar

   D. Practise often,and you will significantly improve.

   E. If you force yourself to speak the language,you will no doubt improve.

   F. The best way to learn is to study and pick apart English sentences.

   G. You should take a pocket dictionary that you can carry around with you.

Answer 1

45. D 46. C 47. A 48. B 49. D 50. C 51. D 53. C

45. D解析：細節(jié)理解題。從最后一段中的 44Minor died in 1920.seven years before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed. ”可知A項錯誤;從第一段 中的“In 1879.Oxford University in England asked Prof James Murray to serve as edi-tor.可知詞典是由英國人Murray編輯 的，而后文提到的美國人Minoi.只是個捐 稿人，故B項錯誤;C項表示“包括了 Mur-ray發(fā)明的英語單詞”，文中未提及本細節(jié)， 故錯誤；從文章第一段中的serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English lan-guage. ”可知D項正確。

46. C解析：細節(jié)理解題。文章第二段提到 Murray找志愿者而不是Minor幫著找，故 A項錯誤;B項文中并未提及;從第三段中 的 ‘‘ Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray.

知C項正確；從第四段中"... he would always decline to visit Oxford. ” 可知 D 項錯 誤。

47. A 解析：細節(jié)理解題。從第四段中的 uWhen he arrived,he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell at the Broadmoor Asy-lum...”可知選A.從第二段最后一句話 可知Broadmoor離Oxford僅50英里，并不 遠，故B項錯誤。C項表示“他忙著寫一本 書”，D項表示“他不喜歡旅行”，這兩項文 中均未提及，故排除。

48. B解析：推理判斷題。文章只在第二段 提到 Minor served in the Civil War,故可排 除A項;文中并未提及“在Murray的幫助 下Minoi.康復了”這件事，故C項錯誤；由 文章第四段可以看出，Murray是到離Oxford 不遠的 Broadmoor 去拜訪 Minor , 這是 在英國，而不是去了美國，故D項錯誤；由 文章第五段中的“Murray and Minor became friends,sharing their love of words. ” 可知B項正確。

49. D解析：推理判斷題。通讀全文及文章 最后一句我們不難看出D項正確。

A項表 示“勇敢且堅定的”；B項表示“謹慎且友 好的”；C項表示“體貼且樂觀的”。

50. C解析：主旨大意題。綜合全文及前面 的分析我們知道，本文主要講的是Murray 與Minor,特別是Minor為第一本《牛津英 語大詞典》所作的貢獻，故只有C項最能 概括文章的主旨。

B項表示“Murray與 Minor之間的友誼”，概括不全面，有以偏 概全之感；A項表示“英國的語言史”，有 外延過大之嫌;D項表示“ Broadmoor精神 病院和它的病人們”，根據(jù)全文推斷不出該 結(jié)論。

51. D解析:根據(jù)前文“這篇文章主要介紹了 在最短的時間內(nèi)提高英語技能的五個方 法”可推知下面應建議讀者照此練習以獲 得成功。

52. G解析:根據(jù)下文“無論在哪里只要有時 間就可以拿出袖珍詞典”可知本句表示 “你應該拿一本可以隨身攜帶的袖珍 詞典”。

53. C解析:瀏覽本段內(nèi)容可知，這條建議的 內(nèi)容是找一本語法書。

54. F解析:根據(jù)本段大意“介紹掌握英語句 法的方法”可推知選F。

55. E解析:因為段前有小標題，所以本段表 示要與英語本地人交談，強迫自己說英語， 這樣英語水平一定能提高，