Have you ever wondered about people’s names? Where do they come from? What do they mean?
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(小溪)；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;
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.
小題1:Which of the following aspects do the surnames in the passage NOT cover?
| A．Places where people lived. |
| B．People’s occupations. |
| C．Talents that people possessed. |
| D．People’s characters. |
小題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．built houses and furniture |
| D．made kitchen tools or contains |
小題3:Suppose 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．Donald Greenwood | B．Leonard Carter |
| C．George Longstreet | D．Beatrice Smith |
小題4:The underlined word “descendants” in the last paragraph means a person’s _______.
| A．later sponsors | B．later generations |
| C．friends and relatives | D．colleagues and partners |
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