Oxford English Dictionary Adds New Words

In June, the Oxford English Dictionary, or OED, added about 1,000 words and new definitions to its website. The changes are to help users understand a(n) 【1】 of terms, some dating back many centuries. The additions include words such as “brencheese”, “deathshildy” and “hip-pop.”

The new entries are part of the company’s update to Oed.com, its 【2】online dictionary for paid members. The OED makes changes to the website four times each year.

But the latest print version has been in 【3】 since the year 2000, and may not be ready for 10 more years. That information comes from Katherine Connor Martin, who heads the company's dictionary operations in the United States.

Usually, the OED watches 【4】of a word for at least 10 years before deciding whether to add a new entry, new definition or word related to a(n) 【5】 entry, she said. This general rule, however, is sometimes not 【6】. That is what happened with “tweet,” a word that the OED added far before the 10-year mark.

Other times, the company adds words that are very old, but were not included in the dictionary in the past, "it's funny because we talk about new words, but many of the words we add are already old. It’s just that they were never in the dictionary before,” Martin told the Associated Press.

That is the reality, she said, of a(n) 【7】dictionary trying to put more than 1,000 years of English into books that already have over 855,000 entries. So, you get “brencheese,” a rarely used term for when bread and cheese are eaten together. The word dates back to the year 1665. The word “deathshildy” is from Old English. It means someone who is 【8】 of a serious crime and sentenced to death.

The website defines the term “hip-pop” for music that has 【9】 parts of hip-hop and popular music. The OED discovered the term “hip-hip pop” was used in a 1985 story from a Pennsylvania newspaper. It 【10】 that the term “hip-pop” appeared in a 1991 U.S. newspaper report about the rap artist M.C. Hammer.

【答案】

【1】G

【2】J

【3】I

【4】K

【5】B

【6】C

【7】E

【8】D

【9】A

【10】H

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。短文介绍了《牛津英语词典》(简称OED)在其网站上新增了约1000个单词和新定义。

【1】考查名词以及语境理解。句意：这些变化是为了帮助使用者理解一些混杂的术语，其中一些可以追溯到几个世纪以前。a mix of……的混合，该短语是固定短语。故选G。

【2】形容词以及语境理解。句意：这些新词条是该公司对Oed.com网站更新的一部分。分析句子可知，空处应填形容词修饰名词dictionary ，Oed.com是该公司为付费会员提供的可搜索的在线词典。故填searchable“可搜索的”。故选J。

【3】考查名词以及语境理解。句意：但是最新的印刷版本从2000年就开始了，可能还要10年才能完成。in process在进行中，该短语是固定短语。故选I。

【4】考查名词以及语境理解。句意：《牛津英语词典》通常会观察一个词的使用情况至少10年，然后再决定是否添加一个新的词条、新的定义或与现有词条相关的单词。分析句子可知，空处应填名词，表示“词的使用情况”，所以填situation“情况”。故选K。

【5】考查形容词以及语境理解。句意：《牛津英语词典》通常会观察一个词的使用情况至少10年，然后再决定是否添加一个新的词条、新的定义或与现有词条相关的单词。分析句子可知，空处应填形容词，文中表示“与现有词条相关的单词”，所以填existing“现存的”。故选B。

【6】考查动词，语态以及语境理解。句意：然而，这一普遍规律有时却不被遵循。由“This general rule, however”可知，规律有时却不被遵循，所以本句为一般现在时的被动语态。所以填followed“遵循”。故选C。

【7】考查形容词以及语境理解。句意：她说，这就是现实，一本历史词典试图将1000多年的英语编入已经有85.5万词条的书籍中。分析句子可知，空处填形容词，文中表示“历史的”，所以填historical“历史的”。故选E。

【8】考查形容词以及语境理解。句意：它的意思是某人犯了严重的罪行，被判处死刑。分析句子可知，空处应填形容词，再由“sentenced to death”，可知，空处填guilty，be guilty of“犯有某某罪行”。故选D。

【9】考查动词，时态以及语境理解。句意：该网站将嘻哈和流行音乐结合在一起的音乐称为“hip-pop”。分析句子可知，定语从句为现在完成时，文中表示“结合在一起”，所以填combined“结合”。故选A。

【10】考查动词，时态以及语境理解。句意：它着重提出，“hip-pop”一词出现在1991年美国一家报纸关于说唱歌手哈默(M.C. Hammer)的报道中。分析句子可知，本句为一般过去时，文中表示“着重提出”，所以填noted“着重提出”。故选H。