You may think that English dictionaries have been used for many, many centuries. In fact, an English dictionary you today wasn't made until the Qing Dynasty(清朝).Three men did most of the important work on dictionaries. They spent nearly all their lives trying to words for their dictionaries. For them, it was a wonderful journey. The largest dictionary in the world is the Oxford English Dictionary. The for this dictionary came from an important meeting in Britain in1857.Twenty -two years later, Oxford University asked James Murray to be the editor(编者)of its new dictionary.
Murray had never been to . At the age of fourteen, he left his village school in Scotland and taught himself while working in a bank . he become a great teacher. After Oxford gave him the job, Murray had a small house in his garden to do the work. Every morning, Murray got out of bed at five o'clock and in the small house several hours before breakfast. Often he would work into the night. Murray hoped to finish the new dictionary in ten years. But after five years, he was adding(增加)words for the letter"A"! He worked on the dictionary he was very old. Forty-four years later, in1928, other editors finished the dictionary.
1.A.use B.write C.copy D.miss
2.A.easy B.boring C.early D.dangerous
3.A.spell B.invent C.collect D.make
4.A.way B.idea C.use D.prize
5.A.school B.cinema C.village D.college
6.A.Later B.Long before C.So far D.Ever since
7.A.sold B.built C.broken D.drawn
8.A.read B.wrote C.worked D.thought
9.A.already B.still C.usually D.always
10.A.if B.because C.until D.since
—When did you start to collect stamps?
—I got my ______ stamp when I was ______ years old.
A. one, seven B. one, seventh
C. first, seventh D. first, seven
_____ Henry’s mother _____ his father speaks English. They both speak Chinese.
A. Either; or B. Neither; nor
C. Both; and D. Not only; but also
—I couldn’t get any tickets for the basketball game.
—_______________
A. Good idea! B. What a pity!
C. All right. D. That’s all right.
–Excuse me, is this seat taken?
_______. That man got his books and left a few minutes ago.
A. I am afraid so. B. I don ’t think so.
C. I don ’t know. D. I hope not.
— Shall I tell John about it?— No, you _______. I told him just now.
A. needn’t B. can’t
C. mustn’t D. shouldn’t