Question

阅读下面的短文，然后根据短文内容回答问题。

The Oxford English Dictionary turns 90 this year. The big, fat book is a good friend of your English learning.

But do you know the story of how the famous dictionary was created over a period of 71 years?

The very first edition of the Dictionary started to be developed as an idea in the late 1850s when a group of English language experts (专家) felt the need for such an English dictionary. They wanted a dictionary which would tell the history of each word in the language, based on data (数据) showing how each word was actually used at different periods in history. This data collection was done through a London association called the Philological Society in1857.

In 1879, Oxford University Press made preparations for publishing the Dictionary, James Murray was appointed as the new editor(编辑). Murray had never been to university. He was a self-taught language expert. However, he took on a group of helpers, and the work of adding entries(条目) to the Dictionary soon got started Henry Bradley, one of Murray's helpers, was appointed as the Dictionary's second Editor in 1887. Bradley was given the task of editing a separate part of the alphabet (字母表)starting with the letter E. But as time passed, they were fully aware that not even two separate teams were enough. In 1901, William Craigie was appointed as the Dictionary's third Editor, and in 1914 Charles Onions became its fourth Editor. By the time Onions was appointed, the Dictionary was complete as far as the letter S.

It's important to note that the Dictionary didn't finish at Z. It was the letter W that was the last to be finished on April 19, 1928. That was the day on which the first edition of the Dictionary was officially completed.

1.How did the Murray learn the language?

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2.How long did it take to edit the first edition of the Dictionary?

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3.When did English language experts have the first idea to create the Dictionary?

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4.What was Bradley expected to do when he was appointed as the Dictionary's second Editor?

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5.Did they finish all the letters in the first edition of the Dictionary?

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Answer

1.By himself.

2.For 49 years.

3.In the late 1850s.

4.Bradley was expected to edit a separate part of the alphabet starting with the letter E.

5.No, they didn't.

【解析】

文章大意：我们所熟悉的牛津字典的产生经历了一个长达71年的时间。文章详细给我们介绍了牛津字典的创作历程。

1.根据文章第四段Murray had never been to university. He was a self-taught language expert.可知Murray没有上过大学，是一名自学的语言专家。所以答案是“By himself.”。

2.根据文章第四段In 1879, Oxford University Press made preparations for publishing the Dictionary, James Murray was appointed as the new editor(编辑).可知从1879年开始编辑；根据文章第五段It was the letter W that was the last to be finished on April 19, 1928. That was the day on which the first edition of the Dictionary was officially completed.可知1928年完成编辑，1928-1879=49年，故答案是“For 49 years.”。

3.根据文章第三段The very first edition of the Dictionary started to be developed as an idea in the late 1850s when a group of English language experts (专家) felt the need for such an English dictionary.可知语言专家是在19世纪50年代晚期有了编纂字典的想法，所以答案是“In the late 1850s.”。

4.根据文章第四段Bradley was given the task of editing a separate part of the alphabet (字母表)starting with the letter E.可知Bradley要做的任务是从字母E开始，编辑一个字母表单独的部分。所以答案是“Bradley was expected to edit a separate part of the alphabet starting with the letter E.”。

5.根据文章最后一段It's important to note that the Dictionary didn't finish at Z. It was the letter W that was the last to be finished on April 19, 1928.可知没有完成到Z，完成到了字母W，也就是说并没有完成所有的字母，所以答案是“No, they didn't.”。