Question

The question this week comes from our listener Herve Acard, who asks about the American word “OK”, which means “all right” or “acceptable”. It expresses agreement or approval. The word is used more often than any other word in the world.

Language expert Allen Walker Read said the word began as a short way of writing a different spelling of the words “all correct”. Old stories say some foreign-born people would write “all correct” as o-l-l k-o-r-r-e-c-t and spoke it as “OK”. Some people say it came from the Native American Indian tribe known as the Choctaws. The Choctaw word “okeh” means the same as the American word “OK”. Experts say early explorers in the Western America spoke the Choctaw language in the nineteenth century. The language spread across the country.

According to some people, “OK” was a way to shorten Greek words that mean everything is fine. It is also said that a railroad worker named Obadiah Kelly invented the word. He is said to have put the first letters of his names — O and K — on each object people gave him to place on the train.

Another explanation is that “OK” was invented by a political organization that supported Martin Van Buren for president in the 1800s. They called their organization the OK Club. The letters O and K were taken from the name of the town where Martin Van Buren was born — Old Kinderhook, New York.

Not everyone agrees with these explanations, but experts do agree that the word is purely American and has spread to almost every country on Earth. Yet in the United States, it is used mostly in speech. Serious writers prefer using words, such as “agree”, “approve” or “confirm” instead.

1.Where does the passage probably come from?

A. A newspaper.                                B. A textbook.

C. A radio program.                       D. A language magazine.

2.Of the following origins, which one has the same meaning as the American word “OK”?

A. The OK Club

B. The Choctaw word “okeh”

C. The word invented by Martin Van Buren

D. The short form of “all correct”

3.According to the passage, which statement is NOT true?

A. People disagree about the origin of “OK”.

B. “OK” is often used in formal writing in the USA.

C. The word “OK” is widely used all over the world.

D. Native American language once influenced American English.

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.B

【解析】

试题分析：本文叙述了“OK”这个词的历史，对于它的来历不同的人有不同的观点，最后短文指出专家认为它是真正的美国人的语言，然后传到了地球上的各个地方。

1.文章出处题。根据短文开头The question this week comes from our listener Herve Acard,这个问题来自听众，所以应是收音机广播电台的节目，故选C。

2.细节理解题。根据The Choctaw word “okeh” means the same as the American word “OK”它们的意思是一样的，故选B。

3.细节理解题。根据Not everyone agrees with these explanations,一些人不同意这个解释，故选项A符合原文；has spread to almost every country on Earth.它已经被传到了世界各地，故选项C符合原文；the word began as a short way of writing a different spelling of the words “all correct”它是“all correct”的缩写，故选项D符合原文，故选B。

考点：文化类短文阅读。