Question

In 2007，the editors of the Oxford Junior English Dictionary，convinced that their reference work“needed to reflect the consensus experience of modern-day childhood．”banned a group of old terms used less today describing the natural world．They inserted newer and supposedly more useful words describing the digital fields that young people in habit today．

Thus they say goodbye to“acorn”，but say hello to“attachment”．“Beech”and“bluebell”come out of the dictionary．while“blog”and“broadband”come into it．And they say farewell to“catkin”and“cowslip”because here come“celebrity”and“chat room”．

It’s possible，of course，that those Oxford editors had a good reason for their vocabular cleansing．Perhaps they had read the Cambridge University study revealing that most young children can identify Pokémon(神奇宝贝)species far more easily than they can name real-life sparrows．

But is this simply another fight in the language war，an ongoing battle between people? Some people argue that a dictionary should model how language works best，while some people insist that it should capture how language works now．

In Britain，some citizens felt justified in fighting back against the decision of the Oxford editors．The protest of the thinning of the word herd almost immediately attracted more than200，000 signatures．

Susie Dent，author of Modern Tribes：The Secret Languages of Britain，is doing everything in her power to guarantee“the old markers of time”．“Fortnight”(fourteen nights，or two weeks)is among her cherished favorites．

Thanks to them，I can now show off my knowledge that a“snollygoster”is a“shrewd person，especially a politician”．

1.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word“inhabit”in paragraph 1 ?

A. Quit．    B. Detect．

C. Occupy．    D. Purchase．

2.Why does the author list so many words in paragraph 2?

A. To show people need to know the basic vocabulary．

B. To show some of the words are replaced by other words．

C. To explain the words are of great value in childhood．

D. To show children have the awareness of reciting words．

3.What do we know about the editors of the Oxford Junior English Dictionary?

A. They often ask for the public’s advice．

B. They often instruct young people to use words correctly．

C. They abandoned some infrequently used words in it．

D. They have convinced people of the importance of all words．

4.What is the best title for the text?

A. Pay Attention to English Words

B. Are Old English Words Worth Fighting for?

C. Always Refer to the Oxford Junior English Dictionary

D. Have You been Used to Employing the Network Words?

Answer

1. C

2. B

3. C

4. B

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，介绍了《牛津初级词典》放弃了一些不常使用的旧术语而引入了更新的、更有用的词汇，这一做法引发人们之间的争论。

1.词义猜测题。根据画线词前的“…”banned a group of old terms used less today describing the natural world．”可知，《牛津初级词典》的编辑认为，他们的参考书要禁止使用现在较少用于描述自然世界的旧术语，他们引入了更新的、更有用的词汇来描述当今年轻人所占据的数字领域，由此可知，画线词词义为“占据、占领”，故C项正确。

2.推理判断题。上文说牛津初级词典》引入了更新的、更有用的词汇，作者在第二段中提到attachment代替了acorn，Beech和bluebell被移除，blog和broadband被引入，celebrity和chat room代替了catkin和cowslip，其目的就是告诉大家词典中的一些旧词汇被新词代替，故B项正确。

3.细节理解题。根据第一段中的“banned a group of old terms used less today describing the natural world．”可知，《牛津初级词典》禁止使用现在较少用于描述自然世界的旧术语，也就是放弃一些不常使用的词汇，故C项正确。

4.主旨大意题。通读全文，特别是根据第四段中的“But is this simply another fight in the language war，an ongoing battle between people?”可知，本文介绍了《牛津初级词典》放弃了一些不常使用的旧术语而引入了更新的、更有用的词汇，这一做法引发人们之间的争论，故B项（旧单词值得我们为之奋斗么）正确。