Question

    One of the greatest contributions to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual． In 1879， Oxford University in England asked Prof．James Murray to serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language． It would include every English word possible and would give not only the definition but also the history of the word and quotations （引文） showing how it was used．

This was a huge task， so Murrary had to find volunteers from Britain， the United States， and the British colonies to search every newspaper， magazine， and book ever written in English． Hundreds of volunteers responded， including William Chester Minor． Dr． Minor was an American surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England． He gave his address as "Broadmoor， Crowthorne， Berkshire，" 50 miles from Oxford．

Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray． Over the next 17 years， he became one of the staff's most valued contributors．

But he was also a mystery． In spite of many invitations， he would always decline to visit Oxford． So in 1897， Murray finally decided to travel to Crowthorne himself． When he arrived， he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell at the Broadmoor Asylum （精神病院） for the Criminally Insane．

Murray and Minor became friends， sharing their love of words． Minor continued contributing to the dictionary， sending in more than 10，000 submissions in 20 years． Murray continued to visit Minor regularly， sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds．

In 1910， Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum in his native America． Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable friend.

Minor died in 1920， seven years before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed． The 12 volumes defined 414 825 words， and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient．

1.How did Dr．Minor contribute to the dictionary?

A. He helped Murray to find hundreds of volunteers．

B. He sent newspapers, magazines and books to Murray．

C. He provided a great number of words and quotations．

D. he went to England to work with Murray．

2.Which of the following best describe Dr．Minor?

A. Brave and determined. B. Cautious and friendly.

C. Considerate and optimistic. D. Unusual and scholarly.

3.What does the text mainly talk about?

A. The history of the English language．

B. The friendship between Murray and Minor．

C. Minor and the first Oxford English Dictionary．

D. Broadmoor Asylum and its patients．

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.C

【解析】

本文是一篇人物传记。短文讲述了第一版牛津英语词典的编撰者之一的Dr. Minor不一般的人生，他博学，但被关在精神病院。他对第一版牛津英语词典贡献很大，并与Prof Murray因为共同的爱好成为好朋友。

1.细节理解题。由第三段“Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray”可知，迈纳加入了志愿者大军，向默里发送文字和引文。所以迈纳向默里提供了大量的文字和引文，为这本字典做出了很大的贡献。故C选项正确。

2.推理判断题。由最后一段“The 12 volumes defined 414 825 words， and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient．”可知，这12卷共定义了414825个单词，其中数千个单词来自一位博学和热心的精神病人的贡献。所以通过关键词scholarly可以推断Minor很是博学，通过关键词devoted asylum patient可以判断出Minor对做学问很投入，但他同时又是一个精神病人，因此用devoted，scholarship，unusual等描述他最贴切。故D选项正确。

3.主旨大意题。通读全文可知，短文讲述了第一版牛津英语词典的编撰者之一的Dr. Minor的不一般的人生，他博学，但被关在精神病院。他对牛津英语词典贡献很大，并与Prof Murray因为共同的爱好成为好朋友。所以短文主要讲述的是Mr Minor和他对第一版牛津英语词典的贡献。故C选项正确。