首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
(1)Allan Metcalf s new book claims, that the word "OK" is America’s greatest invention. This offers a pair of provocations. How
(1)Allan Metcalf s new book claims, that the word "OK" is America’s greatest invention. This offers a pair of provocations. How
admin
2016-12-06
57
问题
(1)Allan Metcalf s new book claims, that the word "OK" is America’s greatest invention. This offers a pair of provocations. How can "OK" be an invention? On a certain day, a certain guy just dreamed up the expression that has become the most frequently spoken word on the planet? And even if it is an invention, can one little word really be greater than jazz, baseball, and the telephone? Is it better than The Simpsons?
(2)The answer to the first question, implausible as it sounds, is yes. In OK: The Improbable Story of America’s Greatest Word, Metcalf locates the first use of OK in an obscure corner of a Boston newspaper on March 23, 1839. As for the alleged greatness of the word, Metcalf s slim volume doesn’t entirely persuade you that OK is a more valuable invention than, say, electric light. But the fact that he even raises the question is intriguing. If it does nothing else, Metcalf makes you acutely aware of how universal and vital the word has become.
(3)True story: the world’s most popular word began as a joke. In the late 1830s, America’s newspapers had great enthusiasm for abbreviations—also, to judge by Metcalf’s account, a sorry sense of humor. He devotes a chapter to trying to explain why readers of the Boston Morning Post might have been amused to see "o. k." used as a jokey abbreviation for "oll korrect," an intentional misspelling of "all correct." Apparently you had to be there. But the word soon got an enormous boost from Andrew Jackson—or his enemies, anyway. They circulated the rumor that the man of the people was barely literate and approved papers with the initials "O.K." for "oll korrect." It was a joke, Metcalf concludes, "but without it there’d be no OK."
(4)The word didn’t remain a joke for long. Telegraph operators began using it as a way to say "all clear." It became ubiquitous, turning up in all corners of the world, and beyond. Metcalf points out that OK was technically the first word spoken on the surface of the moon.
(5)When you pause to consider what a weird and wonderful little word OK is, the most remarkable thing isn’t that it’s so great or that it was invented but that it’s American. To foreigners in the 20th century, Metcalf writes, the word embodied "American simplicity, pragmatism, and optimism." To us today, the word sums up "a whole two-letter American philosophy of tolerance, even admiration for difference."
How was "OK" created?
选项
A、It was created to shorten a word.
B、It was created by mistake.
C、It was created to play a joke on a reporter.
D、It was created to convey a sense of humor.
答案
D
解析
第3段第1句中的joke和第3句中的jokey,都表明OK是源于一个玩笑,且该段第2句指出这体现了a sorry sense of humor,故D与文意最相符。OK这个词的出现包含了“缩写”和“幽默”这两个要素,主要是后者,且OK也并不是一个单词的缩写,故A不正确;根据第3段第3句末的intentional misspelling可排除B;C中的a joke on a reporter缺乏原文依据。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/4WJK777K
0
专业英语四级
相关试题推荐
Somebelievethatintheageofidentikitcomputergames,massentertainmentandconformityonthesupermarketshelves,trulyin
Somebelievethatintheageofidentikitcomputergames,massentertainmentandconformityonthesupermarketshelves,trulyin
Veryfewpeoplecouldunderstandthelecturetheprofessordeliveredbecauseitssubjectwasvery______.
Economy,oneoftheprinciplesofsuccessinthedetailsofhousekeeping,consistsnotalone【C1】______makingadvantageoususe
Shewassofatthatshecouldonlyjust______throughthedoor.
Severalguestswerewaitinginthe______forthefrontdoortoopen.
Accordingtothepassage,whomightbeespeciallyinterestedinthenewprogram?
Accordingtothepassage,somejobapplicantswererejected______.
A、Sheisnotallowedtodiveagain.B、Shestillfreaksoutwhendiving.C、Shestillfeelsshamefulaboutthepast.D、Shecannot
随机试题
下面有关for循环的正确描述是()。
健康相关生活质量评价的内容不包括
以下属于中风脱证的临床表现有
点在具有直径为6m的轨道上运动,走过的距离是s=3t2,则点在2s末的切向加速度为()。
一桁架及其承载情况如图,三杆的抗拉(压)刚度EA相同,则其中杆BD的轴力N为( )。
大连对外贸易有限公司(2562565204)进口一批进料加工材料,全部用于加工返销。手册号为C18520463851,预录入号为5921036495187。“运输方式”栏应填写()。
理财产品宣传销售文本应当全面、客观反映理财产品的重要特性和与产品有关的重要事实,语言表述应当真实、准确和清晰,不得有下列()情形。
甲公司的注册资本为200000万元,其中:国家授权投资的乙机构出资100000万元;国有企业丙出资50000万元;民营企业丁出资50000万元。甲公司的年度财务报告显示,其有公积金6000万元,公益金3000万元,未分配利润9000万元。根据上述数据资料
公开市场操作
小张的U盘中存储有企业的核心数据。针对该U盘,以下有关信息安全风险评估的描述中,不正确的是(9)。
最新回复
(
0
)