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
The men and women of Anglo-Saxon England normally bore one name only. Distinguishing epithets were rarely added. These might be
The men and women of Anglo-Saxon England normally bore one name only. Distinguishing epithets were rarely added. These might be
admin
2014-01-07
70
问题
The men and women of Anglo-Saxon England normally bore one name only. Distinguishing epithets were rarely added. These might be patronymic, descriptive or occupational. They were, however, hardly surnames. Heritable names gradually became general in the three centuries following the Norman Conquest in 1066. It was not until the 13th and 14th centuries that surnames became fixed, although for many years after that, the degree of stability in family names varied considerably in different parts of the country.
British surnames fall mainly into four broad categories: patronymic, occupational, descriptive and local. A few names, it is true, will remain puzzling: foreign names, perhaps, crudely translated, adapted or abbreviated; or artificial names.
In fact, over fifty per cent of genuine British surnames derive from place names of different kinds, and so they belong to the last of our four main categories. Even such a name as Simpson may belong to this last group, and not to the first, had the family once had its home in the ancient village of that name. Otherwise, Simpson means "the son of Simon", as might be expected.
Hundreds of occupational surnames are at once familiar to us, or at least recognisable after a little thought: Archer, Carter, Fisher, Mason, Thatcher, Taylor, to name but a few. Hundreds of others are more obscure in their meanings and testify to the amazing specialisation in medieval arts, crafts and functions. Such are "Day",(Old English for breadmaker)and "Walker"(a fuller whose job it was to clean and thicken newly made cloth).
All these vocational names carry with them a certain gravity and dignity, which descriptive names often lack. Some, it is true, like "Long", "Short" or "Little", are simple. They may be taken quite literally. Others require more thinking: their meanings are slightly different from the modern ones. "Black" and "White" implied dark and fair respectively. "Sharp" meant genuinely discerning, alert, acute rather than quick-witted or clever.
Place-names have a lasting interest since there is hardly a town or village in all England that has not at some time given its name to a family. They may be picturesque, even poetical; or they may be pedestrian, even trivial. Among the commoner names which survive with relatively little change from old-English times are "Milton"(middle enclosure)and "Hilton"(enclosure on a hill).
Surnames are said to be _____ in Anglo-Saxon England.
选项
A、common
B、vocational
C、unusual
D、descriptive
答案
C
解析
根据Anglo-Saxon可定位考点在第1段。该段第1句说Anglo-Saxon时代的英国人通常只有一个名字,而第4句说“他们几乎没有姓”,因此可以判断C是答案。A(普遍的)、B(职业的)和D(描述的)均不符合题意。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/ftFK777K
0
专业英语四级
相关试题推荐
Accordingtothepassage,howmanypeopleintheworldcanNOTgetenoughfoodtobehealthy?
Beforelastweek’sparliamentaryelections,______hadamajorityofseatsinparliament.
WanttoGo"Resorting"?EvenbeforetheAmericanRevolutionofthelate1700s,/CapeMaymerchantsadvertisedinPhiladelph
Inthepast,hip-hopwasaplaceforpeopletosingabout______.
AnAustralianresearchgroupmayeasehumanity’scollectiveconscienceoveraspateofprehistoricextinctionsonthesouthernc
MervynKing,governoroftheBankofEngland,weighedintothedebateaboutimmigrationlastnightwhenhestronglyhintedthat
Since1895theNationalTrusthasworkedforthepreservationofplacesofhistoric(1)_____andnaturalbeautyinEngland,Wales
Since1895theNationalTrusthasworkedforthepreservationofplacesofhistoric(1)_____andnaturalbeautyinEngland,Wales
随机试题
试述万向传动装置装配时的注意事项。
杂剧《四声猿》的作者是()
在唐宋派中,散文创作成就最高的是归有光。归有光有《__________》。
以下哪些因素可引起急性胰腺炎()
下述贫血性疾病中,最易见嗜多色性红细胞、点彩红细胞、Howell-Jolly小体和Cabot环的是
A.交联羧甲基纤维钠B.微晶纤维素C.滑石粉D.乙基纤维素E.水可作为润滑剂的是
我们今天习以为常的一些节日其实在久远的古代有重要的礼仪意义。例如,早在南北朝时,()是举行祭祀仪式以欢庆丰收、感谢祖先和神灵的日子。
先前学习对后继学习影响,称为()
TheEU’sclimatechiefisseekingtoextendthebloc’srenewableenergytargets,inamoveapparentlydesignedtoprotectthegr
SPDIF 是SONY、PHILIPS 数字音频接口的简称,使用SPDIF OUT可实现高质量的纯数字音频回放,此时声卡上SPDIF OUT送出的声音信号的形式是______。
最新回复
(
0
)