阅读试题

Although English is not as old as Chinese, it is spoken by many people around the world every day. English speakers are always creating(创造) new words, and we are often able to know where most words come from.

Sometimes , however, no one may really know where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers(汉堡包) are called hamburgers, especially when they are not made with ham(火腿)? About a hundred years ago, some men went to America from Europe. They came from a big city in Germany called Hamburg. They did not speak good English, but they ate good food. When some Americans saw them eating round pieces of beef(牛肉), they asked the Germans what it was. The Germans did not understand the question and answered, "We come from Hamburg." One of these Americans owned a restaurant, and had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of beef like those which the men from Hamburg ate. Then he put each between two pieces of bread and started selling them. Such bread came to be called "hamburgers". Today "hamburgers" are sold in many countries around the world.

Whether this story is true or not, it certainly is interesting. Knowing why any word has a certain meaning is interesting. too. This reason, for most English words, can be found in any large English dictionary.

1. According to the writer, English is_____________.
A. as old as Chinese B. older than German
C. not so old as Chinese D. very difficult to learn

2. Hamburg is __________.
A. a kind of food B. a round piece of beef
C. the name of a village D. a city in Germany

3. According to the story, __________.
A. few Americans like hamburgers B. hamburgers are made with beef
C. hamburgers are made with ham D. hamburgers were first sold about a century ago

4. According to the writer, which of the following can often be found in any large English dictionary?
A. Where all the new words come from
B. Where those Germans came from
C. The reason why a word has a certain meaning
D. The reason why English is spoken around the world

5. According to the story, the word "hamburger" comes from __________.
A. China because it has a long history
B. England because Germans don’t speak good English
C. the round pieces of beef which those people from Hamburg were eating
D. English speakers because they always create new words

参考译文

虽然英语不是像中文一样古老，但世界各地每天都有许多人说它。说英语的人总是在创造新单词，我们往往能够知道大多数的词是从哪儿来的。

然而，可能没有人真正知道一个词从哪里来。你曾经想过为什么汉堡被称为汉堡，尤其是当他们不是火腿汉堡时？大约一百年前，一些人从欧洲来到美国。他们来自一个在德国被称为汉堡的大城市。他们英语不好，但他们吃美食。当一些美国人看到他们吃的牛肉圆块时，他们就问德国人这是什么。德国人不懂这个问题，就回答说，“我们来自汉堡。”其中的一个美国人拥有一家餐厅，于是有了一个主意。他喜欢那些来自汉堡的人们所吃的牛肉片。之后他把两片面包夹在牛肉片之间出售。这种面包于是就被被称为“汉堡包”。今天的“汉堡包”仍在世界上许多国家出售。

不管这个故事是不是真的，它肯定是有趣的。而知道一些词的特定意义也是有趣的。因此，对于大多数英语单词来说，我们都可以在英语大字典中发现。