英语课程计划-National Dictionary Day

October the 16th is National Dictionary Day. It falls on this day because that is the birthday of America’s most famous dictionary maker¹, Noah Webster, who was born in 1758. It is a day for us all to get out our dictionaries and start using them more often. We all need dictionaries. Many people have paper dictionaries and others use online ones on their computers or mobile phones. Some people have dictionaries in many languages. We also have dictionaries for specific areas. There are pronunciation dictionaries, medical dictionaries and even a Harry² Potter dictionary. Most of the celebrations for this day take place in schools. It is a good day for teachers to improve the dictionary-using skills of their students.

My dictionary says a dictionary is “a book that lists the words of a language in alphabetical³ order and gives their meaning, or that gives the meaning in a different language”. It also says a dictionary is “a reference book on any subject, the items of which are arranged in alphabetical order”. An example of this is a dictionary of quotations⁴. We start using dictionaries when we are very young. There are special versions for children and there are even picture dictionaries. Some people might say you have swallowed a dictionary. This means you use lots of long and difficult words when you speak. Another interesting expression is to say someone is a walking dictionary. This means a person knows the definition of every word.

1 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

2 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

3 alphabetical   

adj.字母（表）的，依字母顺序的

参考例句：

• Please arrange these books in alphabetical order.请把这些书按字母顺序整理一下。
• There is no need to maintain a strict alphabetical sequence.不必保持严格的字顺。

4 quotations   

n.引用( quotation的名词复数 )；[商业]行情（报告）；（货物或股票的）市价；时价

参考例句：

• The insurance company requires three quotations for repairs to the car. 保险公司要修理这辆汽车的三家修理厂的报价单。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These quotations cannot readily be traced to their sources. 这些引语很难查出出自何处。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》