英语听力精选进阶版 6238

Charity Catalogues British Place Nicknames 英慈善机构着手编纂地名绰号

Does your local town have a nickname? If so, what does it say about the area and the people who live there?

Many cities are recognised across the world by their unofficial titles. New York is the Big Apple, London is the Big Smoke, and Los Angeles is famously called La La Land.

Now Britain's national mapping agency, Ordnance¹ Survey, and the British linguistics² charity, the English Project, are launching an interactive³ project to uncover the pet names people use for local places.

The initiative, which launched last week to coincide with English Language Day, is called Location Lingo⁴. It aims to identify the names people use every day, whether it's a term of endearment⁵ or a hate name.

The University of Winchester's Professor Bill Lucas is a patron of the English Project. He explains that unofficial place names often show what people think about a place.

"The name that people conjure⁶ up or create for a place forms an emotional connection," he says.

"So Basingstoke becomes Amazingstoke, Swindon is known as Swindump and Padstow, hometown of chef Rick Stein, is nicknamed Padstein."

Basingstoke is a town in central England. The local nickname, Amazingstoke, shows the affection that locals seem to have for the area.

Swindon, on the other hand, is sometimes called Swindump, showing that some people think it's a dump. Stanford Le Hope in Essex is called Stanford No Hope by locals. And Padstow in Cornwall is so closely associated with the local celebrity⁷ Rick Stein that it's become known as Padstein.

Since launching the online database last week, the creators have already received 3,000 alternative titles for places and landmarks⁸.

Some also claim that the project could even have a practical use. Glen Hart, Ordnance Survey's head of research, says the information could be very helpful to the emergency services, for example. "By having the most complete set of nicknames we could help the emergency services quickly locate the right place, and maybe even save lives," he says.

Glossary 词汇表

nickname 绰号/诨名 

mapping agency 规划局 

linguistics 语言学 

an interactive project 互动项目 

pet name 宠爱的（地）名 

initiative 倡议/计划 

to coincide 巧合 

lingo 隐语 

a term of endearment 溺称 

a hate name 有恨意的名字 

a patron 赞助人/支持者 

unofficial 非官方的 

to conjure up 想象出 

an emotional connection 情感上的联系 

on the other hand 而/反之/从另一个角度说 

a dump 垃圾堆 

online 网上 

database 数据库 

landmark 地标 

the emergency services 急救服务（机构）

1 ordnance   

n.大炮，军械

参考例句：

• She worked in an ordnance factory during the war.战争期间她在一家兵工厂工作。
• Shoes and clothing for the army were scarce,ordnance supplies and drugs were scarcer.军队很缺鞋和衣服，武器供应和药品就更少了。

2 linguistics   

n.语言学

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• Linguistics is a scientific study of the property of language.语言学是指对语言的性质所作的系统研究。

3 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

4 lingo   

n.语言不知所云，外国话，隐语

参考例句：

• If you live abroad it helps to know the local lingo.住在国外，学一点当地的语言自有好处。
• Don't use all that technical lingo try and explain in plain English.别尽用那种专门术语，用普通的词语解释吧。

5 endearment   

n.表示亲爱的行为

参考例句：

• This endearment indicated the highest degree of delight in the old cooper.这个称呼是老箍桶匠快乐到了极点的表示。
• To every endearment and attention he continued listless.对于每一种亲爱的表示和每一种的照顾，他一直漫不在意。

6 conjure   

v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法

参考例句：

• I conjure you not to betray me.我恳求你不要背弃我。
• I can't simply conjure up the money out of thin air.我是不能像变魔术似的把钱变来。

7 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

8 landmarks   

n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址）

参考例句：

• The book stands out as one of the notable landmarks in the progress of modern science. 这部著作是现代科学发展史上著名的里程碑之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The baby was one of the big landmarks in our relationship. 孩子的出世是我们俩关系中的一个重要转折点。 来自辞典例句