普通高中课程标准实验教科书 英语必修1 Unit 2 English around t

THE OXFORD¹ ENGLISH DICTIONARY
          You may think that English dictionaries have been used² for many, many centuries. The spelling of English has always been a problem but it was more of a problem in the days before a dictionary. Then people could spell words in different ways which you might find interesting. But it made reading³ English much more difficult. So dictionaries were invented to encourage everybody to spell the same. In fact, an English dictionary like the kind you use today wasn't made until the time of the late Qing Dynasty. Three men did most of the important early work on dictionaries: Samuel Johnson, Noah Webster, and James Murray. These men spent nearly all of their lives trying to collect words for their dictionaries. For them, it wasn't only a job; it was a wonderful journey⁴ of discovery⁵. The largest dictionary in the world is the Oxford English Dictionary, or OED for short. The idea for this dictionary came from an important meeting in Britain in 1857. Twenty-two years later, Oxford University asked James Murray to be the editor⁶ of its new dictionary.
          Murray had never been to college. At the age of fourteen, he left his village school in Scotland⁷ and taught himself while working in a bank. Later he became a great teacher. After Oxford gave him the job, Murray had a place built in the garden behind his house to do his work. Part of it was one metre underground. In winter it felt like a barn⁸, he had to wear a heavy coat and put his feet in a box to keep warm. Every morning, Murray got out of bed at five o'clock and worked several hours before breakfast. Often he would work by candle light into the evening. Murray hoped to finish the new dictionary in ten years. But after five years, he was still adding words for the letter A! Then others went to work with Murray, including his two daughters. He worked on the dictionary until he was very old. Forty-four years later, in 1928, other editors⁹ finished it. It included more than 15,000 words in twelve books. And you thought your English dictionary was big!

1 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

2 used   

adj.用旧了的，旧的；习惯于…；过去惯/经常

参考例句：

• I used to work until nearly 6:00 o'clock each day.我过去常常工作到6:00左右。
• He used to walk anywhere from two to five miles an hour.他过去经常一小时走二至五英里。

3 reading   

n.阅读，知识，读物，表演，对法律条文的解释；adj.阅读的

参考例句：

• Children learn reading and writing at school.孩子们在学校学习阅读和写作。
• He finds pleasure in reading.他从阅读中得到乐趣。

4 journey   

n.旅行，旅程；路程

参考例句：

• She will give up this journey.她将放弃这次旅行。
• The journey home was great fun.回家的旅程非常有趣。

5 discovery   

n.发现，发觉；被发现的事物；发明

参考例句：

• I congratulate you on your great discovery.我祝贺你的伟大发现。
• It is a discovery that made medical history.这是载入医学史册的重大发现。

6 editor   

n.编者，编辑，主笔；v.编辑器

参考例句：

• He's the editor of the Riverdale paper.他是Riverdale报的编辑。
• He got a job as an editor of a newspaper.他在一家报社找到了一份编辑工作。

7 Scotland   

n.苏格兰

参考例句：

• He has been hiking round Scotland for a month.他围着苏格兰徒步旅行了一个月。
• Scotland is to the north of England.苏格兰在英格兰之北。

8 barn   

n.谷仓，饲料仓，牲口棚

参考例句：

• That big building is a barn for keeping the grain.那幢大房子是存放粮食的谷仓。
• The cows were driven into the barn.牛被赶进了牲口棚。

9 editors   

n.编辑( editor的名词复数 )；（广播电视节目的）记者；（影片、广播电视节目的）剪辑员；编辑程序

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• Editors rushed out a piece on the crash for the late news. 编辑迅速将失事消息编入晚间新闻。 来自《简明英汉词典》