Languages keeps evolving(进化、发展), and English is no exception.It is a language that embraces(欣然接受)new words that may be cool today but gone tomorrow.
There are, however, some words and phrases that have stood the test of time.OK, which has become the international standard for expressing agreement, is a good example.
But why is this rather odd(奇怪的)expression so popular and so useful when we could use any number of other words to say the same thing?
Writing in The Times, Allen Metcalf, author of OK:The Improbable Story of America’s Greatest Word, writes:“What OK provided that the others did not was neutrality(中性), a way to express agreement without having to offer an opinion.”
For example, if someone asks you “Shall we go for a walk after lunch?” you can simply respond “OK”.There you go-no extra opinions.Just straight, plain old OK.
So just where did this rather curious expression come from? The origins of OK have been widely disputed(辩论,争论).Some people have guessed that OK was the name of a person or a product.
Speakers of many different languages have had their say on this question, keen to claim the term as their own.
Writing an article for London’s Metro newspaper, Metcalf states:‘O and K are present in every language of the world, as expressions that can be abbreviated(缩写)OK.” For example:French-“O qu-oui”, “yes indeed”; German-“Ohne Korrektur”,“ without correction needed”; and in Latin or Greek, “Olla kalla”, “all good”.
But, does it sound a little too informal with this popular little expression?
Apparently not.
In a speech where he stated that his election(当选)would not be a radical(激进的)result to all problems, President Obama said:“…even though I am president…, AI-Qaida is still a threat(威胁)and that we cannot pretend somehow that because Barack Hussein Obama got elected as president, suddenly everything’s going to be OK,” he said.
So, there you go, straight from the president.It’s OK to say OK, and thanks to the expression’s widespread usage across the world, you can be understood anywhere.
(1)
Using the example of Obama, the author wants to show that _________.
[ ]
A.
there is still a long way to go to defeat Al-Qaida
B.
Obama likes to use OK when he speaks
C.
OK is widely used even on formal occasions
D.
the use of OK is encouraged in formal speech
(2)
According to Allen Metcalf, OK differs from other terms to express agreement, which of the following opinions is true?
[ ]
A.
It is easiest way to say.
B.
It doesn’t need emotion.
C.
It is the most commonly used.
D.
It doesn’t use in the formal speech.
(3)
What is the best title for the passage?
[ ]
A.
Why OK is OK everywhere?
B.
It’s OK to say OK in the world.
C.
Where did OK come from?
D.
Everything is going to be OK.
完型填空
阅读短文,从每题所给选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳答案。
Al was a potter (制陶工).He had a wife and two fine sons.One night, his older son got a stomachache.At first, Al and his wife thought the boy just got a bad cold, so they didn't take it 1 .But it was not a cold.It was terrible appendicitis(阑尾炎), and the boy died suddenly that night.Knowing the 2 could not happen if he had taken the ill seriously, Al was very 3 and was 4 of guilt.Then his wife couldn't stand the thing, so she left him alone with his six-year-old 5 son.
Al lost his two favourite persons.He felt no hope in the world and 6 to alcohol.Then Al became an alcoholic(酒鬼).As he drank more, Al began to lose 7 he had-his home, his land and his work.Finally, Al died 8 in a San Francisco room.When I heard of Al's death, I thought he was a 9 and wasted his life.As time went by, I began to know 10 I once thought was wrong.I knew Al's little son, Ernie.He is one of the kindest, most caring, most loving men I have ever known.I watched Ernie with his children and saw the love 11 them.I knew that kindness and caring had to 12 somewhere.I never heard Erine talk much about his father.
One day I asked him, ‘ I'm really puzzled (困惑) by something.I know your father was the only one to raise you.What on earth (究竟) did he do to make you become such a special person?' Ernie sat quietly and smiled for a few 13 .Then he said,' When I was a child, Al came into my room every night, gave me a kiss and said, “I love you, son.”
Tears came into my 14 .Al had not left any money 15 , but he had been a kind, loving father, and he left behind a legacy(遗产) of love.