CANYOUIMAGINEHOWHARDITWOULDBETOREADSENTENCESLIKETHIS?
The ancient Greeks wrote this way. The lack of punctuation marks(标点符号) probably didn’t bother good readers, though. As they
read, they just put pauses where they fit best. Also at this time, sentences
switched directions. A sentence read from left to right. The next one read
right to left, and then left to right again, etc.
The ancient Romans sometimes punctuated like
this: They·put·a·point·between·each·word·in·a·sentence. The word punctuation
actually comes from this idea and the Latin word punctum, which means a
prick(刺).
When
the 5th century arrived, there were just two punctuation marks:
spaces and points. The space separated words and while the points showed pauses
in reading. Then in the 13th century, a printer named Aldus Manutius
tried to standardize punctuation. He always used a period for a complete stop
at the end of a sentence. He used a slash (/) to indicate a short pause. Over
time, that slash was shortened and curled, and it became the modern comma.
Since
that time, other marks have enlarged the punctuation family. The exclamation
mark comes form the Latin word xt. It was originally formed by putting an
upper-case(大写字母) I on the lower-case xt. The Latin word
xt means “exclamation of joy.” The question mark originally started out as the
Latin word question, meaning question. Eventually, scholars put it at
the end of a sentence to show a question. Over time, it became a symbol formed
by putting a lower-case q on an o.
Punctuation is still changing today. New marks are coming into existence, and
old punctuation marks are used in new ways. Take for example, the
“interrobang.” This 1962 invention combines the question mark and exclamation
mark for times when writers want both. For example, “She did what‽” or “How much did you pay for
that dress‽” Obviously, the interrobang is not widely used or
recognized – yet. But its invention shows that English is not yet finished with
its punctuation.
1.Which of the following is a comma?
A. , B.
: C.
; D.
!
2.What’s the first paragraph mainly about?
A. The history of punctuation.
B. The introduction of punctuation.
C. The very beginning of punctuation.
D. The ancient Greek way of writing without
punctuation.
3.Please put the following events in the order
they happened.
a. The exclamation mark and question mark came
into the punctuation family.
b. Comma came into existence.
c. Romans put a dot between words to separate
words.
d. A period was used to end a sentence.
e. The “interrobang” was invented.
A. cbdae B.
dcbae C.
dbcea D.
cdbae
4.What is the most possible situation for “She
did what‽”?
A. You are told she gave her baby boy a good
beat.
B. You are wondering what she did to save the
poor boy.
C. You want to know what she did for a living
after fleeing to a foreign country.
D. You demand someone else tell you what in the
world happened to her.
5. According to the article, we learn ________.
A. punctuation didn’t come into being until the
5th century.
B. no one can really tell what new marks we may
have in the future.
C. the invention of “interrobang” is a failure
since it is not widely used.
D. both the exclamation mark and the question
mark come from Greek words.