Question

【题目】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 recognized 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(规划局)，Ordnance Survey，and the British Linguistics (语言学)Charity，the English Project，are launching an interactive project to uncover the nicknames people use for local places.

The project，which was launched last week to coincide with English Language Day，is called Location Lingo.It aims to identify the names people use every day，whether it's a term of endearment(昵称) or a hate name.

The University of Winchester's Professor Bill Lucas is a leader of the English Project.He explains that unofficial place names often show what people think about a place.“The name that people conjure_up or create for a place forms an emotional connection，”he says.“So Basingstoke becomes Amazingstoke，Swindon is known as Swindump.Padstow，hometown of chef Rick Stein，is nicknamed Padstein.”

Basingstoke is a town in central England.The local nickname，Amazingstoke，shows the love that locals seem to have for the area.Swindon，on the other hand，is sometimes called Swindump，showing that local people think it's a big dump.Stanford Le Hope in Essex is called Stanford No Hope by locals.And Padstow in Cornwall is so closely associated with the local celebrity Rick Stein that it's become known as Padstein.

Since launching the online database (数据库) last week，the creators have already received 3,000 alternative titles for places and landmarks.

Some also say 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.

【1】The Big Smoke refers to________.

A. NewYork B. London

C. Paris D. Los Angeles

【2】The project Location Lingo was launched________.

A. On Christmas B. On Easter

C. On English Language Day D. On Thanksgiving Day

【3】The underlined phrase“conjure up”is closest in meaning to“________”．

A. make up B. break up

C. join up D. pick up

【4】In the eyes of many people，Swindon is________.

A. beautiful B. clean

C. dirty D. attractive

【5】What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A. The project is meant to save lives.

B. The project is well received.

C. The project can be of practical use.

D. The project is of great value.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】C

【3】A

【4】C

【5】C

【解析】本文主要讲述the British Linguistics (语言学)Charity，the English Project工程可能有实用性。

【1】B

细节理解题。根据第二段第二句中“London is the Big Smoke”可知the Big Smoke指的是“伦敦”。

故选B。

【2】C

细节理解题。根据第四段第一句中“which was launched last week to coincide with English Language Day”可知这个地名绰号调查工程Location Lingo的发起时间与英语日刚好是同一天。coincide在此句中表示“(事情)同时发生”。考查C。

【3】A

词义猜测题。该词后面的连词or表示conjure up和create为并列关系，即conjure up与create意思相近，故与A项make up(虚构，编造)意义上最为接近。故选A。

【4】C

推理判断题。根据第六段第三句“Swindon，on the other hand，is sometimes called Swindump，showing that local people think it's a big dump”可知，当地人把Swindon称为Swindump认为它就是一个大垃圾堆，可以判断当地的环境卫生不好。故选C。

【5】C

主旨大意题。根据本段的主题句“Some also say that the project could even have a practical use.”可知，本段主要讲这个工程可能有实用性。故选C。