This dictionary tells you about English words and how to use them in reading, writing and speaking English. It not only gives the meaning of words, it can also help you with spelling, word building, grammar and pronunciation.

To use your dictionary correctly, you will find two spellings for this word. “Colour” is used in British English, while “color” is used in American English. When there are differences between British and American spelling, the dictionary shows it with the word “BrE” for British English and “AmE” for American English.

The dictionary also helps you pronounce words correctly. If you turn to the inside back face, you will see all the phonetic letters (音标 ) with some words to show you how they are pronounced. Just look at the inside back cover when you're not sure how to say a word.

The most important reason for using a dictionary is to find out the meaning of a word — its definition.

In this dictionary, the definitions have been written using only 2, 000 words. This means that the definitions of even the most difficult words are simple and easy to understand.

1.________ of the words in the dictionary have two spellings.

2.What is the main reason for us to use a dictionary？

3.The phonetic letters helps you ________ each word correctly.

4.The Chinese meaning of “definition” here is________.

5.How many words are there in this dictionary?

根据下列句子及所给单词的首字母，写出各单词的正确形式（每空限填一词）。

1.As we all know, Nelson Mandela was once s_______________ to 27 years in prison.

2.On the top of the high mountain, they found the air was hard to b____________.

3.He is not a Chinese but he can speak Chinese f_____________.

4.Most scientists present at the meeting voted a_____________ the plan for it would be harmful to the air.

5.They all b__________ out laughing at the funny joke.

6.She is so generous that she gives the poor food and clothing and asks for nothing in r________.

7.After the earthquake, the whole city lay in r__________.

8.A majority of people like to play o__________ rather than stay indoors when it is fine.

9.People in all countries hope for a p_____________ world instead of one filled with wars.

10.We need more e___________ to prove that he is the thief.

I keep hammering this because I keep seeing people who don’t do it.

1. Look up English to Elvish.

2. Look up the Elvish word in the best Elvish dictionary you have, and, preferably, find out the context（上下文） in Tolkien’s language dictionary.

3. Change the word to suit rules of grammar: singular or plural, mutations, verb tenses, etc.

You cannot leave out any of these steps. If you do, you’re almost certain to have errors. Why you have to do step 2:

Languages never match up one- to-one. English and Elvish are closer than usual, but there are still problems. And English has strange idioms: why are there no baths or beds in public bathrooms or restrooms? You can’t translate literally（逐字地）. You have to understand the meaning behind each word.

In Elvish this is even more true, since our dictionaries contain more or less questionable reconstructions, and words that Tolkien later threw away or replaced. Find the best one you can.

Consider the word “fair”. We tend to use it to mean “just”. Tolkien tends to use it to mean “beautiful”. In Elvish, these are two entirely different words. So when you look up “fair”, you’ll have to go to the Elvish dictionary to see that you’ve got the right one.

Consider the nightmare（噩梦） of He left the bar. Is “left” the opposite of “right” （which also has two meanings） ? Is “bar” extruded steel（型材钢）, or something to do with law? You have to know what words mean in both languages.

And you’d be amazed at how many people ignore step 3, forgetting that language is more than a string of words, and there are rules about how to fit those words together. You can’t simply look up the word “I” and use it everywhere. Sometimes you need “me” or “my”. There’s a reason it takes a while to learn a language: you have to learn the rules.

It drives me completely mad when people give a questionable translation they insist is right because “it’s in the dictionary”. A dictionary is a tool, a resource. but its entries（词目）should not be mistaken for a finished product. They are raw materials.

The underlined word “this” in paragraph 1 refers to         .

A. consulting the dictionaries when translating between languages

B. finding out the true meaning in context

C. ignoring the rules of grammar

D. leaving out some of the three steps the author mentions

According to the author, you have to do step 2 because         .

A. you have to understand the meaning behind each word

B. Elvish and English are quite different in forms

C. there are no baths or beds in public bathrooms

D. Elvish has some words which are hard to find

Grammar is also very important because it         .

A. helps fit the words together

B. takes a while to learn a language

C. is a rule to obey

D. is often forgotten in translating

In the last paragraph, the author shows         .

A. his impatience to those who insist their wrong translation is right

B. his puzzle to the questionable translation

C. the importance of the correct use of dictionaries

D. the mistaken entries in the dictionaries

The passage is mainly about how to         .

A. learn a foreign language with a dictionary

B. avoid errors when looking up a dictionary

C. understand the meaning of a strange word

D. use a dictionary to translate between languages

句型转换

完成B句，使其与A句意义相同或相近(每空一词)

A．They sent twenty of the students in our class to water the trees. The other students stayed to clean the school.

B．Twenty of the students in our class ________ ________ to water the trees. ________ ________ stayed to clean the school.