阅读理解

　　Olivia and Jack are the most popular names in Britain for babies born in 2008, according to a survey made by the website Bounty．Jack has been top for 14 years since it took over from Thomas．

　　Grace－made famous by the Hollywood star Grace Kelly－slipped back into third place behind Ruby, the name of singer Charlotte Church's daughter．

Summer climbed 28 places from 44th to 16th．Ava－the name of singer Myleene Klass's daughter－also leapt 15 places to 19th．

　　The troubles of the singer Amy Winehouse perhaps had an effect on the popularity of the name．It dropped three places to 23rd．Rebecca is also on the wane(变弱), ranking 48th．So is Courtney, which ranked 88th．

　　Theo, obviously inspired by England's teenage football hero Theo Walcott, is among the biggest climbers in the boy's list, rising from 70th to 58th．

　　An employee of Bounty said, “Baby names have witnessed the biggest changes over the last decade as parents are increasingly influenced by celebrities．The Bounty baby name poll also shows parents are continuing to be creative and inspirational about the names they choose for their children．Some parents want a name that's totally unique, and names such as Zebedee, Selim and Zenon are now emerging and growing in popularity．Others are simply breaking with convention and becoming bolder in their choice of names．”

　　“While politicians' names may be growing in popularity in America, British politicians don't influence our choice of names in the UK．Traditional royal names continue to be supreme(最高的)in the boys' top 100,” The employee said．

阅读理解

　　Below is a page adapted from an English dictionary．

　　verb(stuck, stuck)

　　[＋adv．/prep．] to push sth, usually a sharp object, into sth; to be pushed into sth：[VN] The nurse stuck the needle into my arm．◆ Don't stick your fingers through the bars of the cage．◆ [V] I found a nail sticking in the tyre．

　　[＋adv．/prep．] to fix sth to sth else, usually with a sticky substance; to become fixed to sth in this way：[VN] He stuck a stamp on the envelope．◆ We used glue to stick the broken pieces together．◆ I stuck the photos into an album．◆ [V] Her wet clothes were sticking to her body．◆ The glue's useless-the pieces just won't stick．

　　[VN ＋adv．/prep．](informal)to put sth in a place, especially quickly or carelessly：Stick your bags down there．◆ He stuck his hands in his pockets and strolled off．◆ Can you stick this on the noticeboard? ◆ Peter stuck his head around the door and said, 'Coffee, anyone?' ◆(spoken)Stick 'em up!(＝put your hands above your head-I have a gun)

　　[V]～(in sth)to become fixed in one position and impossible to move：The key has stuck in the lock．◆ This drawer keeps sticking．

　　(BrE, informal)(usually used in negative sentences and questions)to accept a difficult or unpleasant situation or person：[VN] I don't know how you stick that job．◆ They're always arguing-I can't stick it any longer．◆ The problem is, my mother can't stick my boyfriend．◆ [V -ing] John can't stick living with his parents．

　　[V] to become accepted：The police couldn't make the charges stick(＝show them to be true)．◆ His friends called him Bart and the name has stuck(＝has become the name that everyone calls him)．

　　[V] to not take any more cards

　　Idioms：stick in your mind(of a memory, an image, etc．)to be remembered for a long time：One of his paintings in particular sticks in my mind．

　　stick in your throat/craw(informal)

　　(of words)to be difficult or impossible to say：She wanted to say how sorry she was but the words seemed to stick in her throat．

　　(of a situation)to be difficult or impossible to accept; to make you angry

　　stick your neck out(informal)to do or say sth when there is a risk that you may be wrong：I'll stick my neck out and say that Bill is definitely the best candidate for the job．

　　stick to your guns(informal)to refuse to change your mind about sth even when other people are trying to persuade you that you are wrong

　　Phrasal Verbs：stick around(informal)to stay in a place, waiting for sth to happen or for sb to arrive：Stick around; we'll need you to help us later．

　　stick at sth to work in a serious and determined way to achieve sth：If you want to play an instrument well, you've got to stick at it．

　　stick by sb [no passive] to be loyal to a person and support them, especially in a difficult situation：Her husband was charged with fraud but she stuck by him．

　　stick by sth [no passive] to do what you promised or planned to do：They stuck by their decision．

　　stick sth＜－＞down(informal)to write sth somewhere：I think I'll stick my name down on the list．

　　stick out to be noticeable or easily seen：They wrote the notice in big red letters so that it would stick out．

　　stick sth＜－＞out(of sth)to be further out than sth else or come through a hole; to push sth further out than sth else or through a hole：His ears stick out．◆ She stuck her tongue out at me．◆ Don't stick your arm out of the car window．

　　to continue doing sth in spite of difficulties：She finds it impossible to stick to a diet．

　　to continue doing or using sth and not want to change it：He promised to help us and he stuck to his word(＝he did as he had promised)．◆ 'Shall we meet on Friday this week?' 'No, let's stick to Saturday．' ◆ She stuck to her story．

　　stick together(informal)(of people)to stay together and support each other：We were the only British people in the town so we tended to stick together．

　　stick up to point upwards or be above a surface：The branch was sticking up out of the water．

　　stick with sb/sth [no passive](informal)

　　to stay close to sb so that they can help you：Stick with me and I'll make you a millionaire!

　　to continue with sth or continue doing sth：They decided to stick with their original plan．

　　noun

　　[C] a thin piece of wood that has fallen or been broken from a tree：We collected dry sticks to start a fire．◆ The boys were throwing sticks and stones at the dog．◆ Her arms and legs were like sticks(＝very thin)．

　　[C](especially BrE)＝WALKING STICK：The old lady leant on her stick as she talked．

　　[C] a long thin object that is used in some sports to hit or control the ball：a hockey stick

　　[C](often in compounds)a long thin piece of sth：a stick of dynamite ◆ carrot sticks ◆(AmE)a stick of butter

　　[C](often in compounds)a thin piece of wood or plastic that you use for a particular purpose：pieces of pineapple on sticks ◆ The men were carrying spades and measuring sticks．

　　[C](informal, especially AmE)the control stick of a plane

　　[C](informal, especially AmE)a handle used to change the GEARS of a vehicle

　　[C] a BATON, used by the person who CONDUCTS an orchestra

　　[U](BrE, informal)criticism or harsh words：The referee got a lot of stick from the home fans．

　　(the sticks)[pl．](informal)country areas, a long way from cities：We live out in the sticks．

　　[C](old-fashioned, BrE, informal)a person：He's not such a bad old stick．