One of the greatest contributions to the
first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual. In 1879,
Oxford University in England asked Prof. James Murray to serve as editor for
what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English
language. It would include every English word possible and would give not only
the definition but also the history of the word and quotations (引文) showing how it was used.
This was a huge task. So Murray had to find
volunteers from Britain, the United States, and the British colonies to search
every newspaper, magazine, and book ever written in English. Hundreds of
volunteers responded, including William Chester Minor. Dr. Minor was an
American Surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England.
He gave his address as "Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire," 50 miles
from Oxford.
Minor joined the army of volunteers sending
words and quotations to Murray. Over the next years, he became one of the
staff's most valued contributors.
But he was also a mystery. In spite of many
invitations, he would always decline(拒绝) to visit Oxford. So in 1897, Murray finally decided to travel to
Crowthorne himself. When he arrived, he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell(地窖) at the Broadmoor Asylum (精神病院) for the Criminally insane.
Murray and Minor became friends, sharing
their love of words. Minor continued contributing to the dictionary, sending in
more than 10,000 submissions in 20 years. Murray continued to visit Minor
regularly, sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds.
In 1910, Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum
in his native America. Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable
friend.
Minor died in 1920, seven years before the
first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed. The 12 volumes
defined(下定义)
414,825 words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly
and devoted asylum patient.
1.According to the text, the first Oxford
English Dictionary .
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A.came out before Minor died
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B.was edited by an American volunteer
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C.included the English words invented by Murray
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D.was intended to be the most ambitious English dictionary
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2.How did Dr. Minor contribute to the
dictionary?
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A.He helped Murray to find hundreds of volunteers.
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B.He sent newspapers, magazines and books to Murray.
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C.He provided a great number of words and quotations.
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D.He went to England to work with Murray.
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3. Prof. Murray and Dr. Minor became
friends mainly because .
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A.they both served in the Civil War
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B.they had a common interest in words
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C.Minor recovered with the help of Murray
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D.Murray went to America regularly to visit Minor
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4.What does the text mainly talk about?
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A.The history of the English language.
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B.The friendship between Murray and Minor
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C.Minor and the first Oxford English Dictionary
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D.Broadmoor Asylum and his patients
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