Question

【題目】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(規(guī)劃局)，Ordnance Survey，and the British Linguistics (語(yǔ)言學(xué))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(昵稱) 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 (數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)) 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】本文主要講述the British Linguistics (語(yǔ)言學(xué))Charity，the English Project工程可能有實(shí)用性。

【1】B

細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第二段第二句中“London is the Big Smoke”可知the Big Smoke指的是“倫敦”。

故選B。

【2】C

細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第四段第一句中“which was launched last week to coincide with English Language Day”可知這個(gè)地名綽號(hào)調(diào)查工程Location Lingo的發(fā)起時(shí)間與英語(yǔ)日剛好是同一天。coincide在此句中表示“(事情)同時(shí)發(fā)生”。考查C。

【3】A

詞義猜測(cè)題。該詞后面的連詞or表示conjure up和create為并列關(guān)系，即conjure up與create意思相近，故與A項(xiàng)make up(虛構(gòu)，編造)意義上最為接近。故選A。

【4】C

推理判斷題。根據(jù)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，當(dāng)?shù)厝税?/span>Swindon稱為Swindump認(rèn)為它就是一個(gè)大垃圾堆，可以判斷當(dāng)?shù)氐沫h(huán)境衛(wèi)生不好。故選C。

【5】C

主旨大意題。根據(jù)本段的主題句“Some also say that the project could even have a practical use.”可知，本段主要講這個(gè)工程可能有實(shí)用性。故選C。