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 Murrary 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 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 at the Broadmoor Asylum 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 pleted. The 12 volumes defined 414,825 words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient.
【小题1】According to the text, the first Oxford English Dictionary . A．came out before minor died B．was edited by an American volunteer C．included the English words invented by MurrayD．was intended to be the most ambitious English dictionary【小题2】How did Dr. Minor contributed to the dictionary?A．He helped Murray to find hundreds of volunteers.B．He sent newspapers, magazines and books to Murray.C．He provided a great number of words and quotationsD．he went to England to work with Murray.【小题3】Why did Dr. Minor refuse to visit Oxford?A．He was shut in an asylumB．He lived far from OxfordC．He was busy writing a bookD．He disliked traveling【小题4】Prof. Murray and Dr. Minor became friends mainly because .A．they both served in the Civil War. B．They had a mon interest in wordsC．Minor recovered with the help of MurrayD．Murray went to America regularly to visit Minor【小题5】Which of the following best describe Dr. Minor?A．Brave and determined B．Cautious and friendly C．Considerate and optimisticD．Unusual and scholarly【小题6】What does the text mainly talk about?A．The history of the English language.B．The friendship between Murray and Minor C．Minor and the first Oxford English DictionaryD．Broadmoor Asylum and is patientsD
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(答案→)D
解析：本文是一篇人物传记，讲述了牛津英语词典的编撰者之一的Dr. Minor的不一般的人生，他博学，但被关在精神病院。他对牛津英语词典贡献很大，并与Prof Murray因为共同的爱好成为好朋友。
【小题1】考查细节理解。根据第一段中的…serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language可知答案选D。
【小题2】考查细节理解。根据第三段的第一句话Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray可知答案选C。
【小题3】考查细节理解。根据第四段中的…he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell at the Broadmoor Asylum可知，Minor被关在一家精神病院里，这是他不能去牛津的原因。
【小题4】考查细节理解。根据第五段的Murray and Minor became good friends, sharing their love of words可知，他们成为好朋友的主要原因在于他们都对词汇很热爱。
【小题5】考查推理判断题。从文章的最后一句话可以推断Minor很博学，对做学问很投入，但他同时又是一个精神病人。因此用devoted, scholarship, unusual等描述他最贴切。
【小题6】考查文章的主旨大意。文章的关键词有两个：Minor和Oxford Dictionary，主要讲述Mr. Minor的特别之处和他对Oxford Dictionary的贡献，因此文章的大意应该把这两个词都包括进去。