A
Words and the way we use them offer a rare window on social and cultural trends. Kory Stamper and Peter Sokolowski know that better than most.
The Merriam-Webster(韦氏词典) lexicographers(词典编纂者) are part of a team that edits the dictionary. In a recent interview, Sokolowski and Stamper talked about their job and what the way we use words says about us collectively.
So to know more about them, observers of the language, maybe we should start with some background.
What is a lexicographer?
Sokolowski: A lexicographer is a person who writes or edits a dictionary. The job of a dictionary editor is to prepare and present research about language. One of our former editors-in- chief said, “Tell the truth about words,” and that sums it up for me.
What do you guys do all day?
Stamper: The two main duties of a lexicographer are reading and defining. We read everything: books, journals, blogs, phone books, take-out menus, and so on. What we’re looking for are words that catch our eye. We record the context of these words and information about the sources. Those records are added to a database, and they are the raw material we use in writing definitions.
When we are writing or revising a dictionary, most of our time is spent defining. We define a word according to how it is used in the recorded context, deciding whether the usage has been covered by our dictionary. Once this is done, you look at the new words and new senses and draft a definition.
Drafting definitions requires some training, some experience and a lot of concentration. It’s very, very quiet on the editorial floor.
How closely do the most looked-up words on your online dictionary seem to be related to the news or trends?
Stamper: When our dictionary went online back in 1996, we could see for the first time which were the most looked-up words in English: Affect, effect and ubiquitous were the top words. It was fascinating to us—dictionary editors spend so much time writing definitions but never could have known if anyone ever read them. We could follow what people were thinking about according to what words they were looking up. Thanks to our online dictionary, we had data.
21. What do lexicographers do?
A. They collect as many words as they can and edit them into a dictionary.
B. They interview as many people as they can to collect new words.
C. They do research about language and edit the truth about words.
D. They make deep studies of social and cultural trends.
22. What’s the function of lexicographers’ records during their reading?
A. The records show how large the dictionary is.
B. The records contain what kind of things they read.
C. The records are the main things to add to the database.
D. The records offer the raw material to the editors.
23. Which of the following is the correct order of a lexicographer defining a word?
a. Write a draft of the definition.
b. Conclude the usage of the word.
c. Pay attention to the new words and new senses.
d. Decide whether the usage has been covered.
A. adbc B. dbac C. bdca D. cbda
24. What does this passage mainly talk about?
A. Observers of the language. B. Process of making a dictionary.
C. Development of language. D. Experience of editing new words.
【答案】21. C 22. D 23. C 24. A
【解析】
本文是一篇新闻报道。文章讲述的是语言的观察者——词典编纂者。
【21题详解】
细节理解题。根据What is a lexicographer?中Sokolowski: A lexicographer is a person who writes or edits a dictionary. The job of a dictionary editor is to prepare and present research about language. One of our former editors-in- chief said, “Tell the truth about words,” and that sums it up for me.(词典编纂者是编写或编辑词典的人。词典编辑的工作是准备和提出关于语言的研究。我们的一位前主编说:“说出关于文字的真相，”这就是我的总结。)可知，词曲编纂者研究语言，编辑关于文字的真相。故选C。
