首页
登录
职称英语
Allan Metcalf s new book claims that the word "OK" is America’s greatest inv
Allan Metcalf s new book claims that the word "OK" is America’s greatest inv
游客
2024-10-04
13
管理
问题
Allan Metcalf s new book claims that the word "OK" is America’s greatest invention. This offers a pair of provocations. How can "OK" be an invention? On a certain day, a certain guy just dreamed up the expression that has become the most frequently spoken word on the planet? And even if it is an invention, can one little word really be greater than jazz, baseball, and the telephone? Is it better than The Simpsons?
The answer to the first question, implausible as it sounds, is yes. In OK: The Improbable Story of America’s Greatest Word, Metcalf locates the first use of OK in an obscure corner of a Boston newspaper on March 23, 1839. As for the alleged greatness of the word, Metcalf s slim volume doesn’t entirely persuade you that OK is a more valuable invention than, say, electric light. But the fact that he even raises the question is intriguing. If it does nothing else, Metcalf makes you acutely aware of how universal and vital the word has become.
True story: the world’s most popular word began as a joke. In the late 1830s, America’s newspapers had great enthusiasm for abbreviations—also, to judge by Metcalf s account, a sorry sense of humor. He devotes a chapter to trying to explain why readers of the Boston Morning Post might have been amused to see "o. k." used as a jokey abbreviation for "oll korrect," an intentional misspelling of "all correct." Apparently you had to be there. But the word soon got an enormous boost from Andrew Jackson—or his enemies, anyway. They circulated the rumor that the man of the people was barely literate and approved papers with the initials "O. K." for "oll korrect." It was a joke, Metcalf concludes, "but without it there’d be no OK."
The word didn’t remain a joke for long. Telegraph operators began using it as a way to say "all clear." It became ubiquitous, turning up in all corners of the world, and beyond. Metcalf points out that OK was technically the first word spoken on the surface of the moon.
When you pause to consider what a weird and wonderful little word OK is, the most remarkable thing isn’t that it’s so great or that it was invented but that it’s American. To foreigners in the 20th century, Metcalf writes, the word embodied "American simplicity, pragmatism, and optimism." To us today, the word sums up "a whole two-letter American philosophy of tolerance, even admiration for difference." [br] The word "provocations" in Paragraph One can best be replaced by
选项
A、contradictions.
B、challenges.
C、results.
D、assumptions.
答案
B
解析
第1段第3句至最后一句的四个问句可以归纳为两类问题,前两个问句关注的是“OK”是否为一项发明,后两个问句关注的是“OK”这个词是否真的那么重要。由此可推断,第2句提到的provocations应为“引起关注或争议的问题”的意思,故B“质疑,异议”意思最相近。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3786454.html
相关试题推荐
AllanMetcalfsnewbookclaimsthattheword"OK"isAmerica’sgreatestinv
AllanMetcalfsnewbookclaimsthattheword"OK"isAmerica’sgreatestinv
ThedramaticcollapseinAmericanconsumerconfidence,followingtheWorldT
ThedramaticcollapseinAmericanconsumerconfidence,followingtheWorldT
ThedramaticcollapseinAmericanconsumerconfidence,followingtheWorldT
AmericansseekingjobsthissideoftheAtlanticshouldbeawarethatsometi
AmericansseekingjobsthissideoftheAtlanticshouldbeawarethatsometi
AmericansseekingjobsthissideoftheAtlanticshouldbeawarethatsometi
AmericansseekingjobsthissideoftheAtlanticshouldbeawarethatsometi
IsitanywonderthatAmericaisalsoacountryofdangerouslyoverweightpe
随机试题
Someday,in【C1】______theouterplanetsofoursolarsystem,humankindwil
Anothertermforidenticaltwinsis______.[br][originaltext]Althoughtw
Conventionalwisdomsaystreesaregoodfortheenvironment.Theyabsorbcar
国家鼓励毕业生到基层就业的优惠政策不包括A.按照规定给予社会保险补贴和公益性岗位
医疗机构的从业人员基本行为规范:①以人为本,践行宗旨;②遵纪守法,依法执业;③尊
患儿,男,2岁。发热,咳嗽5天,口渴,小便短赤,舌红苔黄。检查:听诊双下肺固定中
下列可以申请到国家助学贷款的是()。A:香港大学研究生 B:北京某电大的本科生
油浸变压器本体油箱漏油速度每滴时间快于()秒,且油位正常,属于严重缺陷。(A
不属于《政府采购法》.适用范围的例外情形的是( )。A.使用国际组织和外国政府
对于借款关系清楚的案件,债权银行可以不经起诉而直接向人民法院申请()。A.财产
最新回复
(
0
)