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
25
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
Itisconvenienttodistinguishbetweennonverbalandverbalcommunication,
InAmericaalone,tippingisnowa$16billion-a-yearindustry.Arecentpol
Tomygreatsurprise,manyastudent(agree)______withmeonthistopic.agrees
在我国工程岩体分级标准中,软岩表示岩石的饱和单轴抗压强度为()。A.15~3
甲公司生产急需5000个零件,承包给乙工厂进行加工,每个零件的加工费预算为20元
2007年中国证券业协会设立了()负责基金管理公司和基金托管银行特别会员的
关于路基工程石方施工安全要点的说法错误的是()。A、深度不超过10m的爆破用火
A.在P和Q中都做自由落体运动 B.在两个下落过程中的机械能都守恒 C.在P
我国社会主义制度基本建立起来的标志是()A.新中国成立 B.三大改造的完成
与普通的财产保险相比,工程保险的显著特征有()。A:工程保险既承担被保险人财产损
最新回复
(
0
)