Usually, when your teacher asks a question, there is only one correct answer．But

Usually, when your teacher asks a question, there isonly one correct answer．But there is one question that has millionsof current answers．That question is “What’s your name?”.Everyone gives a different answer, but everyone is correct．

Have you ever wondered about people’s names? Where dothey come from? What do they mean?

People’s first names, or given names, are chosen bytheir parents．Sometimes the name of a grandparent orother member of the family is used．Some parentschoose the name of a well-known person．A boy couldbe named George Washington Smith; a girl could be named Helen Keller Jones．

Some people give their children names that mean goodthings．Clara means “bright”; Beatrice means “one who giveshappiness”; Donald means “world ruler”; Leonard means “as brave as a lion”．

The earliest last names, or surnames, were taken fromplace names．A family with the name Brook or Brooks probablylived near a brook；someone who was called Longstreet probablylived on a long, paved road．The Greenwood familylived in or near a leafy forest．

Other early surnames came from people’s occupations．The most common occupational name is Smith, whichmeans a person who makes things with iron or other metals．In the past, smiths were very important workers inevery town and village．Some other occupational names are: Carter---- a person who owned or drove a cart; Potter ---- a person who made pots andpans．

The ancestors of the Baker family probably baked breadfor their neighbors in their native villa．TheCarpenter’s great-great-great-grandfather probably built houses and furniture．

Sometimes people were known for the color of theirhair or skin, or their size, or their special abilities．When there were two men who were named John in thesame village, the John with the gray hair probably became John Gray．Or the John who was very tall could call himself JohnTallman．John Fish was probably an excellent swimmerand John Lightfoot was probably a fast runner or a good dancer．

Some family names were made by adding something to thefather’s name．English-speaking people added –s or –son．The Johnsons are descendants of John; theRoberts family’s ancestor was Robert．Irish andScottish people added Mac or Mc or O．Perhaps allof the MacDonnells and the McDonnells and the O’Donnells are descendants of thesame Donnell．

1.Which of the following aspects do the surnames inthe passage NOT cover?

A．Places where peoplelived.

B．People’s characters.

C．Talents that peoplepossessed.

D．People’s occupations.

2.According to the passage, the ancestors of thePotter family most

probably ____．

A．owned or drove a cart

B．made things with metals

C．made kitchen tools orcontainers

D．built houses andfurniture

3.Suppose an English couple whose ancestors lived neara leafy forest wanted their new-born son to become a world leader, the babymight be named ____．

A．Beatrice Smith                                                            B．Leonard Carter 

C．George Longstreet                                                     D．Donald Greenwood

4.The underlined word “descendants” in the lastparagraph means a person’s ____． 

A．latergenerations                                          B．friends and relatives

C．colleagues and partners      D．later sponsors

试题答案

【答案】

1.B

2.C

3.D

4.A

【解析】

试题