Ⅰ.阅读理解
A
One day Hilary Krieger was sitting in her parents’ home when her friend accidentally squirted(喷、射) himself with an orange slice.“I said,‘Oh,the orange just orbisculated,’” she recalls.“And he said,‘It did what?’” The two made a $5 bet,and Hilary confidently grabbed the family dictionary.But “orbisculate” is somehow not in the dictionary!
Hilary burst into her dad’s study and told him the shocking news.He looked kind of embarrassed,and said he had made up this word in college and defined it as “when you dig your spoon into a grapefruit and it squirts juice directly into your eye”.He had just been using it all the time.She was mad at his words but quickly came to see her dad’s made-up word as a gift,one that showed his creativity and inventive spirit.
Two decades later,Hilary found herself telling that funny story again and again.Her father,Neil Krieger,passed away in April 2020 at age 78.Then Hilary began to think that “orbisculate” is such a great word;it should be in the dictionary!
Getting a word into the dictionary isn’t easy.Merriam-Webster adds only about 1,000 new words to its master database every year.Only words with a large and broad readership in publications can enter the dictionary.
Then Hilary,44,hatched a plan.She built a website and encouraged people to use the word publicly enough.Many friends and strangers are inspired.Some wear T-shirts with the word printed on them.Some use the word in an online crossword puzzle.Some even put a homemade orbisculation warning sign in a grocery store.
It has been three years since Neil’s death.Even if the word doesn’t make it into the dictionary,Hilary feels her effort to get her father’s word into the dictionary has helped her recapture a little of the joy that has been missing from their lives.
1.What can we know about the word “orbisculate”?
A.It was widely acknowledged.
B.It was made up to trick others.
C.It was of practical use.
D.It was wrongly used by Hilary.
2.What’s the function of paragraph 4?
A.Presenting some evidence.
B.Adding some background.
C.Introducing a new topic.
D.Making a comparison.
3.Why did Hilary build a website?
A.To make a profit.
B.To appreciate friends and strangers.
C.To memorize her father.
D.To get the word officially recognized.
4.What’s the best title of the text?
A.Warning:This Fruit May Orbisculate
B.Love:A Daughter Recalls Her Father
C.Wonder:A Word Went into Dictionary
D.Memory:A Creative and Inventive Father
