chapter4 exercises词汇学练习

Chapter 4
The Changing English Vocabulary
l. Why are neologisms products of the constant change in the English language?
2. What is a new word according to The Oxford Dictionary of New Words published in 1998?
3. What is a new word according to The Oxford Essential Dic-tionary of New Words published in
2003?
4. Describe the definition of neologisms according to the author of this book?
5. There are two main sources of new words in the English vocabulary, what are they?
6. In which years did the following new words appear in the English vocabulary?
1) upload _________________
2) webcam _________________
3) webcast _________________
4) read-only memory ( ROM) _________________
5) search engine _________________
6) spam _________________
7) space walk _________________
8) mad cow disease _________________
9)AIDS(an abbreviation of ______) _________________
10)SARS(an abbreviation of _______) _________________
11) SIDS (an abbreviation of ________) _________________
12) euro _________________
13) nuclear winter _________________
14) peace symbol _________________
15) spokespeople _________________
16) women's studies _________________
17) B-school _________________
18) homeschool _________________
19) electronica _________________
20) kung fu _________________
21)e-book _ ________________
22)e-commerce _________________
23)ATM (an abbreviation of _________) _________________
24)DVD (an abbreviation of _________) _________________
25) light pollution _________________
7. Do you know which test every student should take before the graduation of high school in the United States?
8. When did the new expression whole language appear?
9. Translate the following new words or new expressions into Chinese.
1) hypermedia _________________ 2) fax modem _________________
3) telemarketing _________________ 4) telemedicine _________________
5) information superhighway _________________6) ATM _________________
7) digital camera _________________ 8) disco _________________
9) Eurocurrency _________________ 10) Eurodollar _________________
11) home page _________________ 12) bullet train _________________
13) cell phone _________________ 14) videophone _________________
15) picturephone _________________ 16) sports medicine _________________ 17) slimnastics _________________ 18) power walk _________________
19) kung fu _________________ 20) game ball _________________
21) autocross _________________ 22) aerobics _________________
23)CAI _________________ 24) sexism _________________
25) B-school ________________ 26) electronic publishing _________________ 27) grade point average _________________ 28) womanism _________________ 29) women's studies _________________ 30) spokesperson _________________ 31) newsperson _________________ 32) communication gap _________________ 33) credibility gap _________________ 34) culture gap _________________ 35) peace sign _________________ 36) peace symbol _________________ 37) teach-in _________________ 38) peacenik _________________
39) call-in _________________ 40) ableism _________________
41) Third Worlder _________________ 42) freedom-rider _________________ 43) Interpol _________________ 44) green revolution _________________ 45) cybercafe _________________ 46) cybercitizen _________________
47) cybersurfer _________________ 48) webcam _________________
49) webcast _________________ 50) war on terrorism _________________ 51) anti-Bush enthusiasm _________________ 52) prisoner abuse scandal _________________ 53) phase down _________________ 54) global village _________________ 55) first strike _________________ 56) ECU _________________
57) domino theory _________________ 58) V-chip _________________
10. Point out where the following words came from?
1) earthrise _________________
2) e-commerce _________________
3) picturephone _________________
4) moonquake _ ________________
5) househusband _________________
6) G-mail _________________
7) fourth world _________________
8) airtel _________________
9) air bag _________________
10) apolune _________________
11. What are obsolete words?
12. Obsolete words may be still used at the present time. Give examples for illustration.
13. Why are changes in vocabulary much faster than changes in pronunciation and grammar?
14. There are four tendencies in semantic changes. What are they?
15. Give some examples of widening of meaning.
16. Point out some examples of narrowing of meaning.
17. Which words belong to elevation of meaning?
18. Which words belong to degradation of meaning?
19. What is a metaphor?
20. How does a metaphor differ from a simile?
21. There are three major groups of metaphors according to function and character. What are they?
22. Which words can be used as metaphors? Give some examples for illustration.
23. What is metonymy?
24. Underline the following words or phrases belonging to metonymy.
1) Shakespeare (Shakespeare's plays)
2) with open arms
3) It never entered his head to help me.
4) This fine picture is the pride of my collection.
5) The kettle is boiling.
6) He has￡20 in notes and￡5 in silver.
7) He drank a cup.
8) She is a great beauty.
25. What is synecdoche?
26. Synecdoche has two kinds according to meaning: one is the part for the whole, the other is the whole for the part. Give some examples for each kind.
27. What is euphemism?
28. Why do we often use euphemism in daily life? Give some examples.
29. Give the definition of middle terms.
30. Give some examples illustrated by a diachronic development of words.
31. Correct the errors in the following statements:
1) The word rubbish in the Early Modern English period meant' rubble, ' but soon developed the meaning of a waste thing,anything worthless. So this is an example of narrowing of meaning.
2) The word matter originally means 'timber. ' Now it has a lot of abstract meanings. For instance, The world is made of matter. This is a matter I know little about. I don't discuss private matter with my colleagues, etc. Therefore, the word matter is an example of elevation of meaning.
3) The word hospital once meant 'a place for shelter or entertainment of travelers, ' now it means 'a place where people are treated for illness or injuries. ' So the word hospital belongs to an example of widening of meaning.
4) The word disease once meant ' discomfort, ' now it refers to an illness. This is an example of widening of meaning.
5) The word fond originally meant 'foolish, ' now it refers to 'loving in a kind, gentle or tender way. ' Therefore we may say that the word fond is an example of degradation of meaning.
6) The word minister originally meant ' servant. ' Now it has
come to mean 'a person at the head of a department of the government. '
答案
Chapter 4
The Changing English Vocabulary
1. When a new product is made, a new conception comes into man's thought, and a new name must be found, that is, a new word appears in the language. Therefore, neologisms are products of the constant change in the English language.
2. According to The Oxford Dictionary of New Words edited by Elizabeth Knowles with Julia Elliott, published in 1998, "A new word is any word, phrase, or sense that came into popular use or enjoyed a vogue in the given period. "
3. According to The Oxford Essential Dictionary of New Words edited by Erin Mickean, published in July 2003, "A new word is novel arrangement of letters with a meaning not quite duplicated by any other arrangement of letters..This is the ideal form of a new word. Like most ideals, this is rarer than we'd like.Real-world new words are messier. For one thing, new 'words' are often made up of more than one word—they are multiword lexical units, to be technical. Often, 'new' words are merely new senses of an existing word. . . A new word must earn its place in the dictionary by showing that people are using it—lots of people, in lots of places...This is great for proving
that the new word is a solid citizen of the English language." 4.When we define neologisms or new words, two aspects should be considered. The first aspect is what new words are. The second aspect is when they appear and enter into the dictionary. The criterion of time concerning the birth and use of new words is very important, within the given period of time the newly coined words and words adding new meanings are called new words. Beyond the period they will become existing words, not new words.
From the above-mentioned aspects the definition of new words may be described as follows :
Neologisms are newly coined words or words that are given new meanings to fit new situations and new needs because of the social, economic, political, cultural, especially scientific and technical changes in the given period in human society. Considering that we live and work in the first years of the 2lst century, the time about the appearance and use of new words should be restricted among forty years from the sixties to the late nineties last century, especially within twenty years from the eighties to the late nineties last century.
This is the criterion to distinguish neologisms or new words from existing words.
In short, neologisms are new words and expressions used in the given period.
5.There are two main sources of new words in the English vocabulary.
The first source is the rapid development of modern science and technology. Modern science and technology bring about the addition of new words without numbers. They are the most important source of new words.
Computing is a newly developing and widely used area in our modem society. Every day people including adults and children use computers to learn and know a lot of happenings in the world. So a great number of new words concerning computers appear constantly in Modern English. A few new words are given below.
The new word netizen is the blend of net and citizen, which appeared in 1994. It means 'an active participant in the online community of the internet. '
The new word cybercitizen means 'netizen. It appeared also in 1994 The new word extranet was coined in 1995. It denotes 'a network (as of a company) similar to an intranet that also allows access by certain others (as customers or suppliers). '
The word intranet is also a new word created in 1995. It means
'a network operating like the world wide web but having access restricted to a limited group of authorized users (as employ of a company). '
The second source of new words is political, economic, and social changes.Political, economic, and social changes are another important source of new words. Their influence on the English vocabulary is as great as that of science and technology So we shouldn't neglect the importance of this source.
The new word e-commerce appeared in 1993. It refers to 'commerce conducted via the internet. '
The new expressions digital versatile disc(1995) and digital video disc (1993) are derived from the new word DVD (1993), meaning 'a high-capacity optical disk format; an optical using such a format and containing especially a video recording (as a movie) or computer data. '
The new word SARS is an abbreviation of severe acute respiratory syndrome that appeared in 2003. It is also known as atypical Pneumonia used in China in 2003.
6. 1) The new word upload used as a verb appeared in 1983.
2) The new word webcam appeared in 1995.
3) The new word webcast was coined in 1995.
4) The new expression read-only memory (ROM) appeared in 1961.
5) The new expression search engine appeared in 1984.
6) The new word spam was created in 1994.
7) The new expression space walk appeared in 1965.
8) The new expression mad cow disease appeared in 1988.
9)The new word AID(acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) appeared in 1982.
10)The new word SARS(severe acute respiratory syndrome) appeared in 2003.
11) The new word SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) appeared in 1970.
12) The new word euro was coined in 1981.
13) The new expression nuclear winter appeared in 1983.
14) The new expression peace symbol appeared in 1970.
15) The new word spokespeople appeared in 1972.
16) The new expression women 's studies appeared in 1972.
17) The new word B-school was coined in 1967.
18) The new word homeschool was coined in 1980.
19) The new word electronica was coined in 1994.
20) The new word kung fu was created in 1966.
21) The new word e-book appeared in 1988.
22) The new word e-commerce appeared in 1993.
23)The new word ATM(automatic teller machine) appeared in1976.
24) The new word DVD (digital versatile disc) appeared in 1993.
25) The new expression light Pollution appeared in 1971. 7.Before the graduation of high school in the United States, every student should take a test,called the Scholastic Assessment Test. The short form is SAT. The SAT is a four-hour test with a perfect score of l,600. The top score is 800 0n both the verbal and math sections.
8. The new expression whole language appeared in 1984.
9. 1) hypermedia 大型传媒装置
2) fax modem 传真调制解调器
3) telemarketing 电话销售
4) telemedicine 远距离医学
5) information superhighway 信息高速公路
6) ATM 自动出纳机
7) digital camera 数码相机
8) disco 迪斯科
9) Eurocurrency 欧洲货币
10) Eurodollar 欧洲美元
11) home page 网页
12) bullet train 高速客车，高速列车
13) cell phone (1984) 手机
14) videophone (1950) 可视电话
15) picturephone (1956) 可视电话
16) sports medicine 体育医学，运动医学
17) slimnastics 减肥操，健美操
18) power walk 负重疾步行走
19) kung fu 功夫，拳术
20) game ball 庆功球,决定胜负的关键球
21) autocross 汽车竞技运动会，越野赛车
22) aerobics 气健术，增氧健身法
23) CAI 计算机辅助教学
24) sexism 性别歧视，性别偏见
25) B-school 商业管理学院
26) electronic publishing 电子（电脑）出版
27) grade point average 平均积分点
28) womanism 争取女权主义
29) women's studies 妇女问题研究
30) spokesperson 发言人，代言人
31) newsperson 记者
32) communication gap 交际沟
33) credibility gap 信誉沟
34) culture gap 文化沟
35) peace sign V字形和平手势
36) peace symbol 和平标志
37)teach-in 宣讲会
38) peacenik 反战示威者，反战积极分子
39) call-in （电台）来电直播节目
40) ableism 体格健全至上主义
41)Third Worlder 第三世界的人
42) freedom-rider 自由之行示威者
43) Interpol 国际刑警组织
44) green revolution 绿色革命，农业革命
45) Cybercafe 网上咖啡店
46) cybercitizen 网民
47) cybersurfer 网上冲浪
48) webcam 网上摄像
49 webcast 网上广播
50) war on terrorism 反恐战
51) anti-Bush enthusiasm 反布什情绪
52) prisoner abuse scandal 虐俘丑闻
53) phase down 逐步缩减，分阶段减少
54) global village 全球村
55) first strike 使用第一次核打击武器的先发制人
56) ECU 欧洲货币单位
57) domino theory 多米诺骨牌理论
58) V-chip V芯片
10. 1) The word earthrise came from sunrise.
2) The word e-commerce came from e-mail.
3) The word picturephone came from videophone.
4) The word moonquake came from earthquake.
5)The word househusband came from housewife.
6) The new word G-mail came from e-mail.
7) The phrase fourth -world came from third world.
8) The word airtel came from hotel.
9) The phrase air bag came from handbag.
10) The word apolune came from aphelion.
11. Obsolete words are called archaisms, which are not used
now except for special purposes.
12.Obsolete words may be still used at the present time. The English proverb Many a little makes a mickle is a good example for illustrating this point. Here mickle, an obsolete word Means 'large amount. ' The proverb is still in common use.
13.From the sociolinguistic point of view we know that
vocabulary not only changes, but also changes quickly. Changes in pronunciation and grammar are much slower, but changes in vocabulary are much faster. When people have met with new objects and new ideas, they have need of new words to express them. In the course of the development of language old words die out, new words are added, and existing words change their meanings. It is obvious that the gradual change of meaning in words is a universal feature of human language.
14.Sense development of English words can be divided into four groups according to the range of their usage and the altitude towards their uses.
Change in the denotative component of the lexical meaning may result in the extension of meaning and the narrowing of meaning.
Change in the connotative component may bring about the elevation of meaning and the degradation of meaning.
15.The extension of meaning, or widening of meaning, refers to the extension of the range of the lexical meaning. Extension of meaning is one of the most common features in the history of English words.
The example of widening is the word rubbish, which in the Early Modern English period meant 'rubble, ' but which soon
developed the wider meaning of a waste thing,anything worthless.
There is one more example. The word catalyst is not only a technical term used in chemistry meaning 'a substance which, without itself changing, causes chemical activity to quicken, ' but also a common word, when used figuratively, e. g. The workers' demand for higher wages was a catalyst in a difficult state of affairs, and led to important social changes.
16.An example of narrowing of meaning is the verb to starve. The word originally meant simply 'to die. ' In Middle English it was specialized to mean 'to die of cold,' but in the sixteenth century it meant 'to die of hunger.'
17.Words often rise from a humble beginning to a positions of greater importance because of social changes.
Elevation of meaning is also a special kind of narrowing of meaning. The word success has changed its meaning from 'result' to 'good result. ' The word comrade is derived from Spanish for ' roommate, ' but now it means ' fellow member of a political party, etc. '
18.Words with a commendatory meaning may become ones with
a derogatory sense. The word wench once meant 'a young woman, or girl, especially in the country, ' now it means 'a lewd
woman, prostitute. '
The word disease once meant ' discomfort, ' now it refers to an illness.
19. A metaphor, like a simile, also makes a comparison between two unlike elements, but unlike a simile, this comparison is implied rather than stated. For example, the world is a stage, Here, a stage is a metaphor.
20."He and his brother are as like as two peas." is a comparison between two unlike elements, that is, human beings and peas.So as like as two peas is a simile.
The simile may be expressed by the use of the connecting words: like, as, as. . . as, sometimes by the use of than, as if , or as though.
In a metaphor the connecting words are not used, e.g. Imperialism is a paper tiger. Here paper tiger is a metaphor. 21. There are three major groups of metaphors according function and character. They are:
1) anthropomorphic metaphors, such as: the hand of a clock
2) animal metaphors, such as: a black sheep.
3) synaesthetic metaphors, such as: a golden opportunity
22. Some nouns and their adjectives or verbs can be used as metaphors. Take a few sentences for example:
Although he's less talented, he won by sheer dogged persistence. Here dogged is an adjective, meaning 'determined; not giving up easily. '
On the whole, the students seemed serious and hard-working,but they confined themselves to parroting textbooks. Here parrot is
a verb, meaning ' to repeat without thinking or understanding. '
23.Metonymy is an important factor in the shift of meaning that involves substitution of the name of one thing for that of another closely associated with it.
24. 1)Shakespeare
2) arms
3) head
4) pride
5) kettle
6) silver
7) cup
8) beauty
25. Synecdoche is a figure of speech that involves the substitution of the part for the whole or the whole for the part. 26. Synecdoche may be classified into two kinds according to meaning :
1) the part for the whole:
We are no longer short of hands. Here hand means 'worker, helper. '
2) the whole for the part:
The doctor cut him open and took out the appendix and stitched him up again. Here him refers to a part of his body. 27. Euphemism is the substitution of a word of more pleasant connotation for one of unpleasant connotation. In short, an euphemism is a false word substituted for the true word in order to soften the shock of reality.
28 .Euphemism is often used in speaking of things that are painful and distressing to think about. Death is one of these things and the English language is full of euphemism like: to pass away (for formal use)
to decease (for legal use)
to kick the bucket (a slang)
to go west (dated slang)
An economic crisis is another subject for euphemism. The prewar word slump was soon replaced by the word depression, then the word depression was replaced by the word recession.Now the word recession is replaced by the word downturn.
Nowadays people often say downtown instead of saying
'economic crisis. '
29. Middle terms in English belong to a specific kind of ameliorative and pejorative developments. Middle terms are words which are neutral in meaning and take on favorable or unfavorable significance according to their different contents. The word fortune, for instance, is a middle term. because it may be either good or bad, but the adjective fortunate was a positive value. Take one sentence for example, He's fortunate enough to enjoy good health.
30.Changes of lexical meaning can be illustrated by a diachronic development of words. Although objects, conceptions, ideas, etc. change in the course of time, the name is retained, the meaning changes because the object which it describes has changed.
The word car,for instance, is a good example.
The word car was borrowed through the Anglo-French word carre and directly from the Latin word carra in 1301, plural of carrus meaning 'two-wheeled vehicle for carrying foods.'
The word car was first applied to the automobile in 1895,that
is to say, it means 'a usually four-wheeled automotive vehicle designed for passenger transportation. '
31. 1) . . . So this is an example of widening of meaning.
2) . .. Therefore, the word matter is an example of widening of meaning.
3) . . . So the word hospital belongs to an example of narro- wing of meaning.
4) . . . This is an example of narrowing of meaning.
5). . .Therefore we may say that the word fond is an example of elevation of meaning.
6) No mistake.。