Three English dictionaries published recently all lay claim to possessing a “new” feature. The BBC English Dictionary contains background information on 1,000 people and places prominent in the news since 1988; the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary: Encyclopedic Edition is the OALD plus encyclopedic entries; the Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture is the LDOCE plus cultural information.
The key fact is that all three dictionaries can be seen to have a distinctly “cultural” as well as language learning content. That being said, the way in which they approach the cultural element is not identical, making direct comparisons between the three difficult.
While there is some common ground between the encyclopedic/cultural entries for the Oxford and Longman dictionaries, there is a clear difference. Oxford lays claim to being encyclopedic on content whereas Longman distinctly concentrates on the language and culture of the English-speaking world. The Oxford dictionary can therefore stand more vigorous scrutiny for cultural bias than the Longman publication because the latter does not hesitate about viewing the rest of the world from the cultural perspectives of the English-speaking world. The cultural objectives of the BBC dictionary are in turn more distinct still. Based on an analysis of over 70 million words recorded from the BBC World Service and National Public Radio of Washington over a period of four years, their 1,000 brief encyclopedic entries are based on people and places that have featured in the news recently. The intended user they have in mind is a regular listener to the World Service who will have a reasonable standard of English and a developed skill in listening comprehension.
In reality, though, the BBC dictionary will be purchased by a far wider range of language learners, as will the other two dictionaries. We will be faced with a situation where many of the users of these dictionaries will at the very least have distinct socio-cultural perspectives and may have world views which are totally opposed and even hostile to those of the West. Advanced learners from this kind of background will not only evaluate a dictionary on how user-friendly it is but will also have definite views about the scope and appropriateness of the various socio-cultural entries.
1.What feature sets apart the three dictionaries discussed in the passage from traditional ones?
2.The Longman dictionary is more likely to be criticized for cultural prejudice because （ ）.
3.The BBC dictionary differs from Oxford and Longman in that （ ）.
4.It is implied in the last paragraph that, in approaching socio-cultural content in a dictionary, special thought should be given to （ ）.
5.What is the passage mainly about?
问题1选项
A.The combination of two dictionaries into one.
B.The new approach to defining words.
C.The inclusion of cultural content.
D.The increase in the number of entries.
问题2选项
A.its scope of cultural entries goes beyond the culture of the English-speaking world
B.it pays little attention to the cultural content of the non-English-speaking countries
C.it views the world purely from the standpoint of the English-speaking people
D.it fails to distinguish language from culture in its encyclopedic entries
问题3选项
A.it has a wider selection of encyclopedic entries
B.it is mainly designed to meet the needs of radio listeners
C.it lays more emphasis on language than on culture
D.it is intended to help listeners develop their listening comprehension skills
问题4选项
A.the language levels of its users
B.the number of its prospective purchasers
C.the different tastes of its users
D.the various cultural backgrounds of its users
问题5选项
A.Different ways of treating socio-cultural elements in the three new English dictionaries.
B.A comparison of people’s opinions on the cultural content in the three new English dictionaries.
C.The advantages of the BBC dictionary over Oxford and Longman.
D.The user-friendliness of the three new English dictionaries
第1题:C
第2题:C
第3题:B
第4题:D
第5题:A
第1题:
【选项释义】
What feature sets apart the three dictionaries discussed in the passage from traditional ones? 文章中讨论的三本词典与传统词典的区别是什么？
A. The combination of two dictionaries into one. A. 将两本词典合二为一。
B. The new approach to defining words. B. 定义单词的新方法。
C. The inclusion of cultural content. C. 包含了文化内容。
D. The increase in the number of entries. D. 条目数量的增加。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据选项关键词cultural定位文章第二段首句The key fact is that all three dictionaries can be seen to have a distinctly “cultural” as well as language learning content.（关键的事实是，这三本词典都有明显的“文化”和语言学习内容）可知C选项“包含了文化内容”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、B选项均未在文中体现，属于无中生有；
D选项“条目数量的增加”并不是三者与传统词典的区别，属于答非所问。
第2题:
【选项释义】
The Longman dictionary is more likely to be criticized for cultural prejudice because ( ). 朗文词典更有可能因文化偏见而受到批评，因为（ ）。
A. its scope of cultural entries goes beyond the culture of the English-speaking world A. 它的文化条目的范围超出了英语世界的文化
B. it pays little attention to the cultural content of the non-English-speaking countries B. 它很少关注非英语国家的文化内容
C. it views the world purely from the standpoint of the English-speaking people C. 它纯粹是从说英语的人的角度看世界的
D. it fails to distinguish language from culture in its encyclopedic entries D. 在百科全书式的词条中，它没有把语言和文化区分开来
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词cultural bias定位文章第二段第三句The Oxford dictionary can therefore stand more vigorous scrutiny for cultural bias than the Longman publication because the latter does not hesitate about viewing the rest of the world from the cultural perspectives of the English-speaking world.（因此，《牛津词典》比《朗文词典》更能经得起文化偏见的严格审查，因为后者毫不犹豫地从英语世界的文化角度来看待世界其他地方），bias与prejudice意思相吻合，可知《朗文词典》之所以更具文化偏见是因为“它纯粹是从说英语的人的角度看世界的”，因此C选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“它的文化条目的范围超出了英语世界的文化”在文章尾段中有所体现，但与题干无关，属于答非所问；
B、D选项均未在文中体现，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
The BBC dictionary differs from Oxford and Longman in that ( ). 《BBC词典》与《牛津词典》以及《朗文词典》的不同之处在于（ ）。
A. it has a wider selection of encyclopedic entries A. 它有更广泛的百科全书条目选择
B. it is mainly designed to meet the needs of radio listeners B. 它主要是为了满足电台听众的需要而设计的
C. it lays more emphasis on language than on culture C. 它更强调语言而不是文化
D. it is intended to help listeners develop their listening comprehension skills D. 它的目的是帮助听众发展他们的听力理解能力
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据选项关键词listeners定位文章第二段尾句The intended user they have in mind is a regular listener to the World Service who will have a reasonable standard of English and a developed skill in listening comprehension.（他们心目中的目标用户是有一定英语水平和听力理解能力的国际广播电台的定期听众）可知B选项“它主要是为了满足电台听众的需要而设计的”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“它有更广泛的百科全书条目选择”是三者的共同点，属于答非所问；
C选项“它更强调语言而不是文化”指的是《朗文词典》，属于答非所问；
D选项“它的目的是帮助听众发展他们的听力理解能力”与文章第二段中“他们心目中的目标用户是有一定英语水平和听力理解能力的国际广播电台的定期听众”表述不符，此处指的是受众群，不是目的，属于曲解原文。
第4题:
【选项释义】
It is implied in the last paragraph that, in approaching socio-cultural content in a dictionary, special thought should be given to ( ). 最后一段暗示，在处理词典中的社会文化内容时，应特别考虑（ ）。
A. the language levels of its users A. 用户的语言水平
B. the number of its prospective purchasers B. 潜在购买者的数量
C. the different tastes of its users C. 用户的不同喜好
D. the various cultural backgrounds of its users D. 用户的不同文化背景
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词socio-cultural定位文章尾段第二句We will be faced with a situation where many of the users of these dictionaries will at the very least have distinct socio-cultural perspectives and may have world views which are totally opposed and even hostile to those of the West.（我们将面临这样一种情况：这些词典的许多使用者至少会有不同的社会文化视角，他们的世界观可能与西方的世界观完全相反，甚至是敌对的）可知D选项“用户的不同文化背景”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、B、C选项均不是需要在处理词典中的社会文化内容时应特别考虑的内容，属于答非所问。
第5题:
【选项释义】
What is the passage mainly about? 这篇文章主要讲的是什么？
A. Different ways of treating socio-cultural elements in the three new English dictionaries. A. 三部新英语词典处理社会文化因素的不同方式。
B. A comparison of people’s opinions on the cultural content in the three new English dictionaries. B. 人们对三种新英语词典中文化内容的看法的比较。
C. The advantages of the BBC dictionary over Oxford and Longman. C. BBC词典相对于牛津词典和朗文词典的优势。
D. The user-friendliness of the three new English dictionaries. D. 三本新英语词典的用户友好性。
【考查点】主旨大意题。
【解题思路】文章指出英国《BBC词典》、《朗文当代高级词典》以及《牛津高阶英语词典》三大词典都有新版本面市，都有不同于以往的特点，即都增添了文化方面的内容。但是三本词典的侧重方面不同，用户群体不一样，各自增加新内容的角度与方式也不相同，因此A选项“三部新英语词典处理社会文化因素的不同方式”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B、C、D选项均属于次要内容，文章主要介绍的三部词典处理社会文化因素方式的区别，属于以偏概全。
