Question

There are some stories behind English words.

You've spent a lot of time studying how to use English in a proper way. But have you ever wondered why English speakers say some of the things they say? For example, why do they say "an easy task" is "a piece of cake"? Why do the two letters "OK" means "all right"?

Many English words and phrases have stories behind them. Sometimes these stories can help us look back into old western history. Let's take a look at a few of the original * common English words and phrases:

OK

"OK" was an American who lived in the 19th century. His name was "Old Kinderhook". In one year he was trying to take the place of the leader of his town. His supporters went around the town shouting " OK \ OK \" The supporters thought their future leader was " all right". The expression caught on, and now if something is "all right" , people like to say "OK|"

Boss*

Is your boss nice to you? If not, just be glad you weren't living in the old times. Back to that time, bosses could do anything bad to their men and could even beat* them! That explains why the word "boss" comes from an old German word meaning "to beat".

A piece of cake

A famous American writer named Ogden Nash lived in the 1930s. Many readers enjoyed his poems and wrote them down in their notebooks. In one of his poems, Nash wrote, " Her picture's in the papers now, and life's a piece of cake. " His readers found these words interesting and quickly wrote them down. They thought that if one picture in a newspaper could make you famous, wouldn't life be easy?

For nearly 70 years, "a piece of cake" has meant any task or activity that is easy.

1. Some of English words can tell us stories about_________.

A. how people learned English           B. how English speakers create the words

C. how people spoke English        D. how people taught others to speak English

2. The word "boss" in old German means "_________".

A. to work          B. to help        C. to beat        D. to kill

3. "OK" comes from "_________".

A. Old King        B. Old Kindman   C. Old Kinderhook D. Old Mcdonald

4. In this passage "a piece of cake" means "_________".

A. an easy task or activity        B. a difficult task or activity

C. a simple newspaper to read    D. a famous picture in a newspaper

Answer 1

1. B   2. C   3. C   4. A