Funny English Errors and Insights

Laugh... And Learn!

Welcome to the website for Funny English Errors and Insights (2010), a new book of unconscious humour published by the National Library of Australia.

Funny English Errors and Insights will be launched at the National Library in Canberra on 29^th, October 2010.

In the meantime, explore this website for other collections of real-life English language mistakes, including funny answers to exam questions, media misprints, and silly signs.

See Funny English Errors: The B List for more than a hundred examples of funny English gaffes（失言）. For more funny English errors, read author Troy Simpson's blog. For still more examples,, join this website to download a free PDF version of English As She Is Taught, which lists our top 250 funny English language mistakes from that classic howlers book.

Join this website FREE, and you can also:

o   Enter member-only competitions

o   Contribute your comments

o   Download free e-Cards

o   Be the first to know about our much-anticipated book, Funny English Errors and Insights (2010) ...

Features

   Follows in the tradition of the runaway best-seller Howlers books of the 1920s and 1930s

o   Includes quotes(引文) that have never been published before in this way

o   Includes more than 30 carefully selected funny photos

o   Topics include English, science, history, geography, religion, mathematics, and more

o   A perfect gift for students, teachers, parents, grandparents, public speakers, doctors, lawyers, journalists, clergy and religious, and anyone with a sense of humour!

1.The word launched in the second paragraph is closest to the meaning:

A. sent up for the first time.                     B. written for the first time.  

C. for sale for the first time.              D. printed for the first time.

2.On the website ,you can do the following things except      .         

A. read some funny news

B. know something about this book previously

C. find a lot of examples about English errors

D. express your opinions freely

3.About this book, you know that       .

A. it only includes English, science, history

B. it is quite different from Howlers books

C. all the quotes in it are familiar with us

D. it is intended for people all walks of life

4. The text is aimed at introducing      .

A. a popular website   B. some selected funny photos

C. a new book        D. some funny English errors

A report on a new software that enables eyes to do the typing appears in Wednesday’s edition of the journal Nature. Replacing a keyboard or mouse, eye-scanning-cameras mounted on computers have become necessary tools for people without limbs or those affected with paralysis. The camera tracks the movement of the eye, allowing users to “type” on a virtual keyboard as they look at the screen. And now, researchers from the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University say they have developed software that replaces the standard QWERTY keyboard layout with one that is nearly twice as efficient, more accurate and easier on the eyes. Called Dasher, the prototype program looks into the natural gaze of the eye and makes predictable words and phrases simpler to write. Any off-the-shelf camera capable of scanning eye movement can be used with Dasher, though the person must sit fairly still during the interaction.

  The letters of the alphabet appear in a single column on the right of the screen, with an underline symbol to represent a space. Each letter is framed by a colored box. As the user looks at a particular letter on the right side of the screen and drags it to the left with their eye, another sub-alphabet column begins to emerge inside the box on the right-hand side, along with more letters framed in colored boxes. Dasher is designed to anticipate which letter will be needed, so although the successive sub-alphabet columns are initially very small, the letters or combination of letters that appear are most likely to be used next in that sequence. For example, if a person starts with the letter “h”, the language models in Dasher will bring up “a” “e” “i” “o” and “u” in the sub-alphabet box, along with a few other possible combinations like “ello” to form the word “hello”. Each box has a complete alphabet within it, though the first letters to appear have the highest probability of usage. The letters are then placed together to form a sentence on the left side of the screen.

  Researchers say people will be able to write up to 25 words per minute with Dasher compared to on-screen keyboards, which they say average about 15 words per minute. With a bit of practice, MacKay said, Dasher offers an easier and more satisfying way for disabled people to communicate, providing them with better tools to write e-mail or create word processor files. Mackay said Dasher could work in most languages.

72. With the new software Dasher, people can type with their eyes through_____.

A. a computer screen with eye-scanning sensors

　　B. an eye-scanning camera on computer

　　C. a colored box attached to the computer

　　D. a regular keyboard with sensors

73. The new method of typing will most benefit those people who___________ .

A. have reading difficulties     B are visually incompetent

　　C. are physically challenged.   D. do not have a big vocabulary

74. The software Dasher_______________ .

　　A. is able to predict the next sequence of words the user is going to write

　　B. can form coherent sentences based on the first word typed in by the user

    C. has to be used with eye-scanning cameras specially designed for the 

software

　　D. does not allow the user to move a lot during the interaction

75. Which of the following is true about Dasher?

　　A. It can be used to write ten more words than on screen keyboard per minute.

　　B. It is easier to use than ordinary keyboards.

　　C. It can provide hints for possible sentences to be written.

　　D. It is an independent text processor.

It is e_______ four o'clock, not one minute more nor one minute less.