2023年牛津上海版中考复习语法+阅读 Lesson4讲义

L4 Part 1 Intensive Reading Xinhua Dictionary, 50 Years On “I killed the wrong goose,” a man complained in his letter to the editors of the Xinhua Dictionary. It was the 1970s. The man, a goose farmer, wanted to kill a male goose. He didn't know the difference between male and female geese.so he turned to the dictionary for help. “Goose: a kind of poultry (家禽).” it read.“The males have a yellow bump(突起物) on their head.”The man chose a goose that matched the description. But when he opened its stomach, many eggs poured out onto the counter, and the man was angry. The dictionary entry (词条) wasn't totally wrong. However, it didn't make it clear that all geese have a yellow bump on their head.Males just have bigger ones. The dictionary 's editors corrected the error in the next edition (版次). Since its birth in 1953, the Xinhua Dictionary has been used as an encyclopedia by people across China. More than 600 million copies have been sold. Few books have remained so popular for so many years. When the dictionary was first published, the name Xinhua bore the hope of a country reborn. In 1949, about 80 percent of China's population was illiterate (不识字的). Although one of its early editions failed the goose farmer, Xinhua succeeded in opening up knowledge and opportunities 一 to millions of Chinese people. “I got my first dictionary in 1971 and I still treasure it," said a woman in her 50s. “I had no education when I was little. The dictionary helped me get into high school." Over the past 50 years, the dictionary has been revised (修正)many times.“鲟(sturgeon)” was once explained as“edible(可食用的)." Later editions made it clear that it was “an animal in danger.Similarly,“豹(leopards)”are no longer“wild animals whose fur can be made into clothes.” Recent editions have included many new explanations. The character “晒”(to dry something under the sun)，for example, now has a second meaning: to share. Popular expressions like“初心”(original intention) and “点赞”(to give somebody a thumbs u