1 The men and women of Anglo-Saxon England normally bore one name only. Distinguishing epithets were rarely addeD.These might be patronymic, descriptive or occupational. They were, however, hardly surnames. Heritable names gradually became general in the three centuries following the Norman Conquest in 1066. It was not until the 13th and 14th centuries that surnames became fixed, although for many years after that, the degree of stability in family names varied considerably in different parts of the country.
2 British surnames fall mainly into four broad categories: patronymic, occupational, descriptive and local. A few names, it is true, will remain puzzling: foreign names, perhaps, crudely translated, adapted or abbreviated; or artificial names.
3 In fact, over fifty per cent of genuine British surnames derive from place names of different kinds, and so they belong to the last of our four main categories. Even such a name as Simpson may belong to this last group, and not to the first, had the family once had its home in the ancient village of that namE.Otherwise, Simpson means 'the son of Simon', as might be expecteD.
4 Hundreds of occupational surnames are at once familiar to us, or at least recognisable after a little thought: Archer, Carter, Fisher, Mason, Thatcher, Taylor, to name but a few. Hundreds of others are more obscure in their meanings and testify to the amazing specialisation in medieval arts, crafts and functions. Such are 'Day', (Old English for breadmaker) and 'Walker'(a fuller whose job was to clean and thicken newly made cloth).
5 All these vocational names carry with them a certain gravity and dignity, which descriptive names often lack. Some, it is true, like 'Long', 'Short' or 'Little', are simplE.They may be taken quite literally. Others require more thinking, their meanings are slightly different from the modern ones. 'Black' and 'White' implied dark and fair respectively. 'Sharp' meant genuinely discerning, alert, acute rather than quick-witted or clever.
6 Place-names have lasting interest since there is hardly a town or village in all England that has not at some time given its name to a family. They may be picturesque, even poetical; or they may be pedestrian, even trivial. Among the commoner names which survive with relatively little change from old-English times are 'Milton' (middle enclosure) and 'Hilton'(enclosure on a hill).
Surnames are said to be __________ in Anglo-Saxon EnglanD.
A.common
B.vocational
C.unusual
D.descriptive

判断题任何时候只可启用静态弯道灯（仅氙气灯）最多 3 分钟

单项选择题在分光光度分析测定中，被测物质测定相对误差的大小( )。A、与透射比τ成反比B、与透射比的绝对误差(△τ)成反比C、与透射比τ成正比D、只有当透射比在适当的范围之内才有较小的值

未分类题1 Since the early 1930s, Swiss banks had prided themselves on their system of banking secrecy and numbered accounts. Over the years, they had successfully withstood every challenge to this system by their own government who, in turn, had been frequently urged by foreign governments to reveal information about the financial affairs of certain account holders. The result of this policy of secrecy was that a kind of mystique had grown up around Swiss banking. There was a widely-held belief that Switzerland was irresistible to wealthy foreigners, mainly because of its numbered accounts and bankers' reluctance to ask awkward questions of depositors. Contributing to the mystique was the view, carefully propagated by the banks themselves, that if this secrecy was ever given up, foreigners would fall over themselves in the rush to withdraw money, and the Swiss banking system would virtually collapse overnight.2 To many, therefore, it came like a bolt out of the blue, when, in 1977, the Swiss banks announced they had signed a pact with the Swiss National Bank (the Central Bank). The aim of the agreement was to prevent the improper use of the country's bank secrecy laws, and its effect was to curb severely the system of secrecy.3 The rules which the banks had agreed to observe made the opening of numbered accounts subject to much closer scrutiny than beforE.The banks would be required, if necessary, to identify the origin of foreign funds going into numbered and other accounts. The idea was to stop such accounts being used for dubious purposes. Also, they agreed not to accept funds resulting from tax evasion or from crimE.4 The pact represented essentially a tightening up of banking rules. Although the banks agreed to end relations with clients whose identities were unclear or who were performing improper acts, they were still not obliged to inform. on a client to anyone, including the Swiss government. To some extent, therefore, the principle of secrecy had been maintaineD.Swiss banks took pride in______.A.the number of their accounts.B.withholding client information.C.being mysterious to the outsiders.D.attracting wealthy foreign clients.

未分类题By 'Gossip also is a form. of social bonding'(ParA.5), Professor Aaron Ben-Ze'ev means gossip ______.A.is a valuable source of social informationB.produces a joy that most people in society needC.brings people the feel of being part of a groupD.satisfies people's need of being unusual

未分类题The author's attitude toward 'gossip' can be best described asD.indifferent