Where do you find out about the world’s longest walk? The world's tallest man? The world's oldest woman? You know the answer, of course. It is the Guinness Book of World Records. How would people find such unusual facts without this book?
Guinness Book did not exist until 1951. Here is what happened. The managing director of Guinness Brewery was a curious man. He wanted answers to some questions about records. For example, he wanted to know what was the fastest flying game bird in Europe. But he was frustrated. There was no book to answer questions like this.
The director, Sir Hugh Beaver, contacted the McWhirter twins. They were brothers who owned a research agency. He asked them to put together a new reference book. It would include all kinds of unusual records. The brothers quickly accepted. The first edition of their book was published in 1955. Soon the Guinness Book of World Records was a best seller. It has sold more copies than any book except the Bible. A new edition is published every year.
Where do all the book's records come from? They are a combination of things like natural wonders, sports records, and stunts(特技) (How many people would push an egg with their noses if they weren’t trying to get to the book?). But the editors try to keep things honest. All records must be verified by an investigator. Only then are they printed.
The Guinness Book is a big business. It is published in dozens of languages. There are TV shows and museums. It is proof of how interested people are in strange pieces of information.
小题1:The passage is mostly about _____.
A．the McWhirter twins
B．the director Sir Hugh Beaver
C．unusual records in the Guinness Book
D．a history of the Guinness Book小题2:The Guinness Book _____.
A．is a best seller
B．is published only in English
C．does not always check its records
D．has a full-length movie based on it小题3:It is clear from the passage that the McWhirter twins _____.
A．wanted to publish the book so that they set up a research agency
B．owned so good a research agency that they liked to help others
C．recognizes that Sir Hugh's idea for a book was a good one
D．wanted to know the answers to some questions about records小题4:In this passage, the underlined word "verified" means _____.
A．questioned
B．proved the truth
C．written up
D．blocked
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