Did you know that the first documented use of OMG(oh my god)was in 1917, or that LOL was once a common term meaning little old ladies in 1960? That's what the world learned when OMG, LOL, and FYI (for your information) were added to the Oxford English Dictionary last week. This dictionary is considered by many to be the reference book that defines the English language.
Words added to the Oxford English Dictionary are truly considered new members of the language. People invent new words all the time, but only a few become popular enough to get defined in dictionaries.
Typed online or in text messages, LOL, FYI, and OMG are initialisms,_which can be said aloud letter by letter, like LOL, which now stands for Laugh Out Loud.Faster to type than the full phrases, initialisms like these have been used online since the 1990s. But these three online terms are now spoken outside the Internet too, making them different from other online lingo( 行话). Dictionary editors decided the words are used so commonly that they had to be defined this year.
Another important addition to the dictionary this year was ♥， as in “I ♥ NY.” This is the first graphic (图形的 ) symbol ever defined in the Oxford English Dictionary.The editors added ♥ as a verb under the definition of “heart”， meaning “to love”．
Some slang words — informal language used more commonly in speech than in writing — were also added, like wassup, a shortened way to say “What's up”. Even words that have been in use for many years like biker and happy camper were finally added to the dictionary.
The Oxford English Dictionary now defines more than 600,000 words.That adds up to more than 21,730 pages! Guinness World Records calls it the longest dictionary in the world.The Oxford English Dictionary is known for recording words of all kinds—popular, outdated, and even foreign words used by English speakers throughout the language's long history.
小题1:The text is mainly about that ________.
A．expressions like LOL and FYI have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary
B．English words change their meaning as time goes by
C．English language is becoming more and more difficult to learn
D．the Oxford English Dictionary breaks the Guinness World Record小题2:Which of the following is NOT included in the facts that the Oxford English Dictionary has been updated?
A．Some online terms are added to it.
B．A graphic symbol is first introduced into it.
C．Some slang words are collected in it.
D．Some old words are left out.小题3:What does the underlined word “initialisms” refer to?
A．Words having foreign origins.
B．Words made from the first letters of several words in a phrase.
C．Uncommon words frequently appearing on the Internet.
D．Official words used in formal documents with capital letters.小题4:Before any new word is added to the Oxford English Dictionary, it must be ________.
A．spread widely across the Internet
B．used commonly by the dictionary editors
C．used commonly in either spoken or written language
D．a short word
