The word “OK” is the most frequently spoken allpurpose expression on the planet—and it's turning 180 years old on March 23,2019.The term was born during a 19thcentury abbreviation(缩写)craze and went on to international fame with its own hand gesture.
Last year，Henry Nass，a 68yearold retired English teacher，a New Yorker had spent the last few weeks handing out cards championing “Global OK Day” in advance of the coming anniversary.
“No matter where people are from they use the word ‘OK’， but they don't know where it comes from，”says Nass. “The problem is because it's just，you know，OK.”
The word is OK，perhaps，but its history is definitely better than average.Late etymologist Allen Walker Read traced the twoletter word to 1839，when editors at the Boston Morning Post signed off on articles as “all correct” with a simple word “OK”．
The word made it into print on March 23 of that year，during an article against a rival editor in Providence who had stated wrongly that a band of Bostonians heading to New York would pass through the Rhode Island capital.
“We said not a word about our team passing ‘through the city’ of Providence，”the Morning Post reported.“O.K.—all correct.”
The humor of the ProvidenceBoston joke has been lost to history—but the word OK took_off from there, soon connoting(隐含)agreement, acceptance, averageness, quality or likability.
By 1840, it served as a slogan for President Martin Van Buren's unsuccessful reelection campaign. “Old Kinderhook is OK，”posters stated, a reference to the eighth president's birthplace and his supporters' belief in his satisfactory performance.
本文是一篇说明文。“OK”这个词是这个星球上最常用的通用表达，它将于2019年3月23日达到180岁。不管人们来自哪里，他们都会用“OK”这个词，本文就“OK”这个词的历史进行展开，介绍了它的来源及发展史。
1．Why did Henry Nass hand out cards?
A．To let people understand the history of the word “OK”．
B．To call on people to use the word “OK” properly.
C．To appeal to people to celebrate OK Day.
D．To attract people's attention.
答案：C
解析：细节理解题。根据第二段“ a New Yorker had spent the last few weeks handing out cards championing ‘Global OK Day’ in advance of the coming anniversary”“在即将到来的周年纪念日之前，一位纽约人花了几个星期的时间分发卡片，支持‘全球OK日’”可知，他是为了呼吁人们庆祝这个节日。故选C。
2．What does the author want to convey in Paragraph 4?
A．The history of the word “OK” is known to average people.
B．The history of the word “OK” is unfamiliar to people.
C．People frequently use the word “OK” in history.
D．People are fond of the word “OK” in history.
答案：B
解析：细节理解题。根据第四段“Late etymologist Allen Walker Read traced the twoletter word to 1839, when editors at the Boston Morning Post signed off on articles as ‘all correct’ with a simple word ‘OK’”“已故词源学家Allen Walker Read将这个由两个字母组成的单词追溯到1839年，当时《波士顿晨报》的编辑们在文章结尾处用一个简单的词‘OK’来标注全部正确，可知“OK”这个词的历史对人们来说是陌生的。 故选B。
3．What does the underlined phrase “took off” in Paragraph 7 probably mean?
A．Got off. B．Set up.
C．Moved off. D．Become popular.
答案：D
解析：词义猜测题。根据第七段“The humor of the ProvidenceBoston joke has been lost to history—but the word OK took_off from there, soon connoting(隐含) agreement, acceptance, averageness, quality or likability.”“ProvidenceBoston 的笑话已经淹没在了历史的长河中——但OK这个词从那里起飞，不久就意味着同意、接受、普通、质量或讨人喜欢。”可知，“take off”即“起飞”，引申为“变得流行”。故选D。
4．We can learn from the text that Kinderhook is ________ of the eighth American president.
A．the name B．the birthplace
C．the policy D．the belief
答案：B
解析：推理判断题。根据最后一段“‘Old Kinderhook is OK，’ posters stated, a reference to the eighth president's birthplace and his supporters' belief in his satisfactory performance” “‘老肯德胡克很好，’指的是第八任总统的出生地及其支持者对他令人满意的表现的信任”可知，那是第八任总统的出生地。故选B。
