1 . It wasn’t until I graduated from college that I subsequently realized that knowledge is so endless that I was able to learn for pleasure. A sense of curiosity, rather than perfectionism, guided me. I started to see dictionaries as field guides to the life of language. Looking up words encountered in the wild felt less like a failure and more like an admission that I still didn’t know lots of things and an opportunity to discover more.
I cherish my 1954 copy of Webster’s New International Dictionary given by my roommate. I often consult it during the evening games of Scrabble or midday magazine reading. I mostly read novels at night, in bed, so when I come across unfamiliar words, I fold the bottom of the page and then look them up word by word. When I start encountering these words, the language world seems to shrink to the size of a small town.
Wikipedia answers questions with more questions, opening up pages of information you never asked for. But a dictionary builds on common knowledge, using simple words to explain more complex ones. Using one feels as if I’m opening an oyster (牡蛎)with curiosity. Unknown words become mysteries, and solving them gives me satisfaction. Why always leave them up to guesswork? Why not consult a dictionary and feel the instant contentment of pairing context with a definition?
Dictionaries reward you for paying attention, both to the things you consume and to your own curiosity. They are an entrance into the kind of childish urge to just know things, which I had before learning became a duty instead of a game.
For most of you, dictionaries are a gateway into that kind of unconsidered knowledge-seeking. They remind you that, when it comes to learning, allowing your curiosity is just as important as paying attention. After all, isn’t curiosity really just another form of attention? Following your curiosity instead of pushing it away, consult your dictionary and feel connected to more than what’s right in front of you.
1. What does consulting dictionaries mean to the author?
| A．A guide to shape his character. |
| B．A complete admission of failure. |
| C．A chance to explore the unknown. |
| D．A unique way of perfecting himself. |
2. What does “cherish” underlined in paragraph 2 mean?
| A．Lose. | B．Prize. |
| C．Edit. | D．Publish. |
3. Why is Wikipedia mentioned in paragraph 3?
| A．To show advantages of dictionaries. |
| B．To indicate the importance of technology. |
| C．To introduce another powerful learning tool. |
| D．To prove the benefits of using the search engine. |
4. What does the author try to do in the last paragraph?
| A．Make an appeal. |
| B．Raise doubts. |
| C．Give a warning. |
| D．Express thanks. |
