OneofthegreatestcontributionstothefirstOxfordEnglishDictionarywasalsooneofitsmostunusual.In1879,OxfordUniversityinEnglandaskedProf.JamesMurraytoserveaseditorforwhatwastobethemostambitiousdictionaryinthe
OneofthegreatestcontributionstothefirstOxfordEnglishDictionarywasalsooneofitsmostunusual.In1879,OxfordUniversityinEnglandaskedProf.JamesMurraytoserveaseditorforwhatwastobethemostambitiousdictionaryinthehistoryoftheEnglishlanguage.ItwouldincludeeveryEnglishwordpossibleandwouldgivenotonlythedefinitionbutalsothehistoryofthewordandquotations(引文)showinghowitwasused.
Thiswasahugetask.SoMurraryhadtofindvolunteersfromBritain,theUnitedStates,andtheBritishcoloniestosearcheverynewspaper,magazine,andbookeverwritteninEnglish.Hundredsofvolunteersresponded,includingWilliamChesterMinor.Dr.MinorwasanAmericanSurgeonwhohadservedintheCivilWarandwasnowlivinginEngland.Hegavehisaddressas“Broadmoor,Crowthorne,Berkshire,”50milesfromOxford.
MinorjoinedthearmyofvolunteerssendingwordsandquotationstoMurray.Overthenextyears,hebecameoneofthestaff’smostvaluedcontributors.
Buthewasalsoamystery.Inspiteofmanyinvitations,hewouldalwaysdeclinetovisitOxford.Soin1897,MurrayfinallydecidedtotraveltoCrowthornehimself.Whenhearrived,hefoundMinorlockedinabook-linedcellattheBroadmoorAsylumfortheCriminallyinsane.
MurrayandMinorbecamefriends,sharingtheirloveofwords.Minorcontinuedcontributingtothedictionary,sendinginmorethan10,000submissionsin20years.MurraycontinuedtovisitMinorregularly,sometimestakingwalkswithhimaroundtheasylumgrounds.
In1910,MinorleftBroadmoorforanasyluminhisnativeAmerica.Murraywasattheporttowavegoodbyetohisremarkablefriend.
Minordiedin1920,sevenyearsbeforethefirsteditionoftheOxfordEnglishDictionarywascompleted.The12volumesdefined414,825words,andthousandsofthemwerecontributionsfromaveryscholarlyanddevotedasylumpatient.
小题1:Accordingtothetext,thefirstOxfordEnglishDictionary_________.A.cameoutbeforeminordiedB.waseditedbyanAmericanvolunteerC.includedtheEnglishwordsinventedbyMurrayD.wasintendedtobethemostambitiousEnglishdictionary小题2:HowdidDr.Minorcontr