2016届高考英语二轮阅读理解九十天强化训练：37_高考复习指南

2016届高考英语二轮阅读理解九十天强化训练：37

　　People’s first names, or given names, are chosen by their parents. Sometimes the name of a grandparent or other member of the family is used. Some parents choose the name of a well-known person. A boy could be named George Washington Smith; a girl could be named Helen Keller Jones.

　　Some people give their children names that mean good things. Clara means “bright”; Beatrice

　　means “one who gives happiness”; Donald means “world ruler”; Leonard means “as brave as a lion”.

　　The earliest last names, or surnames, were taken from place names. A family with the name Brook or Brooks

　　probably lived near brook(小溪)；someone who was called Longstreet probably lived on a long, paved road. The Greenwood family lived in or near a leafy forest.

　　Other early surnames came from people’s occupations. The most common occupational name is Smith, which means a person who makes things with iron or other metals. In the past, smiths were very important workers in every town and village. Some other occupational names are: Carter ?a person who towned or drove a cart; Potter

　　梐 person who made pots and pans.

　　The ancestors of the Baker family probably baked bread for their neighbors in their native village. The Carpentere’s great-great-great-grandfather probably built houses and furniture. Sometimes people were known for the color of their hair or skin, or their size, or their special abilities. When there were two men who were named John in the same village, the John with the gray hair probably became John Gray. Or the John was very tall could call himself John Tallman. John Fish was probably an excellent swimmer and John Lightfoot was probably a fast runner or a good dancer.