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Words and their stories

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1#
发表于 26.6.2003 15:39:05 | 只看该作者
即时机票
by Herbert Sutcliffe and Harrold Berman<br>voice of america<br>washington D.C. 1978<br><br><br>
2#
 楼主| 发表于 26.6.2003 15:43:38 | 只看该作者
Hello<br><br><br>Hello. This is as good a way as any to welcome <br>you to these pages.<br>The word "hello" is probably used more often <br>than any other one in the English language. <br>Everybody in the United States----and <br>elsewhere----uses the word, again and again, <br>every day of the week.<br>The first thing you hear when you pick up the<br> phone is "hello" unless the caller is an <br>Englishman, who might say, "Are you there?"<br>Where did the word come from? There are all <br>sorts of beliefs. Some say it came from the <br>French, "ho" and "la"----"Ho, there&#33;" This <br>greeting may have arrived in England during the <br>Norman Conquest in the year 1066.<br>"Ho, there" slowly became something that sounded<br> like "hallow"(accent last syllable), often <br>heard in the 1300&#39;s, during the days of the <br>English poet, Geoffrey Chaucer.<br>Two hundred years later, in Shakespeare&#39;s time, <br>"hallow" had become "halloo." And later, <br>sounds like "halloa," "halloo" and "hollo" were <br>often used by sailors and huntsmen. "Halloo," is <br>still used today by fox hunters.<br>As time passed, "halloo" and "halloa" changed <br>into "hullo." And during the 1800&#39;s this was <br>how people greeted each other in America.<br>The American inventor, Thomas Alva Edison, is <br>believed to be the first person to use "hello" <br>in the late 1800&#39;s, soon after the invention <br>of the telephone.<br>At first, people had greeted each other on the<br> telephone with, "Are you there?" They were not <br>sure the new instrument could really carry voices.<br>Tom Edison, however, was a man of few words. He <br>wasted no time. The first time he picked <br>up the phone he did not ask if anyone was there. <br>He was sure someone was, and simply said,"Hello."<br>From that time on----only about 100 years <br>ago----the "hullo," became "hello," as it is heard <br>today.<br>Strangely enough, when the first telephone <br>system was put in New Haven, Connecticut, in <br>1878, people did not say "hello" or "hullo" or <br>even "halloo." They answered the phone the way <br>sailors hail a ship, "Ahoy, ahoy there&#33;" Thank<br> God, that telephone greeting did not last long.<br>Of course, there are other ways Americans greet <br>one another. Not long ago, people often said, <br>"How are you?" when they first met someone. This<br> later became "hiyah." Then, someone thought <br>that two syllables were too much and "hiyah" <br>became "hi." Laziness is a strong force in changing <br>language.<br>Answering a telephone call in America still <br>presents problems, however. Telephone <br>companies think that Thomas Edison&#39;s short <br>"hello," is too long. Why waste time? the phone <br>companies say. Simply pick up the phone, give <br>your name, and start talking.<br><br>
3#
 楼主| 发表于 26.6.2003 15:43:59 | 只看该作者
OKAY<br><br><br>The word "okay" is known and used by millions <br>of people all over the world. Still, language <br>experts do not agree on where it came from.<br>Some say it came from the Indian peoples. When<br> Europeans first came to the Americas they <br>heard hundreds of different Indian languages. <br>Many were well developed.<br>One tribe especially had a well developed language. <br>This was the Choctaw tribe. They were <br>farmers and fishermen who lived in the rich <br>Mississippi valley in what is now the state of <br>Alabama. When problems arose, Choctaw leaders <br>discussed them with the tribal chief. They sat in <br>a circle and listened to the wisdom of the chief.<br>He heard the different proposals, often raising<br> and lowering his head in agreement, and saying, <br>"Okeh," meaning "It is so."<br>The Indian languages have given many words to <br>English. Twenty four of the American states----almost <br>half ----have Indian names----Oklahoma, the Dakotas, <br>Idaho, Wisconsin, Ohio and <br>Tennessee, to name a few. And the names of many rivers, <br>streams, mountains, cities and towns are Indian.<br>Nevertheless, there are many who dispute the idea <br>that "okay" cam from the Indians. Some <br>say that President Andrew Jackson first used the <br>word "okay." Others claim the word was invented <br>by John Jacob Astor, a fur trader of the late <br>1700&#39;s who became one of the world&#39;s richest men. <br>Still others say a poor railroad clerk make up <br>this word. His name was Obadiah Kelly and he put <br>his initials, O.K., on each package people gave <br>him to ship by train.<br>So it goes; each story sounds reasonable and official.<br>But perhaps the most believable explanation is <br>that the word "okay" was invented by a <br>political organization in the 1800&#39;s.<br>Martin Van Buren was running for President. A <br>group of people organized a club to support <br>him. They called their political organization <br>the "Okay Club." The letters "o" and &#39;k" were taken <br>from the name of Van Buren&#39;s home town, the place <br>where he was born, Old Kinderhook, New York.<br>There is one thing about "okay" that the experts <br>do agree on: that the word is pure American <br>and that it has spread to almost every country on earth.<br>There is something about the word that appeals to <br>peoples of every language. Yet, here in <br>America it is used mostly in speech, not in serious <br>writing. Serious writers would rather use <br>"agree," "assent," "approve," "confirm" and so on.<br>In recent times, "okay" has been given an official <br>place in the English language.<br>But it will be a long time before Americans will <br>officially accept two expressions that come <br>from "okay." These are "oke" and "okeydoke."<br><br>
4#
 楼主| 发表于 26.6.2003 15:44:17 | 只看该作者
INDIAN<br><br><br>About 485 years ago, a man stood alone on the <br>coast of Spain. He looked toward the west and <br>said to himself, "The earth cannot be flat. <br>If I sail westward, sooner or later, I shall <br>hit land, India perhaps, and the queen will <br>have a new and shorter route to the riches <br>of that country."<br>Christopher Columbus sold his idea to Queen <br>Isabella of Spain. She gave him men and three <br>ships. And Columbus sailed westward for many<br>weeks, through rough seas.<br>At last, he saw land: a group of islands now <br>called the West Indies. Columbus was sure it was <br>India, and he called the natives "Indos."<br>Stories of what Columbus found quickly spread <br>across Europe. His word "Indos," became <br>"Indians" to the English. And all the natives <br>of the West Indies and Central America became <br>known as "Indians."<br>Christopher Columbus made four trips to the <br>New World. Yet, he died in Spain without <br>knowing where he had been. He died believing <br>he had sailed to India.<br>It was soon learned that Columbus had made a <br>mistake. But the word "Indian" was well <br>established in Europe.<br>The first settlers who arrived in North <br>Carolina and Virginia in the early 1600&#39;s <br>called the natives Indians. This name <br>spread north as the colonies of Maryland, <br>New York, Pennsylvania and <br>New England were settled.<br>Today the word is used to describe the <br>descendants of the first peoples of North and South <br>America. In the far north they are called <br>Eskimos. And in the far south there are the Patagonians <br>and the Fuegians.<br>Students and scholars have long known that <br>the American Indians were not really Indians at <br>all. And one scholar proposed a name that <br>he believed would be better----Amerinds. He make up <br>his name by joining American and Indian. <br>This word is often used today by other scholars, but the <br>general public has heard little of it.<br>Word experts say the name Indian may be wrong<br>but we are suck with it. It is too late to <br>change it to Amerind. Most people would not <br>accept the change. Besides, how could a movie of <br>the old west be exciting if it concerned cowboys <br>and Amerinds, instead of cowboys and Indians?<br><br>
5#
 楼主| 发表于 26.6.2003 15:44:37 | 只看该作者
Indian Summer<br><br><br>No one knows where the phrase "Indian summer" <br>came from, or how it got started. We are <br>sure that the phrase was well-known by the <br>year 1778, because Crevecoeur, the French writer, <br>wrote about it. Crevcoeur, who became an <br>American citizen, said this: "A severe frost follows the <br>autumn rains. This prepares the ground to receive <br>the snows of winter. But before the snows come, <br>the earth turns warm once again and there are a <br>few days of smoke and mildness called Indian summer."<br>There is a story about Indian summer that goes back <br>to the very first settlers of the New World. <br>The first frost meant winter was coming. Snow <br>would soon follow.<br>The Indians, seeing the settlers preparing for <br>winter, told them not to hurry. The weather <br>would turn warm again, mild breezes would blow <br>and the sky turn soft and smoky. And so it did. <br>The sun became hot, and a bright warm haze flowed <br>over the fields and woods. The settlers, <br>remembering the words of the Indians, called this <br>wonderful period Indian summer.<br>But the Indians have their own stories about this <br>late period of warm weather. One of their <br>stories is about a great god called Nanahbozhoo.<br>Nanahbozhoo lived at the North Pole. There he sat <br>upon his white throne and looked down <br>upon the world and the deeds of his people. <br>Nanahbozhoo always fell asleep when winter set in. <br>But before doing so, he lit his great pope and <br>smoked tobacco for many days.<br>The smoke rising from his pipe flowed down over <br>the earth and produced the beautiful Indian <br>summer. It was the smoke that made the land look <br>hazy, warm and enjoyable.<br>Another Indian story says that Indian summer is <br>not caused by the god Nanahbozhoo of the <br>North, but by god Shawondasee of the South.<br>Shawondasee was a sad god because he had lost <br>the love of a tall and beautiful Indian maiden. <br>This story caught the imagination of the American <br>poet, Henry Wadsworh Longfellow. And in <br>1855 he included the story of Shawondasee in his <br>poem, "The Song of Hiawatha":<br>  Shawondasee, fat and lazy,<br>  Had his dwelling far to the southward<br>  In the drowsy, dreamy sunshine<br>  In the never-ending summer.<br>  He it was who sent the wood birds,<br>  Sent the robin, the Opechee,<br>  Sent the blue-bird, the Owaissa,<br>  Sent the Shawshaw, sent the swallow,<br>  Sent the wild goose, Wawa, northward,<br>  Sent the melons and tobacco,<br>  And the grapes in purple clusters.<br>  From his pipe, the smoke ascending,<br>  Filled the sky with haze and vapor,<br>  Filled the sky with dreamy softness,<br>  Gave a twinkle to the water,<br>  Touched the rugged hills with smoothness,<br>  Brought the tender Indian summer<br>  To the melancholy northland,<br>  In the dreary Moon of Snow-shoes.<br>Since Longfellow, other poems and even songs have <br>been written about Indian summer. For <br>there is something about this period of warm weather <br>that gives people a lift and makes them feel <br>warm and happy before the long snows of winter come.<br><br>
6#
 楼主| 发表于 26.6.2003 15:44:55 | 只看该作者
Yankee<br><br><br>The word "Yankee" is about 300 years old. It was first used<br>as a nickname for the colonists who settled in New England. <br>But where did the word come from? What does it mean? How did <br>it get into the language?<br>There are 20 stories explaining where "Yankee" came from. But <br>the experts say only two of these stories are believable.<br>A number of people believe that it came from a Scottish word <br>meaning sharp and clever. Even today, anyone who is a sharp <br>trader is called a "Yankee trader." But most experts agree <br>that "Yankee" came from Holland.<br>Many years ago, the Hollanders who made cheese were called <br>Jan Kees by the Germans. Some of these Hollanders came to <br>America in the early 1600&#39;s. They settled near the New England <br>colonists. The Hollanders were great farmers. They laughed at <br>the colonists in the north who tried to build farms on the <br>mountain rocks. And so, the Hollanders gave their own nickname <br>to the New England colonists. The British quickly picked up the <br>nickname and the New Englanders became Yankee.<br>During the American Civil War "Yankee" took on a wider meaning. <br>The soldiers in the northern states were called Yankees by the <br>men of the southern army.<br>During World War One the word was shortened to "Yank." The song, <br>"The Yanks Are Coming," brought tears and joy to the peoples of <br>the hard-pressed Allied nations.<br>Today, "Yankee" is known throughout the world as another name for <br>an American.<br>Of course, one cannot talk about "Yankee" and not mention "Doodle" <br>or "Yankee Doodle." This phrase also has a story.<br>It is said that in 1775 a British army doctor, Richard Shucksberg, <br>wrote the song, "Yankee Doodle," to poke fun at the colonial troops. <br>The British army, always neat in its bright red uniforms, looked <br>down on the rough colonial soldiers, who really were not soldiers <br>at all, but farmers with clubs and old guns-angry farmers who <br>rebelled against the high British taxes.<br>One day, British army colonel, Hugh Percy, set out to collect the <br>arms the colonists had hidden in Concord. Percy marched his men <br>out of Boston to the tune of "Yankee Doodle." At Concord, however, <br>the rough colonial farmers defeated the British. The farmers, now <br>marched with pride to Boston to the tune of "Yankee Doodle." Ever <br>since that day in 1775, "Yankee Doodle" has become an American <br>marching song.<br><br>
7#
 楼主| 发表于 26.6.2003 15:46:16 | 只看该作者
POWWOW<br><br><br>Many years ago there was an Indian chief named Powhatan. He was <br>chief of all the Algonquin tribes from Virginia north to the <br>Canadian border. Powhatan was not only a great chief. He was a <br>man of magic, a medicine man who could cure the sick.<br>It was said that Powhatan could understand dreams. His dreams <br>told him how to cure. In fact, the first part of his name, "powah," <br>meant, "he who cures through his dreams."<br>The second part of his name, "atan," meant "hill of the medicine <br>man." And so, Powhatan was the medicine man who stood on the hill.<br>There he listened to his dreams, talked to his gods and led <br>ceremonies to drive out the evil spirits.<br>Of course, there were lesser medicine men in the tribes of <br>owhatan. They were called "powahs." And whenever they led <br>ceremonies to cure the sick, these ceremonies were called "powwows."<br>"owwows" and "powahs" puzzled the early European settlers. <br>Curing through dreams and strange ceremonies seemed like some <br>sort of magic-worship of false gods.<br>And so, as the colonists grew in numbers and strength, they <br>decided to stop this kind of medicine. In the year 1646, this <br>announcement appeared in a newspaper in Massachusetts: "No Indian <br>shall at any time powwow or perform outward worship to their false <br>gods."<br>Fifty years later, "owwow" had changed in meaning. At first it meant <br>a medicine man, or a strange ceremony of magic to cure the sick.<br>Then, it meant any ceremony of great feasting and dancing. One <br>hundred years later, the word took on a more serious meaning; a <br>conference of Indian chiefs. A conference between Indian chiefs <br>and white leaders was also called a powwow. If the conference was <br>a good one, eating, drinking and dancing followed.<br>As time passed, many Indians were driven farther west, and they <br>began to fight the European invaders. In 1835, in a book written <br>by an old settler, these words appeared: "In the eastern part of <br>the country, companies of old Indian warriors might be seen, sitting <br>together smoking a pipe. They seem to be under every bush arguing, <br>palavering or powwowing."<br>A few years later, where Indians in the West were still fighting <br>the settlers, these words were written: "Toward the end of February <br>we had a few days of warm weather and the snows melted away. It was <br>then that the Indians held a powwow and we knew they were planning <br>a battle against us:"<br>Today, the word is used loosely to cover any kind of a political <br>meeting or social get-together, or even a discussion. For example, <br>a New York newspaper not long ago reported, "Warriors of the <br>Democratic Party to Hold Powwow in City."<br><br>
8#
发表于 26.6.2003 16:07:11 | 只看该作者
Tour de force&#33; <!--emo&(F)--><img src='https://www.kaiyuan.info/modules/ipboard/html/emoticons/rose.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='rose.gif'><!--endemo-->  
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