美国字的故事
万事O.K. (EVERYTHING IS "OKAY")
THE word "OKAY" is known and ud by millions of people all over the world. Still, language experts do not agree on where it came from.
Some say it came from the Indian peoples团建破冰游戏. When Europeans first came to the Americas they heard hundreds of different Indian languages. Many were well developed.
One tribe especially had a well developed language. This was the Chocktaw tribe. They were farmers and fishermen who lived in the rich Mississippi valley in what is now the state of Alabama. When problems aro, Chocktaw leaders discusd them with the tribal chief. They sat in a circle and listened to the wisdom of the chief.
He heard the different proposals, often raising and lowering his head in agreement, and saying, "Okeh," meaning "It is so."
The Indian languages have given many words to English. Twenty four of the American states, almost half-have Indian names-Oklahoma, the Dakotas, Idaho, Wisconsin, Ohio and Tenne, to name a few. And the names of many rivers, streams, mountains, cities and towns are Indian.
Nevertheless, there are many who dispute the idea that "okay" came from the Indians. Some say that President Andrew Jackson first ud the word "okay." Others claim the word was invented by John Jacob Astor, a fur trader of the late 1700's who became one of the world's richest men. Still others say a poor railroad clerk made up this word. His name was Obadiah Kelly and he put his initials, O.K., on each package, people gave him to ship by train.
祝福老人
So it goes; each story sounds reasonable and official.
But perhaps the most believable explanation is that the word "okay" was invented by a political organization in the 1800's.
我的心在等待
Martin Van Buren was running for President. A group of people organized a club to support him. They called their political organization the "Okay Club." The letters "o" and "k" were taken from the name of Van Buren's home town, the place where he was born, Old Kinderhook, New York.
There is one thing about "okay" that the experts do agree on: that the word is pure American and that it has spread to almost every country on earth.
There is something about the word that appeals to peoples of every language. Yet, here in America it is ud mostly in speech, not in rious writing. Serious writers would rather u "agree," "asnt," "approve," "confirm" and so on.
In recent times, "okay" has been given an official place in the English language.
But it will be a long time before Americans will officially accept two expressions that come from "okay." The are "oke" and "okeydoke."
注解：
1. expert 专家
地图应用2. Indian peoples 印第安各族
热处理
3. Americas 南、北美洲
4. well developed 相当进化的
5. Chocktaw tribe 查克多族
6. Mississippi Valley 密西西比河谷
7. tribal chief 酋长
8. circle 圆圈
9. It is so. 就是如此。
10. to name a few 随便提几位
11. dispute 争议，不同意
12. Andrew Jackson 杰克逊总统
13. claim 声称
14. 个人技术总结fur trader 兽皮买卖商
15. made up 编造
16. initials 姓名的第一个字母
17. so it goes 大家这麽说
18. runnig for 竞选
19. appeal 引起…注意
20. and so on 等等
美国字的故事
打太极拳 (TO PASS THE BUCK)先涂防晒霜还是隔离霜
世界上最难的脑筋急转弯AN expression ud by Americans for about 100 years is "to pass the buck." It means refusing to take responsibility, letting others decide and act for you.
President Gerald Ford dramatized the phra after taking Richard Nixon's place in the White Hou. Ford announced in a special television broadcast that he had decided to pardon Nixon for any crimes he may have committed as president. Ford said such a decision had to be made by him alone, that he could not let others do it for him. "The buck stops here," said Ford.
He remembered another president-Harry S. Truman, who made that expression famous more than 30 years ago. Truman had a sign on his desk which said: "The buck stops here." The message was clear: If the president of the United States could not act and make the final decision on important national matters, who el could? A president who r
efud to take the responsibility and "pasd the buck" to someone el would soon find himlf in rious trouble.
Where did the expression come from? It ems to have come from the card game of poker where the players, one after the other, mix and pass out the cards. The phra ems to have come to life in the gambling hous of the West. There, a silver dollar was put in front of a player to show that he would be the next dealer to pass out the cards. A dollar, silver or paper, was called a "buck." It still is. Why, Nobody ems to know.
Forceful leaders, of cour, make decisions, take risks and assume responsibility. The risks can be great. Every choice at times may lead to disaster. In a military leader it may be defeat and ruin; in business, financial failure, loss of a job.
Therefore, it is easier to pass the responsibility and let others take the risks. Nobody, however, likes a man who pass the buck. He is soon found out and given an unpleasant name-"buck-pasr."
