Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer of the questions from 13 to 22.
Few men have influenced the development of American English to the extent that Noah Webster did. Born in West Hartford, Connecticut, in 1758, his name has become synonymous with American dictionaries. Graduated from Yale in 1778, he was admitted to the bar in 1781 and thereafter began to practice law in Hartford. Later, when he turned to teaching, he discovered how inadequate the available schoolbooks were for the children of a new and independent nation.
In response to the need for truly American textbooks, Webster published A Grammatical Institute of the English Language, a three-volume work that consisted of a speller, a grammar, and a reader. The first volume, which was generally known as The American Spelling Book, was so popular that eventually it sold more than 80 million copies and provided him with a considerable income for the rest of his life. While teaching, Webster began work on the Compendious Dictionary of the English Language, which was published in 1806.
In 1807 Noah Webster began his greatest work, An American Dictionary of the English Language. In preparing the manuscript, he devoted ten years to the study of English and its relationship to other languages and seven more years to the writing itself. Published in two volumes in 1828, An American Dictionary of the English Language has become the recognized authority for usage in the United States. Webster‟s purpose in writing it was to demonstrate that the American language was developing distinct meanings, pronunciation, and spellings from those of British English. He is responsible for advancing simplified spelling forms: develop instead of the British form develope; theater and center instead of theatre and centre; color and honor instead of colour and honour.
In 1840 Webster brought out a second edition of his dictionary, which included 70,000 entries instead of the original 38,000. This edition has served as the basis for many revisions that have been produced under the Webster name.
The word “it” in the passage refers to ___________
A. authority
B. usage
C. language
D. dictionary
Đáp án là D
“Webster‟s purpose in writing it was to demonstrate that the American language was developing distinct meanings, pronunciation, and spellings from those of British English.” (Mục đích của Webster khi viết cuốn từ điển là để chứng minh rằng tiếng Mỹ phát triển những ý nghĩa, cách phát âm và đánh vần riêng biệt so với tiếng Anh.)