托福阅读材料之15个趣味的的英语冷知识

1. Aoccdrnig to a rseearch procejt at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosnt mttaer waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter.

剑桥大学的研究表明：单词中字母的顺序如何不重要，重要的是个和一个字母的位置。这是因为大脑在阅读时不会读到所有字母。

（小编注：大家在读上面这句看起来有点乱码的句子时，有注意到单词字母的顺序吗？）

2. WAS IT A CAR OR A CAT I SAW.. 'WASITACARORACATISAW'.. This is the only English sentence which even if we read in reverse, it'll give the same sentence.

“WAS IT A CAR OR A CAT I SAW”（我看到的是一辆车还是一只猫）这是英语中一句反过来念还是一样的句子。

3. "Goodbye" came from "God bye" which came from "God be with you."

英语单词“Goodbye”来自于“God bye”，原意是“上帝与你同在”。

4. The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog." uses every letter of the alphabet!

“The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.”（这只敏捷的棕色狐狸跳过了一只懒狗）这句话用到了字母表中的所有字母！

5. 'Go', is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.

“Go”是英语中最短的完整句子。

6. The onion is named after the Latin word 'unio' meaning large pearl.

单词“onion”（洋葱）来自于拉丁词“unio”，意思是大珍珠。

7. The word Tips is actually an acronym standing for 'To Insure Prompt Service'.

单词“tips”（小费）实际上是“To Insure Prompt Service”（保障快捷的服务）的首字母缩写！

8. The phrase 'rule of thumb' is derived from and old English law which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.

词组“rule of thumb”（经验法则），是从一条古老的英国法律中来的，即：不能用超过大拇指粗细的东西打老婆。

9. The longest word in the English language is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconioses!

英语中最长的单词是“pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconioses”（硅酸盐沉着病）！

10. More people in China speak English than in the United States.

会说英语的中国人比会说英语的美国人还多。

11. The word "listen" contains the same letters as "silent."

单词“listen”（听）和“silent”（安静的）用到了一样的字母。

12. Hoover vacuum cleaners were so popular in the UK that many people now refer to vacuuming as hoovering.

胡佛真空吸尘器在英国曾经非常流行，到现在很多人还把“vacuuming”（吸尘）说成“hoovering”（胡佛ing…）。

13. Stressed is Desserts spelled backwards.

“Stressed”（压力）倒过来拼就是“Desserts”（点心）。

14. The most used letter in the English alphabet is 'E', and 'Q' is the least used!

英语中使用最多的字母是“E”，用得最少的是“Q”。

15. Ernest Vincent Wright wrote a novel, "Gadsby", which contains over 50,000 words -- none of them with the letter E!

作家厄尔尼斯特·文森特·莱特曾经写过一篇5万字的小说《葛士比》，里面没有一个字母“E”！