八、阅读短文,根据短文内容回答问题。(共10分,每小题2分)
What' s in a Name?
Many American names come from England. But where did most English names come from?
Centuries ago, most people in England had only one name—their first name. In the 11th century, five or six of the 50 people in a village might be named William, and it was easy to get confused. But in the Middle Ages, people found a way to describe each person exactly. If there were four Williams in one village, one might be referred to as William the son of John. A second might be called William from the hill. A third, William the blacksmith(铁匠). And a fourth, William the brown haired. In conversation, people might refer to the four Williams as William John' s son, William hill, William smith, and William brown.
It was 300 or 400 years before these extra(附加的)names gradually developed into last names, or surnames. They were passed on from generation to generation. By the 1300s, Robert, the son of William smith, had the name Robert smith, even if he was not a blacksmith like his father. As the last name became widely accepted, the first letter was capitalized, as in Robert Smith. By the 15th century, most people of the upper and middle classes had surnames.
Many surnames were based on father-son relations. The “son of” part was added to the father' s first name, like Johnson, meaning John' s son. Sometimes it was shortened to just“s”, as in Jones or Evans. Surnames like Hill described the place where a person lived. They are the most common type of surname. A third kind of surname was based on a person' s job. Forester was someone who looked after the forest. In the Middle Ages, occupation names such as Baker, Carpenter, and Miller became common. The fourth kind of surname was a nickname(绰号). A man whose surname was Bear might be as fierce as a bear.
Have you ever wondered why some surnames are so common? The most common surname in the English language is Smith. Being able to make metals(金属)into tools was an important skill in the Middle Ages, and many people were trained as blacksmiths. The most common American surnames are Smith, Johnson, Williams, and Brown.
61.Where do many American names come from?
62.When did people find a way to describe each person exactly?
63.How long did it take for extra names to develop into last names?
64.What is the fourth paragraph mainly about?
65.Why were many people trained as blacksmiths in the Middle Ages?
答案及解析：
61. 根据第一段“Many American names come from England.”可知，很多美国名字来自英国，所以答案是England。
62. 由第二段“But in the Middle Ages, people found a way to describe each person exactly.”可知，在中世纪，人们找到了准确描述每个人的方法，答案是In the Middle Ages。
63. 从第三段“It was 300 or 400 years before these extra(附加的)names gradually developed into last names, or surnames.”可知，附加名字逐渐发展成姓氏花了300或400年，答案是300 or 400 years。
64. 第四段主要介绍了基于父子关系的姓氏、基于居住地的姓氏、基于工作的姓氏和绰号姓氏这几种不同类型的姓氏以及它们的形成方式，所以答案是Different kinds of surnames and how they were formed。
65. 根据最后一段“Being able to make metals(金属)into tools was an important skill in the Middle Ages, and many people were trained as blacksmiths.”可知，在中世纪，能够把金属制成工具是一项重要技能，所以很多人被培训成铁匠，答案是Because being able to make metals into tools was an important skill in the Middle Ages。
