The question this week comes from our listener Herve Acard, who asks about the American word “OK”, which means “all right” or “acceptable”. It expresses agreement or approval. The word is used more often than any other word in the world.

Language expert Allen Walker Read said the word began as a short way of writing a different spelling of the words “all correct”. Old stories say some foreign-born people would write “all correct” as o-l-l k-o-r-r-e-c-t and spoke it as “OK”. Some people say it came from the Native American Indian tribe known as the Choctaws. The Choctaw word “okeh” means the same as the American word “OK”. Experts say early explorers in the Western America spoke the Choctaw language in the nineteenth century. The language spread across the country.

According to some people, “OK” was a way to shorten Greek words that mean everything is fine. It is also said that a railroad worker named Obadiah Kelly invented the word. He is said to have put the first letters of his names — O and K — on each object people gave him to place on the train.

Another explanation is that “OK” was invented by a political organization that supported Martin Van Buren for president in the 1800s. They called their organization the OK Club. The letters O and K were taken from the name of the town where Martin Van Buren was born — Old Kinderhook, New York.

Not everyone agrees with these explanations, but experts do agree that the word is purely American and has spread to almost every country on Earth. Yet in the United States, it is used mostly in speech. Serious writers prefer using words, such as “agree”, “approve” or “confirm” instead.

1.Where does the passage probably come from?

A. A newspaper.                                B. A textbook.

C. A radio program.                       D. A language magazine.

2.Of the following origins, which one has the same meaning as the American word “OK”?

A. The OK Club

B. The Choctaw word “okeh”

C. The word invented by Martin Van Buren

D. The short form of “all correct”

3.According to the passage, which statement is NOT true?

A. People disagree about the origin of “OK”.

B. “OK” is often used in formal writing in the USA.

C. The word “OK” is widely used all over the world.

D. Native American language once influenced American English.

 

Pushing children too hard is a really big social problem that seems to be getting worse．Now we have 6-month-olds in music classes and swimming classes．Parents fear that if other children are attending these classes，they will be holding their own children back if they do not enroll，too．

    The other extreme，simply taking a laissez-faire approach and letting children do—or refuse to do—whatever they want，is not the answer either，of course．

    Dr Taylor emphasizes that parents need to push their children based on what is best for the children，not what is best for themselves．If children understand that an activity is in their best interests，then they will accept it, he finds．

    Dr Taylor and other family experts remain pessimistic about the possibilities for widespread social change．“The force of our popular culture，driven by money and superficial（表面上的） values，cannot be resisted，” he says．But change can take place at a“micro-level,” in families and schools．

    When changes do occur，the rewards can benefit everyone in the family．One mother supporting this new approach toward parenting mentions the advantages her family experienced after her children cut back on activities．“The biggest thing is that since we have done this，we are rested,” she says．“Not only are our kids rested，because they're not in a ton of stuff, but my husband and I are rested，because we're not driving them everywhere．We weren’t living in the moment when we were always busy．We were living by the schedule．The return on our investment of spending time together has been enormous．”

One of the reasons why parents push children so hard is that they__________.

   A. believe in early development in children

   B. are too busy to take care of their children

   C. don't want their children to lag behindw(w w.ks&5 u.c*o m

   D. want to repeat what their parents did to them

The phrase“a laissez-faire approach”(in Line 1，Paragraph 2)most probably refers to      .

   A. denying them what they need

   B. controlling children in a flexible way

   C. developing a keen interest in children

   D. letting children do whatever they want

The best way to encourage children to work hard is           .

   A. to make them believe it’s in their best interests

   B. to consider the matter from parents' standpointw(w w.ks&5 u.c*o m

   C. to emphasize the importance of hard work from time to time

   D. to make it interesting and enjoyable to them

What the author doesn’t approve of in the essay is _______.

   A. achieving a balance between pushing the children too hard and leaving them alone

   B. going from one extreme of pushing children too hard to the other of leaving them alone

   C. involving children in activity that will probably contribute to their development

   D. enrolling them in music and swimming classes at the very early age

The new approach toward parenting mentioned in the passage most likely refers to _______.

   A. relieving children’s hard work and unnecessary activity

   B. resisting the superficial values of pop culture

   C. reducing more activity off their school schedule

   D. spending more time with their children

Pushing children too hard is a really big social problem that seems to be getting worse．Now we have 6-month-olds in music classes and swimming classes．Parents fear that if other children are attending these classes，they will be holding their own children back if they do not enroll，too．

    The other extreme，simply taking a laissez-faire approach and letting children do—or refuse to do—whatever they want，is not the answer either，of course．

    Dr Taylor emphasizes that parents need to push their children based on what is best for the children，not what is best for themselves．If children understand that an activity is in their best interests，then they will accept it, he finds．

    Dr Taylor and other family experts remain pessimistic about the possibilities for widespread social change．“The force of our popular culture，driven by money and superficial（表面上的） values，cannot be resisted，” he says．But change can take place at a“micro-level,” in families and schools．

    When changes do occur，the rewards can benefit everyone in the family．One mother supporting this new approach toward parenting mentions the advantages her family experienced after her children cut back on activities．“The biggest thing is that since we have done this，we are rested,” she says．“Not only are our kids rested，because they're not in a ton of stuff, but my husband and I are rested，because we're not driving them everywhere．We weren’t living in the moment when we were always busy．We were living by the schedule．The return on our investment of spending time together has been enormous．”

One of the reasons why parents push children so hard is that they       

   A. believe in early development in children

   B. are too busy to take care of their children

   C. don't want their children to lag behindw(w w.ks&5 u.c*o m

   D. want to repeat what their parents did to them

The phrase“a laissez-faire approach”(in Line 1，Paragraph 2)most probably refers to      .

   A. denying them what they need

   B. controlling children in a flexible way

   C. developing a keen interest in children

   D. letting children do whatever they want

The best way to encourage children to work hard is           .

   A. to make them believe it’s in their best interests

   B. to consider the matter from parents' standpointw(w w.ks&5 u.c*o m

   C. to emphasize the importance of hard work from time to time

   D. to make it interesting and enjoyable to them

What the author doesn’t approve of in the essay is _______.

   A. achieving a balance between pushing the children too hard and leaving them alone

   B. going from one extreme of pushing children too hard to the other of leaving them alone

   C. involving children in activity that will probably contribute to their development

   D. enrolling them in music and swimming classes at the very early age

Pushing children too hard is a really big social problem that seems to be getting worse．Now we have 6-month-olds in music classes and swimming classes．Parents fear that if other children are attending these classes，they will be holding their own children back if they do not enroll，too．

    The other extreme，simply taking a laissez-faire approach and letting children do—or refuse to do—whatever they want，is not the answer either，of course．

    Dr Taylor emphasizes that parents need to push their children based on what is best for the children，not what is best for themselves．If children understand that an activity is in their best interests，then they will accept it, he finds．

    Dr Taylor and other family experts remain pessimistic about the possibilities for widespread social change．“The force of our popular culture，driven by money and superficial（表面上的） values，cannot be resisted，” he says．But change can take place at a“micro-level,” in families and schools．

    When changes do occur，the rewards can benefit everyone in the family．One mother supporting this new approach toward parenting mentions the advantages her family experienced after her children cut back on activities．“The biggest thing is that since we have done this，we are rested,” she says．“Not only are our kids rested，because they're not in a ton of stuff, but my husband and I are rested，because we're not driving them everywhere．We weren’t living in the moment when we were always busy．We were living by the schedule．The return on our investment of spending time together has been enormous．”

48. One of the reasons why parents push children so hard is that they        . 

   A. believe in early development in children

   B. are too busy to take care of their children

   C. don't want their children to lag behindw(w w.ks&5 u.c*o m

   D. want to repeat what their parents did to them

49. The phrase“a laissez-faire approach”(in Line 1，Paragraph 2)most probably refers to      .

   A. denying them what they need

   B. controlling children in a flexible way

   C. developing a keen interest in children

   D. letting children do whatever they want

50. The best way to encourage children to work hard is           .

   A. to make them believe it’s in their best interests

   B. to consider the matter from parents' standpoint

   C. to emphasize the importance of hard work from time to time

   D. to make it interesting and enjoyable to them

51.What the author doesn’t approve of in the essay is _______. 

   A. achieving a balance between pushing the children too hard and leaving them alone

   B. going from one extreme of pushing children too hard to the other of leaving them alone

   C. involving children in activity that will probably contribute to their development

   D. enrolling them in music and swimming classes at the very early age

52. The new approach toward parenting mentioned in the passage most likely refers to _______.

   A. relieving children’s hard work and unnecessary activity

   B. resisting the superficial values of pop culture

   C. reducing more activity off their school schedule

   D. spending more time with their children

Pushing children too hard is a really big social problem that seems to be getting worse．Now we have 6-month-olds in music classes and swimming classes．Parents fear that if other children are attending these classes，they will be holding their own children back if they do not enroll，too．

    The other extreme，simply taking a laissez-faire approach and letting children do—or refuse to do—whatever they want，is not the answer either，of course．

    Dr Taylor emphasizes that parents need to push their children based on what is best for the children，not what is best for themselves．If children understand that an activity is in their best interests，then they will accept it, he finds．

    Dr Taylor and other family experts remain pessimistic about the possibilities for widespread social change．“The force of our popular culture，driven by money and superficial（表面上的） values，cannot be resisted，” he says．But change can take place at a“micro-level,” in families and schools．

    When changes do occur，the rewards can benefit everyone in the family．One mother supporting this new approach toward parenting mentions the advantages her family experienced after her children cut back on activities．“The biggest thing is that since we have done this，we are rested,” she says．“Not only are our kids rested，because they're not in a ton of stuff, but my husband and I are rested，because we're not driving them everywhere．We weren’t living in the moment when we were always busy．We were living by the schedule．The return on our investment of spending time together has been enormous．”

60. One of the reasons why parents push children so hard is that they______.

   A. believe in early development in children

   B. are too busy to take care of their children

   C. don't want their children to lag behindw(w w.ks&5 u.c*o m

   D. want to repeat what their parents did to them

61. The phrase“a laissez-faire approach”(in Line 1，Paragraph 2)most probably refers to________.

   A. denying them what they need

   B. controlling children in a flexible way

   C. developing a keen interest in children

   D. letting children do whatever they want

62. The best way to encourage children to work hard is_________

   A. to make them believe it’s in their best interests

   B. to consider the matter from parents' standpointw(w w.ks&5 u.c*o m

   C. to emphasize the importance of hard work from time to time

   D. to make it interesting and enjoyable to them

63.What the author doesn’t approve of in the essay is _______.

   A. achieving a balance between pushing the children too hard and leaving them alone

   B. going from one extreme of pushing children too hard to the other of leaving them alone

   C. involving children in activity that will probably contribute to their development

   D. enrolling them in music and swimming classes at the very early age