It has happened to all of us. You want to talk about an object, but you forgot the name of it. Or you never knew the name at all. Maybe you are not even sure there is a word for it.

    For example, that thing that you need to fix your bicycle. Or perhaps it is something you need for your computer. Or that part on your motorcycle that never, ever seems to work.

    What are these things?

    They are called "doohickies." A doohickey is a word you use when you do not know, or you have forgotten, the real name of an object.

    The MacMillan Dictionary defines doohickey as "something such as a small object or tool that you cannot remember the name of." The American Heritage Dictionary says it is "something, especially a small device or part, whose name is unknown or forgotten."

    Language experts say the word first started being used in the United States in the early 1900s. But other experts say they have seen examples of words like these in writings from the middle 1800s.

    The Merriam-Webster Dictionary for Learners of American English gives this example of how native speakers might use doohickey: "I need one of those doohickeys, you know, with the long handle."

    Merriam-Webster lists a lot of strange words as synonyms(同义词) for doohickey. The most common are whatchamacallit, （叫什么来着）， whatnot（某种东西）and whatsit（某某玩意）。

    You will probably never see these words in official documents or newspaper reports. But you might hear them in informal American English, when people are talking to each other.

    Most Americans will know what you are talking about if you use one of those words. Just point at the object, use one of these words, and they will bring it to you.

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1.When do you usually use the word “doohickies”?

A You want to know something about an object.

B You want to put something on your computer.

C You need to fix your bicycle.

D You forget or don’t know the name of the object.

解析：选D。D。细节理解题。由前三段可知，人们忘了什么东西的名字时，或者不知道它的名字时，常用“doohickies”一词来表达，故选D。

2.The underlined word ‘define’ probably means___________.

A 限定

B 定义

C 解释

D 规定

解析：选B。B。词义猜测题。本处应是字典对doochickey的定义。

3.From the definition of the dictionaries we know that doohickey is something____________.

A small

B unimportant

C common

D ordinary

解析：选A。A。细节理解题。由第五段可知, The MacMillan Dictionary和The American Heritage Dictionary都将doohickey定义为small object，故选A。

4.Which of the followings doesn’t have the same meaning as doohickey?

A whatnot

B whatsit

C whatsoever

D whatchamacallit

解析：选C。C。细节理解题。Merriam-Webster例举出了doohickey的同义词。而C答案whatsoever不在其中，故选C。

5.What will happen when a speaker says:”I need one of those doohickeys, you know, with the long handle.”?

A Nothing will happen.

B The listener will give him/her the object.

C They will start talking.

D The listener will point at the object.

解析：选B。B。推理判断题。虽然此词在正式的书面语中很难见，但在日常对话中常被人们所使用，而且谈话双方都会明白所指东西，所以对方会作出正确的反应。