The American dictionary Merriam-Webster has named “surreal” its 2016 Word of the Year. Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary defines the adjective as “very strange or unusual” or “having the quality of a dream”.
Merriam-Webster reports, the largest increase in searches for “surreal” came just after the United States presidential election last month. Its meaning comes from the word's two parts. The word “real” comes after the preposition “sur”, which means “above” or “over” in the French language. “Surreal” is often used to describe something shocking. People might use the word when they cannot believe or do not want to believe reality.
Other popular words of 2016 include icon and bigly, Merriam-Webster says.
People searched for the word “icon” in high numbers following the death of pop star Prince. It means “a person who is very successful and admired”.
“Bigly” became hugely popular after many people thought U.S. President-elect Donald Trump used the word during a presidential debate.People questioned whether the adjective “big” can be used as an adverb in the English language.
But language experts agreed that Trump actually said “big league”. This expression describes something very successful or high-level. Trump used it as an adverbial phrase. Language experts also agreed that “bigly” is a word, although it is not often used.
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1.The word “surreal” means ______.
A very successful
B very dangerous
C very big
D very strange
解析：选D。细节理解题。根据第一段第二句Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary defines the adjective as "very strange or unusual".可知，surreal指很奇怪的，故选D。
2.This passage mentions ______ 2016 popular words.
A 2
B 3
C 4
D 5
解析：选B。细节理解题。根据文章surreal, bigly与icon可知，是三个，故选B。
3.Who made the word “bigly” popular in 2016?
A The prince.
B Trump.
C The French people.
D The experts.
解析：选B。细节理解题。根据最后一段第一句But language experts agreed that Trump actually said “big league”.可知，故选B。
4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A The word “surreal” comes from the word’s two parts.
B The word “icon” means “to press something”.
C The word “bigly” means very huge.
D The words “big league” is an adjective phrase.
解析：选A。综合理解题。根据第二段第二句Its meaning comes from the word's two parts.可知，故选A。
5.What’s the best title of the passage?
A What the word “surreal” means.
B How the new words form.
C The new president Trump.
D 2016 Word of the Year.
解析：选D。文章标题题。本文列举了2016年几个年度词汇，故选D。
