Listen & Learn 聽力練習(xí)

Read & Translate 讀譯練習(xí)

History is visible almost everywhere in Britain; from the world-famous Stonehenge, the origins of which remain unknown; to old castles, some just ruins thousands of years old, some still standing; to more recent historic buildings, like Buckingham Palace which was built in 1703. Often, the history of a place is shown in its name. Place names may change over time, and many use old English now long out of common use. Frequently, though, they have stayed remarkably intact, and they give an accurate idea of an area's history, from the mundane to the monumental.

Sussex, a region in the south of England, literally means ‘the land of the South Saxons’. It is remarkable that this name has survived to the present day, over a thousand years as well as an invasion by the Normans invaded in 1066!

‘Clapham’, a fashionable area in the south of London, has its name from two old words, neither which are in use any more – ‘clop’ meant ‘short hill’, and ‘ham’ originally meant ‘small village’. Today, Clapham is a manic and busy part of London, a far cry from the ‘clopham’ of its past!

As historically interesting as it may be, British place names are not so serious. At least you wouldn’t think so when you see some of them. There are hundreds of names of British villages and towns whose meanings have become lost in time – many of them seem comical today, or are just plain silly.

Christmas Pie is a small village about 30 minutes south of London by car. In Britain a Christmas Pie is a favourite traditional pudding eaten by people on Christmas Day. It’s a daft name for a village!

Pratt’s Bottom is also near London, in a county called Kent. In English a Pratt is a fool or an idiot – so the village’s name literally means ‘Idiot’s bottom’!

People in the south of England often joke that the north is cold and miserable. It is funny that two village names seem to confirm this impression – Pity Me and No Place, both in County Durham are in the northern part of England!

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about a few British place names. As I mentioned before, Britain has hundreds of other silly and wonderful names for villages and towns – if you want to find out more, just find a British map and take a look!

Tricky Words 生詞表

intact (adj.) - not damaged

mundane (adj.) - ordinary and not exciting

monumental (adj.) - used for emphasizing something good or important

manic (adj.) - very excited

(be) a far cry from (something) (phrase) - (informal) to be very different from something

daft (adj.) - silly