CNN新闻：微软将WORD编辑英文句号后两个空格标记为错误

燕山大学 刘立军 供稿

【TRANSCRIPT】

A century ago Remington, Royal and Underwood were all famous brands of what? Razors, watches, hats or typewriters. All of these companies were famous for producing typewriters which were invented in the 1800s.

Back in the day when those typewriters were widely used around the world, people were taught to put two spaces in between sentences. So after you hit the period key you'd hit the spacebar twice. Here's why. Each letter printed from a typewriter took up the same amount of space, so adding the extra space after a sentence made the transition between sentences easier to read. Today though, the letters and most of the fonts we read or print have different widths. An "E" for example takes up more space than an "I". This is also intended to make text easier to read so some argue that the extra space at the end of a sentence isn't necessary anymore and several style guides from MLA to AP to the U.S. Government Printing Office suggest using only one space after a period.

But if you're old school or you were taught to use two spaces or you just like it that way, Microsoft will attack you. The company's newest version of Word will put one of those blue, squiggly lines indicating you've made a mistake after each double space following a period. Of course you could tell Word to ignore it or just turn the feature off but who would have thought there'd be a war over spacing in the typewriter space.

Adapted from http://www.kekenet.com/broadcast/202007/613510.shtml

【VOCABULARY】

1. old school adj. old-fashioned or traditional 古老的；古旧的；传统的

2. squiggle  n.（写或画的）弯弯曲曲的线条；潦草的笔迹。例如：Are these dots and squiggles supposed to be your signature? 这一堆点点画画就是你的签名吗？

【QUESTIONS】

Read the passage. Then listen to the news and fill in the blanks with the information (words, phrases or sentences) you hear.

A century ago Remington, Royal and Underwood were all famous brands of what? Razors, watches, hats or typewriters. All of these companies were famous for producing (Q1) ___________ which were invented in the 1800s.

Back in the day when those typewriters were widely used around the world, people were taught to put (Q2) _________________ in between sentences. So after you hit the period key you'd hit the spacebar twice. Here's why. Each letter printed from a typewriter took up the same amount of space, so adding the extra space after a sentence made the transition between sentences (Q3) ___________. Today though, the letters and most of the fonts we read or print have different widths. An "E" for example takes up more space than an "I". This is also intended to make text easier to read so some (Q4) ____________ that the extra space at the end of a sentence isn't (Q5) ___________________ anymore and several style guides from MLA to AP to the U.S. Government Printing Office suggest using only (Q6) ____________________ after a period.

But if you're (Q7) _________________ or you were taught to use two spaces or you just like it that way, Microsoft will (Q8) __________________ you. The company's newest version of Word will put one of those blue, squiggly lines indicating you've made a mistake after each double space following a period. Of course you could tell Word to (Q9) _____________ it or just turn the feature off but who would have thought there'd be a (Q10) ___________ over spacing in the typewriter space.

【KEY】

Read the passage. Then listen to the news and fill in the blanks with the information (words, phrases or sentences) you hear.

A century ago Remington, Royal and Underwood were all famous brands of what? Razors, watches, hats or typewriters. All of these companies were famous for producing (Q1) typewriters which were invented in the 1800s.

Back in the day when those typewriters were widely used around the world, people were taught to put (Q2) two spaces in between sentences. So after you hit the period key you'd hit the spacebar twice. Here's why. Each letter printed from a typewriter took up the same amount of space, so adding the extra space after a sentence made the transition between sentences (Q3) easier to read. Today though, the letters and most of the fonts we read or print have different widths. An "E" for example takes up more space than an "I". This is also intended to make text easier to read so some (Q4) argue that the extra space at the end of a sentence isn't (Q5) necessary anymore and several style guides from MLA to AP to the U.S. Government Printing Office suggest using only (Q6) one space after a period.

But if you're (Q7) old school or you were taught to use two spaces or you just like it that way, Microsoft will (Q8) attack you. The company's newest version of Word will put one of those blue, squiggly lines indicating you've made a mistake after each double space following a period. Of course you could tell Word to (Q9) ignore it or just turn the feature off but who would have thought there'd be a (Q10) war over spacing in the typewriter space.