ThemenandwomenofAnglo-SaxonEnglandnormallyboreonenameonly.Distinguishingepithetswererarelyadded.Thesemightbepatronymic,descriptiveoroccupational.Theywere,however,hardlysurnames.HeritablenamesgraduallybecamegeneralinthethreecenturiesfollowingtheNormanConquestin1066.Itwasnotuntilthe13thand14thcenturiesthatsurnamesbecamefixed,althoughformanyyearsafterthat,thedegreeofstabilityinfamilynamesvariedconsiderablyindifferentpartsofthecountry. Britishsurnamesfallmainlyintofourbroadcategories:patronymic,occupational,descriptiveandlocal.Afewnames,itistrue,willremainpuzzling:foreignnames,perhaps,crudelytranslated,adaptedorabbreviated;orartificialnames. Infact,overfiftypercentofgenuineBritishsurnamesderivefromplacenamesofdifferentkinds,andsotheybelongtothelastofourfourmaincategories.EvensuchanameasSimpsonmaybelongtothislastgroup,andnottothefirst,hadthefamilyoncehaditshomeintheancientvillageofthatname.Otherwise,Simpsonmeans"thesonofSimon",asmightbeexpected. Hundredsofoccupationalsurnamesareatoncefamiliartous,oratleastrecognisableafteralittlethought:Archer,Carter,Fisher,Mason,Thatcher,Taylor,tonamebutafew.Hundredsofothersaremoreobscureintheirmeaningsandtestifytotheamazingspecializationinmedievalarts,craftsandfunctions.Suchare"Day"(oldEnglishforbreadmaker)and"Walker"(afullerwhosejobwastocleanandthickennewlymadecloth). Allthesevocationalnamescarrywiththemacertaingravityanddignity,whichdescriptivenamesoftenlack.Some,itistrue,like"Long","Short"or"Little",aresimple.Theymaybetakenquiteliterally.Othersrequiremorethinking;theirmeaningsareslightlydifferentfromthemodernones."Black"and"White"implieddarkandfairrespectively."Sharp"meantgenuinelydiscerning,alert,acuteratherthanquick-wittedorclever. Place-nameshavealastinginterestsincethereishardlyatownorvillageinallEnglandthathasnotatsometimegivenitsnametoafamily.Theymaybepicturesque,evenpoetical;ortheymaybepedestrian,eventrivial.Amongthecommonernameswhichsurvivewithrelativelylittlechangefromold-Englishtimesare"Milton"(middleenclosure)and"Hilton"(enclosureonahill). Theunderlinedword"epithets"inParagraph1mostprobablymeans____________.
A.a name shared by all the members of a family B.a word in front of a person' s name to show their rank or profession C.an offensive word or phrase that is used about a person or group of people D.an adjective or phrase that is used to describe somebody/something's character or most important quality正确答案D
