Although English is not as old as Chinese, it is spoken by many people around the world every day. English speakers are always creating(创造) new words, and we are often able to know where most words come from.

　　Sometimes , however, no one may really know where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers(汉堡包) are called hamburgers, especially when they are not made with ham(火腿)? About a hundred years ago, some men went to America from Europe. They came from a big city in Germany called Hamburg. They did not speak good English, but they ate good food. When some Americans saw them eating round pieces of beef(牛肉), they asked the Germans what it was. The Germans did not understand the question and answered, “We come from Hamburg.” One of these Americans owned a restaurant, and had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of beef like those which the men from Hamburg ate. Then he put each between two pieces of bread and started selling them. Such bread came to be called “hamburgers”. Today “hamburgers” are sold in many countries around the world.

　　Whether this story is true or not, it certainly is interesting. Knowing why any word has a certain meaning is interesting. too. This reason, for most English words, can be found in any large English dictionary.

虽然英语不是像中国一样古老，它是由世界各地每天都有许多人说。说英语的人总是创造(创造)新单词，我们往往能够知道大多数的词是从哪儿来的。

　　有时，然而，可能没有人真正知道一个词从哪里来。你曾经想过为什么汉堡(汉堡包)被称为汉堡，尤其是当他们不与火腿(火腿)?大约一百年前，一些人从欧洲到美国。他们来自一个大城市，在德国被称为汉堡。他们英语不好，但他们吃美食。当一些美国人看到他们吃的牛肉圆块(牛肉)，他们要求德国人是什么。德国人不懂的问题和回答说，“我们来自汉堡。”其中的一个美国人拥有一家餐厅，并有了一个主意。他喜欢那些来自汉堡的人们所吃的牛肉片煮一些轮。然后他把每两片面包，开始出售他们之间。这种面包来到被称为“汉堡包”。今天的“汉堡包”是世界上许多国家出售。

　　不管这个故事是不是真的，它肯定是有趣的。知道为什么任何词都有一定的意义是有趣的。太。因此，对于大多数英语单词，可以发现在任何英语大字典。