Section B Trying Your Hand
Consolidation Exercises
Scan the passage as quickly as possible to find the answer to the following questions.
One cold morning in winter， when I was a little boy， a smiling man with an ax on his shoulder stopped me， saying， “My pretty boy， has your father had a grindstone （砂轮）？”
“Yes， sir，” said I.
“You are a fine little fellow！” said the man. “Will you let me grind （磨） my ax？”
Pleased with the flattery， I answered， “Oh， yes， sir. The grindstone is down in the shop.”
Patting me on my head， he said， “Will you get me some hot water？” I ran and brought the hot water.
“How old are you，and what is your name？” he asked，without waiting for a reply，“I'm sure you are one of the finest boys I have ever seen. Will you turn the grindstone a few minutes for me？”
Hearing the flattery again，I went to work with a will.It was a new ax，and I worked hard until I was almost tired to death. The school bell rang， but I could not get away， because the ax was not half ground.
At last， however， it was sharpened. Then the man turned to me and said， “Now， you little rascal（坏蛋）， you've played truant （旷课）！ Run to school or you'll be sorry！”
“Alas！” thought I. “It was hard enough to turn a grindstone this cold day， but now to be called a rascal is too much.”
The memory of turning the grindstone that winter morning sank deep into my mind. I have thought of it since. Now， whenever I hear words of flattery， I say to myself， “That man has an ax to grind.”
Choose the best answer.
1. In this passage， the word “flattery” means________.
A. nice words used beyond the truth
B. an order or direction
C. kind words spoken by elder people to children
D. good manners
2. The man with the ax did all the following that morning EXCEPT________.
A. smiling friendly
B. patting the boy on the head
C. asking for some hot water
D. giving the boy a small toy
3. Today in the English language “That man has an ax to grind” means________.
A. that man has some selfish reasons for his actions
B. that man needs to sharpen his ax
C. that man is very kind to boys
D. that man works with an ax
Explanations
1. The key is A. We can get the meaning according to these sentences： “You are a fine little fellow！” Pleased with the flattery，I answered，“Oh，yes，sir. The grindstone is down in the shop.” “You are one of the finest boys I have ever seen.” Hearing the flattery again，I went to work with a will.
2. A， B， C are all mentioned in the passage， so the answer is D.
3. From the passage， we know the boy was so pleased by the flattery that he did a lot for the man. But finally， the boy was called a rascal. So we may draw the conclusion that the man was very selfish. So the key is A.