Question

Sharpen your axe (斧头)

A young man approached the foreman (工头)of a logging crew and asked for a job.

“That       ” replied the foreman. “Let’s see you fell this tree.”

The young man stepped forward and skillfully    a great tree.     , the foreman exclaimed, “You can start Monday.”

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday    and on Thursday afternoon the foreman approached the young man and said, “You can pick up your    on the way out today.”     , the young man replied, “I thought you paid on Friday.”

“    we do,” said the foreman. “But we’re letting you go today because you’ve    . Our daily felling charts show that you’ve    from first place on Monday to last place today.”

“But I’m a    worker,” the young man objected. “I arrive first, leave last, and    have worked through my coffee breaks!”

The foreman,     the young man’s honesty, thought for a minute and then asked, “Have you ____ your axe?”

The young man replied, “No, sir, I’ve been working too hard to take time for    !”

Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so    that we don’t take time to sharpen the axe. In today’s world, it seems that everyone is busier than ever, but    happy than ever. Why is that? Could it be that we have forgotten how to    sharp?

There’s nothing wrong with activity and hard work. But we all need time to    , to think and meditate(谋划), to learn and    . If we don’t take time to sharpen the axe, we will become    and lose our effectiveness.

1.A. depends       B. expects       C. experiences     D. makes

2.A. cut down      B. pulled down   C. moved away       D. put down

3.A. Scared        B. Disappointed   C. Impressed        D. Approved

4.A. ran off        B. went by       C. came on          D. went along

5.A. spirit          B. effort         C. work            D. paycheck

6.A. Discouraged    B. Moved       C. Astonished        D. Satisfied

7.A. Unfortunately   B. Excitedly      C. Commonly       D. Normally

8.A. fallen behind    B. finished up     C. cut up           D. speeded up

9.A. reduced        B. dropped       C. decreased        D. climbed

10.A. excellent       B. new          C. young            D. hard

11.A. usually         B. even         C. yet               D. ever

12.A. noticing        B. observing     C. sensing            D. watching

13.A. repairing        B. sharpening     C. breaking          D. operating

14.A. that            B. one           C. those             D. something

15.A. busy           B. tired          C. easy             D. ready

16.A. more           B. rather         C. less             D. most

17.A. make           B. turn        C. grow             D. stay

18.A. explore        B. motivate      C. relax            D. work

19.A. grow          B. observe        C. play            D. practice

20.A. full          B. dull          C. stupid           D. lazy

Answer

1.A

2.A

3.C

4.B

5.D

6.C

7.D

8.A

9.B

10.D

11.B

12.C

13.B

14.A

15.A

16.C

17.D

18.C

19.A

20.B

【解析】

试题分析：年轻人凭借娴熟的砍树技能说服了工头给他一份工作，然而，刚过去三天，工头就准备把年轻人辞掉。年轻人虽然非常努力地工作，甚至忙得连磨斧子的功夫都没有，但是砍树的斧子钝了，再多的力气都是白费。故事告诉我们，每个人都不应该只知道不停地工作，还应该预留出休息和放松的时间。

1.Let’s see you fell this tree.”可知，伐木工想看看那个年轻人是否适合砍伐树木，That/It depends.视情况而定，故选A。

2.skillfully...You can start Monday.”可知，年轻人熟练地把树砍倒了，工头让他周一开始上班，故选A。

3.the foreman exclaimed, “You can start Monday.””可知，年轻人的表现给工头留下了深刻印象，工头对年轻人的表现很满意并让他周一开始工作，故选C。

4.and on Thursday afternoon”可知，过去三天后，工头去找年轻人，故选B。

5.I thought you paid on Friday.”可知，工头让年轻人现在去领完工资后走人，故选D。

6.I thought you paid on Friday.”可知，年轻人以为是周五结工资，听到工头让他现在就去领工资并走人，年轻人感到惊讶，故选C。

7.“ we do,” said the foreman.工头说他们按理说是在周五结工资，故选D。

8.from first place on Monday to last place today”可知，年轻人从第一名落后到了最后一名，故选A。

9.from first place on Monday to last place today”可知，年轻人从第一名落后到了最后一名，drop在此意为“落后”，故选B。

10.I arrive first, leave last, and have worked through my coffee breaks!”可知，年轻人认为他是一个工作努力的人，故选D。

11.and have worked through my coffee breaks年轻人第一个到，最后一个离开，甚至连休息的时间都在工作，故选B。

12.thought for a minute and then asked”可知，工头思考了一会儿，说明他感觉到了年轻人的真诚，故选C。

13.that we don’t take time to sharpen the axe”可知，工头问年轻人他是否把砍树的斧子磨快了，故选B。

14.No, sir, I’ve been working too hard to take time for !因为年轻人把时间都用在了工作上，以至于没有时间磨斧子。that指代前面说的磨斧子的事情，故选A。

15.We sometimes get so that we don’t take time to sharpen the axe.我们有时候太忙碌了以至于没有时间把斧子磨快，故选A。

16.everyone is busier than ever, but happy than ever每个人比以往任何时候都要忙，但是却没有以前过得开心，根据but表转折可知，现代人很忙碌但不开心，故选C。

17.we don’t take time to sharpen the axe”可知，人们似乎已经忘记了该怎样让自己保持敏锐，故选D。

18.to think and meditate(谋划), to learn”可知，人们不能一直工作，因为我们需要时间来放松自己，就像斧子需要磨快一样，故选C。

19.to think and meditate(谋划), to learn and .人们需要时间放松、思考、沉思、学习和成长，故选A。

20.If we don’t take time to sharpen the axe...and lose our effectiveness”可知，如果我们不花时间放松和学习，我们就会像斧子一样会变得迟钝，故选B。

考点：故事类短文阅读