B
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 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(小坏蛋), you’ve played truant(逃课)! Run to school, or you’ll be sorry!”
“Alas!” thought I． “It was hard enough to turn a grindstone this old day, but now to be called a rascal is too much．”
The memory of turning the grindstone that winter morning sank 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．”
60．In this passage, the word “flattery” means _____．
A．an order or direction
B．nice words used beyond truth
C．kind words spoken by elder people to children
D．good manners
61．The man asked the boy many questions because _____．
A．he liked the boy very much
B．he wanted to know the boy’s name
C．he wanted to sharpen his ax
D．he wanted to know how old the boy was
62．The man called the boy “rascal” because _____．
A．his ax was damaged by the boy
B．he didn’t like the boy’s play truant
C．he didn’t need the boy any more
D．he thought that boy should go to school on time
63．Today in the writer’s vocabulary “That man has an ax to grind” means _____．
A． that man has some selfish reasons for his actions
B． that man works with an ax
C． that man is very kind and polite to boys
D． that man needs to sharpen his ax
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