Question

An “apple polisher” is one who gives gifts to win friendship or special treatment. It is not exactly a bribe(賄賂), but is close to it.
All sorts of people are apple polishers, including politicians and people in high offices—just about everybody. Oliver Cromwell, the great English leader, offered many gifts to win the support of George Fox and his party, but failed.
There are other phrases meaning the same thing as “apple-polishing”—“soft-soaping” or “buttering-up”. A gift is just one way to “soft-soap” somebody, or to “butter him up”. Another that is just as effective is flattery, giving someone high praise—telling him how good he looks, or how well he speaks, or how talented and wise he is.
Endless are the ways of flattery. Who does not love to hear it? Only an unusual man can resist the thrill of being told how wonderful he is. In truth, flattery is good medicine for most of us, who get so little of it.
We need it to be more sure of ourselves. It cannot hurt unless we get carried away by it. But if we just lap it up for its food value and nourishment, as a cat laps up milk, then we can still remain true to ourselves.
Sometimes, however, flattery will get you nothing from one who has had too much of it. A good example is the famous 12th century legend of King Canute of Denmark and England. The king got tired of listening to endless sickening flattery of his courtiers(朝臣). They overpraised him to the skies, as a man of limitless might.
He decided to teach them a lesson. He took them to the seashore and sat down. Then he ordered the waves to stop coming in. The tide was too busy to listen to him. The king was satisfied. This might show his followers how weak his power was and how empty their flattery.
【小題1】Which of the following activities has nothing to do with “apple-polishing”?

A．A boy tells his girlfriend how pretty she looks.

B．An employee tells her boss how good he is at management.

C．A knight is said to be of limitless power by his followers.

D．A teacher praises her students for their talent and wisdom.

【小題2】What does the writer want to prove with Cromwell’s example?

A．Everybody can be an apple-polisher.

B．Cromwell was not a good apple-polisher.

C．George Fox and his party were not apple-polishers.

D．There are people who don’t like being apple-polished.

【小題3】Which of the following statements about flattery is true according to the author?

A．Too much flattery can carry us away.

B．Flattery is too empty to do people any good.

C．Flattery can get you nothing but excessive(過度的) pride.

D．Flattery is one of the ways to apple-polish people.

【小題4】Why did King Canute of Denmark and England take his followers to the seashore?

A．Because he was sick of his normal life.

B．Because he disliked being overpraised any more.

C．Because he wanted them to realize how wise he was.

D．Because he wanted them to see how weak he was as a king.

【小題5】Who does the author think that flattery can do good to ?

A．Those who are politicians or in high offices.

B．Those who lack confidence.

C．Those who are really excellent.

D．Those who think highly of themselves.

Answer 1

【小題1】D
【小題2】A
【小題3】D
【小題4】B
【小題5】B

解析試題分析：本文論述了現(xiàn)在的社會(huì)存在的一個(gè)普遍現(xiàn)象，人們往往為了自己的一點(diǎn)利益去送禮或者說一些阿諛奉承的話，當(dāng)然有時(shí)即使這樣做了也未免就能實(shí)現(xiàn)自己的愿望。
【小題1】推理判斷題。根據(jù)An “apple polisher” is one who gives gifts to win friendship or special treatment.一個(gè)老師表揚(yáng)學(xué)生并不是想得到什么好處，故選D。
【小題2】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)All sorts of people are apple polishers, including politicians and people in high offices—just about everybody. Oliver Cromwell, the great English leader, offered many gifts to win the support of George Fox and his party, but failed.高層的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者都是拍馬屁的人，可以想象每個(gè)人都可能是這種人，故選A。
【小題3】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)An “apple polisher” is one who gives gifts to win friendship or special treatment. A gift is just one way to “soft-soap” somebody, or to “butter him up”. Another that is just as effective is flattery, 故選D。
【小題4】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)The king got tired of listening to endless sickening flattery of his courtiers(朝臣). 國(guó)王厭煩了朝臣的阿諛奉承，故選B。
【小題5】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)In truth, flattery is good medicine for most of us, who get so little of it. We need it to be more sure of ourselves. It cannot hurt unless we get carried away by it.對(duì)于缺乏自信的人是有好處的，故選B。
考點(diǎn)：社會(huì)現(xiàn)象類短文閱讀。
點(diǎn)評(píng)：做推理判斷類試題時(shí)我們不僅要弄懂文章字面的意思，更重要的是要知道文章潛在的含義，以及作者所給的提示。同時(shí)要對(duì)文章的含義和作者的暗示作合理的猜測(cè)和推論。關(guān)鍵是：意思要靠推斷得出，而不是原文照搬。這就要把握住文章的主題思想和每段的內(nèi)容；明確作者的觀點(diǎn)及其寫作該文的目的；分析文章里所給的有關(guān)信息；注意詞匯在詞典里的定義和詞典以外的含義；最后運(yùn)用自己的知識(shí)進(jìn)行由表及里的邏輯推理，挖出文章的伏筆，得出正確的推論。