【答案】An apple polisher is one who gives gifts to

阅读理解。

An "apple polisher" is one who gives gifts to win friendship or special treatment. It is not exactly a

bribe(贿赂),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 "butter-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 or 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 gets so

little of it.

We need it to be more sure of ourselves. It cannot hurt unless we get carried away by it. But 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 the endless sickening flattery of his courtiers(朝臣).They overpraised him to the

skies, as a man of limitless power.

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.

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 his boss how good he is at management

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

D. A teacher praised his students for their talent and wisdom.

2.Which of the following statement 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 nothing but excessive(过度的)pride

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

3. King Canute of Denmark and England took his followers to the seashore because __________.

A. he was sick of his normal

B. he disliked being overpraised any more

C. he wanted them to realize how wise he was

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

4. The author thinks that flattery can do good to those who _________.

A. are really excellent

B. lack confidence

C. are politicians or in high offices

D. think highly of themselves
正确答案：
1-4: DDBB
答案解析：
考点名称：日常生活类阅读

日常生活类阅读的概念：

日常生活这一话题主要涉及人们衣食住行等方面的活动。这一话题的选材主要针对人们日常的工作，生活以及学习情况。做这一类题时，最主要的是要把握好人物的活动内容，时间和地点。

日常生活类阅读题答题技巧：

【题型说明】

该类文章内容涉及到人们的言谈举止、生活习惯、饮食起居、服饰仪表、恋爱婚姻、消遣娱乐、节日起源、家庭生活等。文章篇幅短小，追根溯源，探索各项风俗的历史渊源，内容有趣。命题也以送分题为主，如事实细节题、语义转换题、词义猜测题和简单推理判断题等。虽然这类文章读起来感觉轻松，试题做起来比较顺手，但绝不能掉以轻心。因为稍不留神，就会丢分。

【备考提醒】

为了保证较高准确率，建议同学们做好以下几点：

1、保持正常的考试心态。笔者在教学中发现，越是容易的试题，同学们越是容易失分。为什么呢?因为在这种情况下，同学们极易产生麻痹思想，认为题目好做，就不引起高度重视，于是思维不发散、不周密。而命题人就是利用同学们的这一弱点，设计陷阱题。所以，无论试题难易与否，我们都要保持正常的考试心态。试题容易，不欣喜;试题难，不悲观。

2、根据前面讲到的方法，认认真真、细细心心做好事实细节题。

3、做好语义转换题。这类题是根据英语中一词多义和某些词语在文中能表达一定的修辞意义的原则而设计的。要求同学们解释某生词的含义，确定多义词或短语在文中的意思，确认文中的某个代词所指代的对象，或者对英语中特有的表达、格言、谚语进行解释。这种题要求同学们一定要根据上下文猜测词义或理解句子，切不可望文生义。

4、做好简单推理判断题。简单推理判断题要以表面文字为前提，以具体事实为依据进行推理，做出判断。这种推理方式比较直接，只要弄清事实，即可结合常识推断出合理的结论。